This past Spring I purchased a 1990 Hunter 30 and brought it from MD to the NorthEast (Mystic, CT area). Prior to leaving the Chesapeake, I had some upgrades to do to prepare for the 6 day voyage. After careful (so I thought) considerations, I opted to go with B&G products. The boat had no masthead wind instrument, no chartplotter, but did have a Raymarine TriData S/D/T display and a first generation Auto Wheel Pilot that had been upgraded with a ST4000+ controller, SmartPilot X5 computer, and newer FluxGate compass.
The first step was to bring down the mast and add a new masthead wind instrument. I went with a B&G unit, wired it into a new NMEA 2K backbone and then added a B&G Vulcan 7 chartplotter and Triton T41 MFD to a newly installed NavPod at the binnacle. Since the SmartPilot had an input for SeaTalk NG, I thought that all would work well connecting this into my NMEA 2K backbone. I also knew that the Vulcan 7 had the limitation of no radar capability, which I thought would be okay at the time.
Fast forward to the end of the summer .... everything seemed to work okay, but very mismatched and independent from one another. I added a B&G Triducer (DST) to the mix before leaving MD and tied that into the NMEA 2K backbone. So, I now had the Raymarine TriData connected to just the old Depth transducer as a sort of secondary depth monitor, the Auto Wheel Pilot works through its own ST4000+ controller, but will not talk any info to the Vulcan 7, hence no steering to waypoints and definitely no use of the B&G SailSteer features. The Vulcan 7 and Triton T41 see and display the NMEA 2K info from the masthead wind instrument and the B&G DST transducer just fine.
Now that I am in the NorthEast, I am rethinking this whole setup. I have contacted B&G support for some ideas without much successful guidance ... the Vulcan 7 now has a Vulcan 7 FS model out that can connect to a Forward Scan transducer (nice, but another $700 and not compatible to my Vulcan 7 from 6 months ago). The Vulcan 9 is now out with radar and FS capability, but limited without networked ethernet (has ethernet only for radar), plus in the same price range of the Zeus2 7 that has it all minus built-in WIFI. My thoughts and priorities are as follows:
1. Upgrade the Raymarine Wheel Pilot to the new Evolution 100 Pilot that may be better able to integrate with the existing Vulcan 7 that I have (steering to waypoints, but doubtful that the SailSteer will work without a B&G computer like the AC12N). In this upgrade I would save the radar addition for another year (my mast comes down for over-wintering at my marina, so I have the benefit of installing mast related items each season without the added expense of having to unstep the mast just for an upgrade). I would also keep costs down by still using my existing Vulcan 7 as is and hold off on the idea of Forward Scan for a future year upgrade.
2. Keep my existing Auto Wheel Pilot motor & fluxgate compass setup and replace the Smart Pilot X5 with a B&G AC12N computer to see if it will get the SailSteer functionality to work with my Vulcan 7 (this would be a $950 hunch ... no one can tell me if this would really work)!
3. Bite the bullet and upgrade all to Raymarine products (e7 series chartplotter, EVO-100 AutoPilot and controller, Broadband Radar, new NavPod to house the new setup). This would be something around a $4,200+ setup.
My thoughts on all this are leaning towards option #1 to see if I can at least get plotting to waypoints working. At that point, I can always go ALL Raymarine after that to get everything to function properly. The negatives I see are with not continuing with B&G products .... I was attracted to B&G for its SailSteer functionality and that it is all about sailing! But, Raymarine is the king of AutoWheel Pilots on this size boat since they are the ONLY ones that I have seen that offer a Wheel Pilot. My rudder post is fiberglass encapsulated from the cockpit to the rudder and there is no way to install any other type of Auto Pilot to this boat. I cannot even install a rudder feedback sensor since the steering pulley on the top of the rudder shaft is under the floor grate in the cockpit and has no room to mount one (even if I wanted to expose it to the elements and being in a "wet" area.
I never thought that a 30' boat would have so many limitations for basic electronic setups with what is on the market today. But, then again maybe I am out of the norm in trying to add so much to this sized boat. And just to better understand my planned sailing area .... I plan to typically use this boat for long weekend sails to/from Mystic to Block Island, Newport, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Shelter Island, Sag Harbor, Port Jeff, and maybe further week+ trips through the Cape Cod Canal to P-town, Glouster, and maybe eventually southern coastal Maine (this I would definitely want radar for).
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! I have yet to see any posts of anyone successfully integrating B&G with Raymarine Wheel Pilots.
The first step was to bring down the mast and add a new masthead wind instrument. I went with a B&G unit, wired it into a new NMEA 2K backbone and then added a B&G Vulcan 7 chartplotter and Triton T41 MFD to a newly installed NavPod at the binnacle. Since the SmartPilot had an input for SeaTalk NG, I thought that all would work well connecting this into my NMEA 2K backbone. I also knew that the Vulcan 7 had the limitation of no radar capability, which I thought would be okay at the time.
Fast forward to the end of the summer .... everything seemed to work okay, but very mismatched and independent from one another. I added a B&G Triducer (DST) to the mix before leaving MD and tied that into the NMEA 2K backbone. So, I now had the Raymarine TriData connected to just the old Depth transducer as a sort of secondary depth monitor, the Auto Wheel Pilot works through its own ST4000+ controller, but will not talk any info to the Vulcan 7, hence no steering to waypoints and definitely no use of the B&G SailSteer features. The Vulcan 7 and Triton T41 see and display the NMEA 2K info from the masthead wind instrument and the B&G DST transducer just fine.
Now that I am in the NorthEast, I am rethinking this whole setup. I have contacted B&G support for some ideas without much successful guidance ... the Vulcan 7 now has a Vulcan 7 FS model out that can connect to a Forward Scan transducer (nice, but another $700 and not compatible to my Vulcan 7 from 6 months ago). The Vulcan 9 is now out with radar and FS capability, but limited without networked ethernet (has ethernet only for radar), plus in the same price range of the Zeus2 7 that has it all minus built-in WIFI. My thoughts and priorities are as follows:
1. Upgrade the Raymarine Wheel Pilot to the new Evolution 100 Pilot that may be better able to integrate with the existing Vulcan 7 that I have (steering to waypoints, but doubtful that the SailSteer will work without a B&G computer like the AC12N). In this upgrade I would save the radar addition for another year (my mast comes down for over-wintering at my marina, so I have the benefit of installing mast related items each season without the added expense of having to unstep the mast just for an upgrade). I would also keep costs down by still using my existing Vulcan 7 as is and hold off on the idea of Forward Scan for a future year upgrade.
2. Keep my existing Auto Wheel Pilot motor & fluxgate compass setup and replace the Smart Pilot X5 with a B&G AC12N computer to see if it will get the SailSteer functionality to work with my Vulcan 7 (this would be a $950 hunch ... no one can tell me if this would really work)!
3. Bite the bullet and upgrade all to Raymarine products (e7 series chartplotter, EVO-100 AutoPilot and controller, Broadband Radar, new NavPod to house the new setup). This would be something around a $4,200+ setup.
My thoughts on all this are leaning towards option #1 to see if I can at least get plotting to waypoints working. At that point, I can always go ALL Raymarine after that to get everything to function properly. The negatives I see are with not continuing with B&G products .... I was attracted to B&G for its SailSteer functionality and that it is all about sailing! But, Raymarine is the king of AutoWheel Pilots on this size boat since they are the ONLY ones that I have seen that offer a Wheel Pilot. My rudder post is fiberglass encapsulated from the cockpit to the rudder and there is no way to install any other type of Auto Pilot to this boat. I cannot even install a rudder feedback sensor since the steering pulley on the top of the rudder shaft is under the floor grate in the cockpit and has no room to mount one (even if I wanted to expose it to the elements and being in a "wet" area.
I never thought that a 30' boat would have so many limitations for basic electronic setups with what is on the market today. But, then again maybe I am out of the norm in trying to add so much to this sized boat. And just to better understand my planned sailing area .... I plan to typically use this boat for long weekend sails to/from Mystic to Block Island, Newport, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Shelter Island, Sag Harbor, Port Jeff, and maybe further week+ trips through the Cape Cod Canal to P-town, Glouster, and maybe eventually southern coastal Maine (this I would definitely want radar for).
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! I have yet to see any posts of anyone successfully integrating B&G with Raymarine Wheel Pilots.