Has anyone installed radar and a chartplotter lately?

Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
I have a beneteau 343 and am considering adding a gps and radar.

I suspect I am looking at about $2k for the equipment. What is the installation likely to cost?

Does the mast make more sense than a pole on the stern?
 
Dec 8, 2013
8
beneteau 285 First Paris Landing
I installed a garmin chart plotter and radar on my 285. I installed the radar just above the steaming light on the mast. If you shop on the internet you should be able to do it for around $1700.00 in a package. You will get good at splicing D5 cables because the radar only comes with a 30 ft cable.
 
Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
I installed a garmin chart plotter and radar on my 285. I installed the radar just above the steaming light on the mast. If you shop on the internet you should be able to do it for around $1700.00 in a package. You will get good at splicing D5 cables because the radar only comes with a 30 ft cable.
So, $1700 installation and equipment or just the equipment or just the installation?
 

CCHer

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Jul 7, 2010
230
Beneteau 37 Cranes Creek, VA
I put the Garmin plotter-radar combo on my previous boat. DIY with a Garhauer pole on the stern. The package itself was >2000 IIRC from WM with a rebate at the time plus the pole cost. It worked great, however my current boat has the Simrad radar and plotter (also on a pole at the stern) which I like even better. Seems more sensitive particularly at close range and draws much less battery power than the Garmin. Installation on a pole is easier DIY I think but the pole is going to cost 800-1000.
 

bshock

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Jan 18, 2013
126
Beneteau 361 Sandusky Harbor Marina
My dock neighbor has a Garmin radar on a pole off his stern. It's the favorite morning perch for a Great Blue Heron, who will sit on there for hours. fortunately for my neighbor the bird's hindquarters are generally over the water aft of the stern. I've not seen any birds perching on radars mounted on the mast, but that might be a consideration if all things are otherwise equal. I suspect a Great Blue Heron could make a significant mess to your cabin top roof.

I know that's not answering your actual question. I'm sort of in the same boat, but wondering installation cost on a below-deck autopilot and perhaps a chartplotter/fish finder combo.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
We installed our Lowrance/Simrad 3G system two years ago. Used a Seaclear 8 foot pole on the transom. Easier wiring and I didn't want the dome rubbing on the leach of the genoa (we race). The pole was like $600, install would have been $1K if I didn't do it. Was easy if you are careful and take your time.

Unless you are wedded to some other brand of installed gear, for RADAR, Navico (Simrad\Lowrance\B&G) is the only game in town.
 
Dec 8, 2013
8
beneteau 285 First Paris Landing
I paid 1700 for the package (18 inch HD radar 36 mile, chart plotter and sonar). I did the install myself. It wasn't hard and I ordered the D 5 cable and connectors off the internet to make the wire run and connections. I like the mast mount better than the pole. Its higher up and sees further, the cockpit is cluttered with enough stuff. You can purchase a gimbal mount if your worried it wont be as level. I didn't feel it was worth the extra money. Besides i like the radar emitting dome further away from my head!
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Have you also budgeted for the energy requirement cost? That will figure into your decision about which system. The low-power multifrequency (broadband) Navico radars use a fraction of the power of the others. And because they don't emit dangerous levels of energy, putting them on a poll behind your helm makes sense. I'm real happy with the Simrad system. I no longer need to have a radar operator, so easy I can do it myself. A tilt-adjustable mount is valuable.
 
Jan 22, 2008
169
Beneteau 343 Saint Helens, Oregon OR
I put a Lowrance chartplotter on back in 2007. I purchased a small radar dome at the time but did not install for several years looking at various configurations in marinas. Purchased a mast mount off ebay. Tried to figure out an adjustable mount for the track grooves on the mast. Finally decided I didn't like the thought of the genoa dragging across the dome while sailing or putting the dome at eyeheight on the deck with a pole mount. Installed mast mount about 8 feet up on mast where I can just reach standing on a short step. I bolt the base of the mount to the dome. Bolts from base have orings on underside to hold them in brackets. I set the bracket on the mast brackets and spin nuts on from below. Tighten up the nuts and plug the cord into some trailer plugs at deck level that are wired back to the console.
I don't get out in fog or after dark often so don't use the radar.
The chartplotter works great. I had to pull it off a couple years ago and open it up. I usually keep the plastic cover on and a sunbrella cover over the works but somehow water had crept in. Emptied the water and cleaned up any contacts exposed and reassembled. Back working fine. I have also had to clean the connectors a few times.
Joe
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Have you also budgeted for the energy requirement cost? That will figure into your decision about which system. The low-power multifrequency (broadband) Navico radars use a fraction of the power of the others. And because they don't emit dangerous levels of energy, putting them on a poll behind your helm makes sense. I'm real happy with the Simrad system. I no longer need to have a radar operator, so easy I can do it myself. A tilt-adjustable mount is valuable.

Indeed. The Navico broadband systems emit less RF than your cellphone does. The biggest energy draw is the motor that turns the antenna.
 

CHM

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Oct 30, 2011
70
Beneteau 432 Merritt Island
Oceanis 430. Raymarine dome pole mount at the stern. E80 chartplotter networked to everything at the helm. I bought the equipment cheap as they are older models, but am very pleased with the setup. I think i spent about 2000 installed.
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Dave,
I installed a Raymarine C80 chart plotter last year. I bought the entire package including radome, plotter, and cable as new old stock for $1500 off of EBAY. I wanted to make sure that the system would be compatible with the raymarine instruments and auto pilot that were already installed. I also had to purchase a 125 GPS antenna. I flush mounted the chartplotter on my 343's helm pod. Be careful, because the newer wide screen models won't fit if you want to flush mount. The radome is still in the box and uninstalled. Definitely thinking about a stern pole mount to simplify installation and maintenance in the future. Also plan to install a lift on the pole to make hoisting the outboard of the dinghy easier. Mast mounted radome is nice; however, I don't want to incur the additional expense of lifting the mast to facilitate installation.
 
Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
Hi, I ended up buying a raymarine radar chartplotter combo pack. Next problem is how to mount the radar.

I am not inclined to incur the trouble and expense to put on the mast.

How are people's experience with attaching it to the back stay?

Any experience with these guys?

http://www.pyacht.com/waltz-pricing.htm

That seems like a pretty decent approach to mounting the Radome.
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
My experience has been the gimbaled action causes the dome to swing and provide a poor return. That is not the case where you can set the dome to the average angle of heel on a tack and lock it. I have seen skippers attach weights to the gimbal to reduce the swivel effect. We used a painter line to tie the gimbal off.
 
Jul 12, 2012
73
Beneteau 41 Kemah
I installed my dome on the mast. I already had a chart plotter so it was basically a plug and play. I used a gimbaled mount that is hydraulically dampened and have no problems with pickup at all. I use it offshore to locate unlit platforms. I'm generally under sail and hard over so the gimbaled radar gives me a wider forward view than if I had hard mounted it. My two cents. For what it's worth.
 
Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
I installed my dome on the mast. I already had a chart plotter so it was basically a plug and play. I used a gimbaled mount that is hydraulically dampened and have no problems with pickup at all. I use it offshore to locate unlit platforms. I'm generally under sail and hard over so the gimbaled radar gives me a wider forward view than if I had hard mounted it. My two cents. For what it's worth.
Do you have a furling main? Does that make mounting the Radome on the mast harder?
 
Oct 5, 2013
66
Beneteau 343 Portland
Also, a yard just estimated 30 hours to install a chart plotter and Radome on the boat. That seems crazy to me. I am getting other estimates.
 
Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
Do you have a furling main? Does that make mounting the Radome on the mast harder?
I am in the process of installing a radome (and TV antenna) on the Selden furling mast on my Catalina 355; I did a similar installation on the furling mast of my previous C309. The 355 mast has an aluminum conduit in the forward section that runs from a wiring exit port above the first set of spreaders to the mast base. The 309 didn't have the conduit; the cables simply ran through the part of the mast section that contained the halyards. All of this is done with the mast stepped, from a bosuns chair. The hardest part is fishing the cables (with their attached connectors) through the mast base and compression post and into the bilge, but it's doable.
 
Jan 22, 2008
169
Beneteau 343 Saint Helens, Oregon OR
The furling mast on your 343 has space forward of the furler sleeve. There are two conduits in there but relatively small. Rivets or screws in the forward portion won't affect the furler.
I mounted my whisker pole end by tapping the mast for 1/4" bolts. Radar mount feet are riveted on.