Nav System Replacement

May 14, 2021
7
Catalina 309 Sarasota Yacht Club
I'd like to replace my Raymarine C90W MFD but keep the wind and other instruments as well as the transducer. It seems getting a Raymarine would minimize coordination problems. Most of the Raymarine MFDs are touchscreen and I worry about that in a marine environment. I'd appreciate ant experiences or thoughts on touchscreens or possible alternatives from other mabufacturers.
 
Apr 8, 2011
768
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
I have a 12" touchscreen at the helm that is 8 years old. No issues in any weather. It is covered by a bimini, but it definitely gets wet. If things get hairy you're likely not be diving into menus anyway, you'll be busy doing other things.
 
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RickC

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Oct 4, 2015
5
Catalina 309 Toronto
I replaced my C90W with an Axiom Pro 9 two seasons ago and I really like the upgrade. Raymarine sells an adapter plate to fit the existing hole in the NavPod; you'll also need their converter and some cables to let your new MFD talk to the old ST60+ instruments. Our local Raymarine dealer was very helpful and supplied the wiring diagram attached below.
 

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Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Some other venders warn that touch screens can be hard to hit the right spots on the screen in a seaway. I can see that. Maybe at sailboat speeds it's not such an issue. But on a powerboat delivery, while bouncing around in chop, it was about a 1 in 3 chance of hitting the right spot on the screen.
 
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leo310

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Dec 15, 2006
635
Catalina 310 44 Campbell River BC
There are some MFD that are both touch and button control. Just beware that you may have to look at other brands than Raymarine. But using N2K should not be a problem unless you have Radar.
 
Nov 21, 2007
631
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
We have a touch screen MFD, and we have not had issues while underway. As @tfox2069 said, when things are getting crazy, we’re not searching through menus. Ours is both touch screen and key (and knob) controlled, which makes using the interface possible in cold weather with gloves on. It is possible to forget what mode the MFD is in though (or forget to back all the way out of Autopilot control). That makes things interesting when you spin the knob to change the dispaly zoom, and suddenly steer hard in one direction or the other…. :facepalm:
 
Apr 8, 2011
768
Hunter 40 Deale, MD
Some other venders warn that touch screens can be hard to hit the right spots on the screen in a seaway. I can see that. Maybe at sailboat speeds it's not such an issue. But on a powerboat delivery, while bouncing around in chop, it was about a 1 in 3 chance of hitting the right spot on the screen.
Fair point, but there's a technique that helps a lot. I've used it in airplanes and in my car, and it has proven just as good in a boat. Put the fingers of the hand you're trying to use the touch screen with on the nonconductive perimeter of the touchscreen, and then use your thumb to operate the touchscreen. Your hand will be very stable at that point, and easily able to touch a spot on the screen without dancing all around the place while the boat is bouncing. Unless you have very tiny hands and the place you need to touch is in the center of a 15" display (good for you if you own one but I bet they're rare on this forum), you'll be able to reach even if only one or two fingers are being used to stabilize on the device.

Good luck.
 
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