Can someone give me some first hand experience with the reliability of Raymarine products? I am not hearing much too good in this department. I am primarily interested in their radar and C series chartplotters. Thanks in advance.
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Reliability Word Of Mouth Relative
I think it's important to remember a couple of things. First, Raymarine in its earlier iteration was one of the early volume adopters of large LED displays, networked data and smart autopilots. As such, there will simply be some early failures too. The upside is that the get it right by learning as the technology matures. Second, they are either the largest in the market, or among them. So, you will have more total failures. Third, I believe most of the US production boats have them as the default factory or dealer electronics, so you will read more on these boards about them. Having said all that, I am in no position to say definitively which is better build quality based upon any objective data. I have used them for some thirteen years now in their Autohelm, Raytheon, and Raymarine iterations and have found them generally reliable and the factory support superb. Were I to buy a new boat today, I would select them again because of my comfort level with them. I did buy a Furuno radar, but that was a preference of user interface and not about reliability. I do have an RC520 chartplotter in the nav station that I am satisfied with. It also will display the instrument data which can be handy at times. Rick D.
I think it's important to remember a couple of things. First, Raymarine in its earlier iteration was one of the early volume adopters of large LED displays, networked data and smart autopilots. As such, there will simply be some early failures too. The upside is that the get it right by learning as the technology matures. Second, they are either the largest in the market, or among them. So, you will have more total failures. Third, I believe most of the US production boats have them as the default factory or dealer electronics, so you will read more on these boards about them. Having said all that, I am in no position to say definitively which is better build quality based upon any objective data. I have used them for some thirteen years now in their Autohelm, Raytheon, and Raymarine iterations and have found them generally reliable and the factory support superb. Were I to buy a new boat today, I would select them again because of my comfort level with them. I did buy a Furuno radar, but that was a preference of user interface and not about reliability. I do have an RC520 chartplotter in the nav station that I am satisfied with. It also will display the instrument data which can be handy at times. Rick D.
Rick is right on!!
Raymarine/Raytheon has the largest installed base of instruments and displays of any manufacturer. We have boat full of RM stuff and problems have invariably been the result of improper installation. They provide amazing "bang for the buck", and are preferred by all the major production builders. Reliability is not a concern to me. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with Furuno, Garman, etc. This is relatively mature technology at this point in time. Jon McClain
Raymarine/Raytheon has the largest installed base of instruments and displays of any manufacturer. We have boat full of RM stuff and problems have invariably been the result of improper installation. They provide amazing "bang for the buck", and are preferred by all the major production builders. Reliability is not a concern to me. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with Furuno, Garman, etc. This is relatively mature technology at this point in time. Jon McClain
Raymarine stuff
Makai carries Raymarine tridata, Autohelm with a linear drive, and Radar/Chartplotter (our GPS/Chartplotter is a lowrance. We have had no problems with any equipment. Since we are cruisers most of the ewuipment has been running no stop for more than 10 months. We installed the SL72 Radar chartplotter. I was looking at the furuno based on price, but purchased the Raymarine as the boat is equiped and setup for the hardware. The radar was easy to install and setup. Right out of the box on the auto tune settings is worked very well. We have expiremented with various settings but for the most part the default settings are quite good. This allowed us to reduce the learning curve.
Makai carries Raymarine tridata, Autohelm with a linear drive, and Radar/Chartplotter (our GPS/Chartplotter is a lowrance. We have had no problems with any equipment. Since we are cruisers most of the ewuipment has been running no stop for more than 10 months. We installed the SL72 Radar chartplotter. I was looking at the furuno based on price, but purchased the Raymarine as the boat is equiped and setup for the hardware. The radar was easy to install and setup. Right out of the box on the auto tune settings is worked very well. We have expiremented with various settings but for the most part the default settings are quite good. This allowed us to reduce the learning curve.
Simpler?
ST4000 autopilots have a bad rap, which is well deserved. See the archives. Do a find on ST4000 and you'll find posts like "Drunken Sailor." Otherwise, they make good products and back them up pretty well. Like any other electronics manufacturer with products on boats that are NOT made to accommodate electronics, they're pretty good. Company got larger, contact with "real people" suffered. Ever heard that said about Microsoft? Stu
ST4000 autopilots have a bad rap, which is well deserved. See the archives. Do a find on ST4000 and you'll find posts like "Drunken Sailor." Otherwise, they make good products and back them up pretty well. Like any other electronics manufacturer with products on boats that are NOT made to accommodate electronics, they're pretty good. Company got larger, contact with "real people" suffered. Ever heard that said about Microsoft? Stu
I have been using Raymarine stuff
And I'm basically satisfied with its operation and its reliability. I had an old Autohelm Autopilot on my last boat and it worked well for the 5 years I had it on the boat. My new boat I have the RL70CRC (Color radar and GPS chartplotter) with depth, autopilot, wind and knotmeter all from raytheon. They are all networked together via their "seatalk" proprietary links. I'm satisfied with the system and the way its all linked together makes a slick little system . The radar is very good and easy to tune. I love the Color screen to chartplotter (and I bet the C series is even nicer with the more options...e.g. 3 simultaneous screens, etc) Its been reliable for 3 years now (going on 4). I installed the RL70CRC parts myself. I think a good portion of the people that are saying they have issues are the ones that didn't have it installed well. The power & wiring to the system have to be good. You can't just tap onto a wire and get 12V to the system and expect it to work well. It needs its own dedicated wiring and done well. I will give credit to raymarine also. I had a VERY near lightning strike on the water the year before last. It knocked out the radar circuitry to my RL70CRC (also my echo charger and my accuguage -- it was a close strong strike) To Raymarines Credit they fixed it for me even after the warrantee was up.....BIG kudos to them. I was prepared to pony up some money for that one. All in all, its not a bad system and really shines when its networked to its own systems.
And I'm basically satisfied with its operation and its reliability. I had an old Autohelm Autopilot on my last boat and it worked well for the 5 years I had it on the boat. My new boat I have the RL70CRC (Color radar and GPS chartplotter) with depth, autopilot, wind and knotmeter all from raytheon. They are all networked together via their "seatalk" proprietary links. I'm satisfied with the system and the way its all linked together makes a slick little system . The radar is very good and easy to tune. I love the Color screen to chartplotter (and I bet the C series is even nicer with the more options...e.g. 3 simultaneous screens, etc) Its been reliable for 3 years now (going on 4). I installed the RL70CRC parts myself. I think a good portion of the people that are saying they have issues are the ones that didn't have it installed well. The power & wiring to the system have to be good. You can't just tap onto a wire and get 12V to the system and expect it to work well. It needs its own dedicated wiring and done well. I will give credit to raymarine also. I had a VERY near lightning strike on the water the year before last. It knocked out the radar circuitry to my RL70CRC (also my echo charger and my accuguage -- it was a close strong strike) To Raymarines Credit they fixed it for me even after the warrantee was up.....BIG kudos to them. I was prepared to pony up some money for that one. All in all, its not a bad system and really shines when its networked to its own systems.
It is a moving target
some good and some bad experiences. Most of the bad ones have been with the ST4000. The SL72 seems ok as well as the chartplotter. All of the windspeed, depth, boat speed, etc. seem ok too and they all talk to each other fairly well. Remembering all of the buttons to push in which order is kind of a pain and I have to relearn some things every once in a while.
some good and some bad experiences. Most of the bad ones have been with the ST4000. The SL72 seems ok as well as the chartplotter. All of the windspeed, depth, boat speed, etc. seem ok too and they all talk to each other fairly well. Remembering all of the buttons to push in which order is kind of a pain and I have to relearn some things every once in a while.
Many Thanks
Goodness, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly! Thanks everyone for your input! You are a terrific help. This will help making decisions a lot easier and comfortable, (not to mention the financial commitment). Ed G.
Goodness, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly! Thanks everyone for your input! You are a terrific help. This will help making decisions a lot easier and comfortable, (not to mention the financial commitment). Ed G.
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