I bought one that has been gutted electronically and need to understand what all is required prior to sailing. Even the freaking compass was taken! Thanks in advance. I’m a retired US Marine that enjoys the sea and have only been sailing for 4 years, on a hobie 18 and now a 31 hunter.
What’s your required electronics aboard a 31 hunter
- Thread starter Grunt735
- Start date
No electronics are needed to sail your boat. Not even a compass.
The first question to ask is what kind of sailing do I intend to do? Where do I intend to sail?
The answers to those 2 questions will guide your decision making.
The first question to ask is what kind of sailing do I intend to do? Where do I intend to sail?
The answers to those 2 questions will guide your decision making.
The most important electronic instrument you will need is depth. You absolutely need to know where you can run aground. (and don't let anybody fool you into thinking you will actually use a lead line like in the golden olden days). Given that, you may as well buy a package that includes a combination depth & speed transducer. These days, the displays are multi-function and the electronics are interconnected so you may as well get the mast top wind transducer. There are options now to go wireless for the wind instrument but they are more expensive. I'll recommend that you go on Defender and get the package that includes 2 B&G Triton displays, wind transducer, speed & depth transducer and they also throw in a GPS antennae. It's a NMEA 2000 interconnect and is the best thing going as far as I'm concerned. When you are ready for a chartplotter, get a B&G Vulcan and you will be completely set up except for radar, VHF, & AIS. You can go the Raymarine route, and everything is virtually the same. Nobody talked about radio, yet. If you aren't ready to go the whole hog on fixed VHF and AIS, at least get a handheld model. You need a VHF radio.
We need to know more about where you are going to sail. You may need a compass ... you may not ever look at it. I hardly ever look at mine.
If the guy gutted the electronics on the boat, did he even remove thru-hull transducers or were they left in place?
We need to know more about where you are going to sail. You may need a compass ... you may not ever look at it. I hardly ever look at mine.
If the guy gutted the electronics on the boat, did he even remove thru-hull transducers or were they left in place?
I agree about depth. On San Francisco Bay I would not want to be without it. I disagree however about how to implement it, especially if you don’t have the 12 volt system to support a more sophisticated set of instruments.
For just a couple of hundred dollars you can get a stand alone depth finder like the one I have been using for the last 23 years that just sips milliamperes.
Add to that a pair of submersible handheld VHF radios that are stand alone once charged. Also maybe a handheld GPs and you have what I regard as the basic needs.
All in for maybe half a boatbuck or a little more.
For just a couple of hundred dollars you can get a stand alone depth finder like the one I have been using for the last 23 years that just sips milliamperes.
Add to that a pair of submersible handheld VHF radios that are stand alone once charged. Also maybe a handheld GPs and you have what I regard as the basic needs.
All in for maybe half a boatbuck or a little more.
VHF is the only one I would consider required. For under $200 you can buy a Horizon HX 890 (Or whatever the model de jour is), which will have GPS and hence speed, compass course, DSC, FM radio, recharge options and is waterproof. I find it very useful when I sail the Flying Scott which has no instruments. That I would call the minimalist option.
The sky is the limit otherwise. I would begin with a chart plotter with inputs for depth (You get water temp with that). You will get SOG, compass course, ETA etc. with also any chart plotter. Wind speed and direction is useful mostly because you won't have to look up at your windex as much. You still will because it is more accurate.
Radar overlay is useful if you operate in poor visibility (Which you shouldn't). You need substantial practice with radar before using it in poor visibility. If offshore, AIS is terrific but I find it almost useless inshore since it creates a lot of screen clutter.
You will never keep up with the technology unless you are really into it. You can have video cameras, infra red cameras for looking underwater, monitors for almost everything, Internet updates (Usually by subscription), sideways and forward looking sonar with satellite overlays and on.
I think it makes sense if buying a system to get all the comments from one company and buy them at the same time. That way they should all integrate to work together and age together. Putting old with new is asking for trouble.
Make sure you can read the displays from the helm. Avoid putting displays on the cabin riser because people sit there and you won't be able to see the displays.
My 2 cents.
The sky is the limit otherwise. I would begin with a chart plotter with inputs for depth (You get water temp with that). You will get SOG, compass course, ETA etc. with also any chart plotter. Wind speed and direction is useful mostly because you won't have to look up at your windex as much. You still will because it is more accurate.
Radar overlay is useful if you operate in poor visibility (Which you shouldn't). You need substantial practice with radar before using it in poor visibility. If offshore, AIS is terrific but I find it almost useless inshore since it creates a lot of screen clutter.
You will never keep up with the technology unless you are really into it. You can have video cameras, infra red cameras for looking underwater, monitors for almost everything, Internet updates (Usually by subscription), sideways and forward looking sonar with satellite overlays and on.
I think it makes sense if buying a system to get all the comments from one company and buy them at the same time. That way they should all integrate to work together and age together. Putting old with new is asking for trouble.
Make sure you can read the displays from the helm. Avoid putting displays on the cabin riser because people sit there and you won't be able to see the displays.
My 2 cents.
When we got new instruments we got wireless. This allowed us to put displays wherever we wanted without having to drill holes or run wires - saving hours of work and removing potential problems with corrosion or faulty connections. Putting the displays where they can be seen without people getting in the way is also useful. Definitely worth the extra cost.
Welcome aboard! The answers you got were spot on as there is a range of stuff that you can get. As a retired Marine, you know that the most important instrument is your brain, and that is the heart of @dlochner 's comments. Many new boaters stare at the electronics like a video game, and forget they are moving a multi-ton boat around in nature. Get your eyes out of the cockpit, and rely on your skills.
The electronics that @Scott T-Bird mentioned are a good starter set to make you more independent and work less at sailing. They will allow you to not plot a course as often (but again, it's a good idea to know where you are if the electrons stop working), allow you to interpret the wind more easily, and call out to the other boaters without raising your voice. Shop at Defender, West Marine (convenient but costly), or other reputable marine vendors and you do not have to worry much about brands as they are only selling good quality stuff. While most stuff is plug-and-play, it's often easier to stick with a brand to make sure it really will talk together. Raymarine has a reputation a little like Apple - it will grudgingly talk to others, if you make it. For a starter, I'd get a good handheld VHF, and the GPS models of these don't cost much more. I'd get something that will accept the inputs of your depth and speed transducers, separate from the multi-display. These two will be a good backups as you build your suite of stuff, and having backups is really important when you are a few miles out to sea.
The electronics that @Scott T-Bird mentioned are a good starter set to make you more independent and work less at sailing. They will allow you to not plot a course as often (but again, it's a good idea to know where you are if the electrons stop working), allow you to interpret the wind more easily, and call out to the other boaters without raising your voice. Shop at Defender, West Marine (convenient but costly), or other reputable marine vendors and you do not have to worry much about brands as they are only selling good quality stuff. While most stuff is plug-and-play, it's often easier to stick with a brand to make sure it really will talk together. Raymarine has a reputation a little like Apple - it will grudgingly talk to others, if you make it. For a starter, I'd get a good handheld VHF, and the GPS models of these don't cost much more. I'd get something that will accept the inputs of your depth and speed transducers, separate from the multi-display. These two will be a good backups as you build your suite of stuff, and having backups is really important when you are a few miles out to sea.
Unless you like spending money on non-essential stuff, an electronic compass is unnecessary. I believe a VHF radio is essential these days. A depthfinder is also rather useful, unless you have a lead line and are proficient at using it. A GPS is a nice thing to have, but certainly not essential.
CAUTION: It is NOT sufficient to just install a compass. It must be swung and a deviation card made up, or it's accuracy will be questionable.
CAUTION: It is NOT sufficient to just install a compass. It must be swung and a deviation card made up, or it's accuracy will be questionable.
Yup
And get one with AIS and you have a back up GPS system in your VHF.But I also agree with @Scott T-Bird about the depth gauge. I use mine ALL THE TIME.
If you are going to stay within 2 miles of the shore then your cell phone or tablet can serve as a chart plotter (Get the Navionics app). If you sail someplace with a lot of fog, then consider the Furano blue-tooth radar system that also will display on your table or phone.
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Hey,
As mentioned, there are WANTS and there are NEEDS.
If you're sailing on a small lake, or If all you want to do is sail for a few hours on a nice weekend, then you don't NEED anything. If you plan on making multiple day voyages then your needs will be more involved.
Are you sailing for peace and quiet and relaxation? Are you sailing in a competitive racing environment? Everyone's needs will be different.
Come back with more information and the good folks here can provide advice for YOU.
Barry
As mentioned, there are WANTS and there are NEEDS.
If you're sailing on a small lake, or If all you want to do is sail for a few hours on a nice weekend, then you don't NEED anything. If you plan on making multiple day voyages then your needs will be more involved.
Are you sailing for peace and quiet and relaxation? Are you sailing in a competitive racing environment? Everyone's needs will be different.
Come back with more information and the good folks here can provide advice for YOU.
Barry
The options vary greatly, depending on how you plan to use the boat and how much you want to use electronics.
There are lots of other threads about the pros and cons of that approach.
Even if you’re going out of cell range you can use a phone or tablet; just make sure to have the charts for your region downloaded ahead of time.
There are lots of other threads about the pros and cons of that approach.
VBI? British Virgin Islands?
In that case you will want a more extensive electronic suite. A Chartplotter with a decent sized screen, 9", AIS, Speed/Depth/Wind, a good autopilot (below decks is better than wheel), and fixed mount VHF. Radar is useful in poor visibility.
My preference is for B&G, they have the longest history of catering to the sailing community and have useful features for sailors.
Sailing electronics are the proverbial snowball. Depth, wind direction, wind speed and speed through water either digital analog or no log (visual wind direction indicator) are the data points that will keep you safe while giving you feed back on your sailing skills. All necessary things when learning In my opinion. Thus is the grouping I used for three years then upgraded to digital wind sensor and integrated gps/ais and the amount of data now really makes it fun but not necessary. I recommend developing a plan with steps. This will make you engineer a full system that is compatible with the components but not require you to buy them all at once. I use a iPad Pro, TimeZero plotting app with Furuno Wi-Fi radar overlay, digital wind speed/direction sensor, Vesper AIS with a backbone network and AIS overlay. It all seems to work well for me. i have a analog speed through water gauge visual wind indicator and a stand alone digital depth gauge. Next will be a additional integrated depth transducer for plotter overlay with redundancy of my existing depth (this is how much I think depth is important with all of the anchoring I do.)
I think if you are sailing to BVI, you want a full system of wind, speed, depth, chart plotter for navigation and AIS, VHF radio, and importantly..auto pilot. Wind vane would good to have installed to, but at least a good AP.
Greg
We have done over 7,000 nm on the Great Lakes with a depth guage, handheld plotting GPS, and VHS. A cell phone gives us weather forecasts and weather radar, Navionics, a backup for the GPS, and broadband communications - especially Great Lakes Cruising Club’s harbor reports. With cockpit shelters providing a clear view of our sails, the masthead windex gives faster and more accurate wind direction than electronics. Heel of the boat, and state of the sails tell me all I need to know about wind speed. If I sailed in significant currents, I could add speed through the water to the depth guage. But currents on the Great Lakes are negligible in setting and holding a course. In Brunswick, I would might want that option to deal with tidal currents. But Navionics and many chart plotters provide charted tidal currents that have given me adequate info when navigating charters on coastal ocean cruises. (The San Juans, the Chesapeake, and the Florida Keys for example.)
We do have an autopilot for long motoring legs - we enjoy hand steering on the wind.
We do have an autopilot for long motoring legs - we enjoy hand steering on the wind.
It may seem inconsistent, but I would definitely want depth on Lake Erie, especially the Western part. That's because the depth can change with the amount of rainfall and also wind. A persistent W/NW wind can blow the water in the lake to the East creating shallow water in the West. With that places that were safe become unsafe. A depth meter while passing known areas of depth would tip one off to the level of water.
Start with the basics and add others as your needs become evident. For me the basics would be a depth meter and a chart plotter and a VHF radio.