Which Nav system for my 30' Newport?

[Stu Jackson]

I hear ya, Bazzer

Fog down on the deck is actually quite rare here, although last November's Cosco Busan hitting the Bay Bridge showed that fog can and does occur, usually that kind is the tule fog during the winter. I did sail back from the Napa River last fall and ran into 1/4 mile or less visibility in "The Slot" from Berkeley to Treasure Island. We monitor Ch. 14 always, and I kept to the east of the series of red buoys. My biggest fear is the darn fishermen and powerboaters, and AIS (and maybe even radar) will not help at all with those guys. The ferries and commercial shipping have regular routes which one can avoid with local knowledge, even in San Pablo Bay (by staying out of the shipping channel - the Vallejo ferry is always a bother, though - they tend to wander a bit). Summer fog is normally no lower than 1500 feet.

Enjoy your "playing" and good luck with your equipment search and selection.

 

[zeus1931]

You out of Glasgow? Send me some Haggis!!! I am familiar with the M5, actually you might well be able to get a waterproof case for one via OtterBox, I haven't checked. I used one of their waterproof box's for the original iphone and using a Dremel I made it fit my 3G iphone which of course has a GPS built in, the battery life is crap however. Using a combo of MacENC and iNavx you can "relay" realtime info from the mac to the iphone, shows up all the instruments you might need for sailing. If I attached the Otterbox and phone to the cockpit area and wire in 12v to it I would have a highly functional system. But I really prefer the current marine electronic chartplotter.

Hi! Haggis is in short supply at the moment due to the Burns Centenary dinners using up all the available supplies! They are even selling tinned haggis over here, enough to make Rabbie Burns turn over in his grave!

I will try Otterbox for a suitable container for my m5 as I feel it would be safer when working around the boat.

Good to see you are "into" all the latest technology. how do you keep up? I find it all a little bewildering!

We are in the grip of the worst winter for over 25 years over here, it's bitterly cold, and although the boat is under cover I think that as usual it will be all last-minute fitting-out once the weather gets a little warmer.

Good sailing!

Zeus1931

 

[Navigate_us]

Hi Bazza, I will send you a pm with a link to a site that help with the choices you are trying to make.
regards Kieran

 

[dwain6805]

Bazzer look up the Garmin 4200 series.

I just went though this and I found the most reasonable networked system was the Garmin. It's a few hundred$ less the Raymarine.
I put in the 4210 at the helm (and I can still see the outdoors!) and the newer HD 18" radome. I didn't bother with the sonar, but did add the Smart Radio AIS receiver into the system (Look up Milltech marine for an AIS receiver for less than $200.) The 4200 series is networked and easily expandable, you can add additional displays, XM weather, sonar and even send video to the helm or displays. I compared this combo to the RM set up and the HD Radar was the deciding factor for me. I went with the 4200 vs the 5200 series because of $, it's the same system, without the touchsreen.
However, if $ is no object, the Furuno Navnet3 is very nice!

I have my chartploter/radar tied to a Simrad AP27 below deck AP, Nexus instruments, and the SM AIS, and carry an additional Garmin handheld, and a laptop with Seaclear and a separate GPS, and the old Garmin GPSMAP 182 is still aboard(not hooked up). Oh yea, Plus it's all hooked to an Icom VHF and Icom 802 for DSC. THe 4200 Garmin comes with a NEMA 2000 GPS anten., so you end up with a new NEMA 2000 Network aboard also, (the "backbone" NEMA 2000" network cabling, fittings come with the 4200).
And to confirm what Maine Sail said, I know another owner who had the first generation GMR HD radome that failed on the way to Tahiti, and Garmin shipped a new 2nd generation HD radome to him in Tahiti at no$ and didn't even ask for the old unit back.
Dwain
PS: Look up Broken Leg Dave's (Dave's Marine), or WJM Marine for some on line prices.

 

[Bazzer]

I just went though this and I found the most reasonable networked system was the Garmin. It's a few hundred$ less the Raymarine.
I put in the 4210 at the helm (and I can still see the outdoors!) and the newer HD 18" radome. I didn't bother with the sonar, but did add the Smart Radio AIS receiver into the system (Look up Milltech marine for an AIS receiver for less than $200.) The 4200 series is networked and easily expandable, you can add additional displays, XM weather, sonar and even send video to the helm or displays. I compared this combo to the RM set up and the HD Radar was the deciding factor for me. I went with the 4200 vs the 5200 series because of $, it's the same system, without the touchsreen.
However, if $ is no object, the Furuno Navnet3 is very nice!

I have my chartploter/radar tied to a Simrad AP27 below deck AP, Nexus instruments, and the SM AIS, and carry an additional Garmin handheld, and a laptop with Seaclear and a separate GPS, and the old Garmin GPSMAP 182 is still aboard(not hooked up). Oh yea, Plus it's all hooked to an Icom VHF and Icom 802 for DSC. THe 4200 Garmin comes with a NEMA 2000 GPS anten., so you end up with a new NEMA 2000 Network aboard also, (the "backbone" NEMA 2000" network cabling, fittings come with the 4200).
And to confirm what Maine Sail said, I know another owner who had the first generation GMR HD radome that failed on the way to Tahiti, and Garmin shipped a new 2nd generation HD radome to him in Tahiti at no$ and didn't even ask for the old unit back.
Dwain
PS: Look up Broken Leg Dave's (Dave's Marine), or WJM Marine for some on line prices.

This is the way I'm going to go. The 4000 series is certainly going to be the"backbone" of my system. I have the laptop and the handheld. I will purchase a Garmine HD small radome. I am going to put the 4000 at the nav station and some kind of repeater in the cockpit. Maybe just a waterproof VGA screen.
Thanks,

Barry

 

[lsail123]

Stay home and watch TV.

We have purchased a 1986 Newport 30 and I am wanting to install a Radar and Nav system, what would you recommend at a reasonable cost? At the moment we are using a Macbook with MacENC, but this is no good for cockpit use, wonderful for planning. I would like to also include a AIS receiver as well. I have considered interfacing a radar to my macbook with a small remote VGA Screen. I have found several cheap screens intended for auto use, so maybe this is the way to go? Personally I would prefer the ruggedness of Raymarine or Garmin.
Bazzer

I think you best learn some navigation. Get a small hand held GPs and learn how to use a chart and sail the boat. Radar on a 30 foot boat for sailing in the bay is ignorant. Interfacing your radar to a computer screen especially a Mac is borderline insanity for any sailor on a 30 foot boat. Go sailing. Learn about tides and curents. shut off the engine. or stay home and watch Tv.

 

[sailingdog]

First, I'd have to ask why you think you need radar? Also, how good are your traditional navigation skills?

Radar is a luxury IMHO, not a necessity, and unless you have decent navigation skills to begin with, it can become a crutch for your, much like a chartplotter, and can get you into trouble.

Having said that, interfacing a Radar system into a MacBook is very unlikely, since I don't think there are any vendors that make software to do so. Most of the radar on a PC setups require you to run some software from the radar's vendor. It also isn't going to be a reliable system on a boat the size of yours. Small sailboats are too wet to really risk using such a setup IMHO. Also, if you haven't priced transreflective TFT LCD screens, you're in for a bit of a rude awakening...they're quite expensive, especially the ruggedized ones that would survive on a small sailboat.

As for chartplotters and radars... I would agree that Garmin's new 18HD is probably the best way to go at the moment. It is far better than the older analog equipment and a lot easier to install. If you shop around, you can probably get into this system for less than $1800. Getting a 3205, which is the minimum chartplotter from Garmin I'd recommend for this type of setup, along with the 18HD radome would be the least expensive setup.

Lowrance/Northstar/Navico/Simrad have released a new "broadband" radar system that may prove to be interesting... however, it is brand new, still has bugs to be worked out and isn't ready for prime time IMHO.

We have purchased a 1986 Newport 30 and I am wanting to install a Radar and Nav system, what would you recommend at a reasonable cost? At the moment we are using a Macbook with MacENC, but this is no good for cockpit use, wonderful for planning. I would like to also include a AIS receiver as well. I have considered interfacing a radar to my macbook with a small remote VGA Screen. I have found several cheap screens intended for auto use, so maybe this is the way to go? Personally I would prefer the ruggedness of Raymarine or Garmin.
Bazzer

 

[Bad Obsession]

I have been using Garmin GPS for a while now. I really like Garmin as you can just look at them and figure them out most of the time.

There is no real need to interface everything. I just get a course set on the gps and then adjust the autohelm until it is dead on the course. It works just fine for me.

 

[sailingdog]

I'd like to point out that the icon on the GPS chartplotter screen is not your boat... it is a graphical representation of your boat in an electronic interpretation of the real world by a chartmaker who may have been drunk at the time he was making the chart, that may be based on data that is years, if not decades old. As such, it should not be taken to represent where your boat actually is without confirmation from the primary navigation tools aboard your boat—namely, the Mark I eyeball...

If you are navigating in unfamiliar waters, relying on the chartplotter may be less than wise. There are areas, like certain parts of the Caribbean, where electronic chartplotters and reality disagree by a mile or more.