Boat Porn!

[PNWbrit]

Good for you having that adventure oft.

[ötzi]

A lot of what happens in fog is morons going way too fast and hitting shit, like other boats, it's nice to have an idea what's coming so you can try to do something about it if necessary.

[oftpiste]

Indeed. There's a very dated OG Lowrance plotter on board, but it's pretty much only good for being a sounder at this point. I've been using Navionics (and charts) for navigating. Hard to imagine why I'd need a separate plotter when that shit works as well as it does. Radar though, yeah, wonder if Navionics interfaces with any of the current systems? Then you need displays for two helms, blahblahblah$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$.

That harbor seal is snorting on the dock next to the boat as I write this.

[oftpiste]

Good for you having that adventure oft.

Thanks! Having a great time and it is very good exercise. The two dockings I massively fucked up with you on board remain the worst I've done, including all these while singlehanding all week. Just your luck I guess.

[warthog]

Thanks! Having a great time and it is very good exercise. The two dockings I massively fucked up with you on board remain the worst I've done, including all these while singlehanding all week. Just your luck I guess.

Always the way it goes. Only when you have an audience.

The electronics rabbit hole is vast. My only suggestion is either prepare to pay a knowledgeable person to do a full install, or learn everything you can about NMEA 2000 backbones. Hint- you most likely have nothing on that boat that will talk to the modern stuff.
Hint hint- even the transponder under the boat is likely outdated. If you have a through hull like I did, this is a pain.

Garmin is spendy but pretty reliable, and they have great customer service. Most guys I know in the business use Garmin because of their service. The addition on Navionics charts was a huge plus for me.

Simrad is big with the fishing guys these days.

Raymarine has really nice stuff at good prices. Getting it all to work together and getting reliable service seems to be the problem.

You can find some nice package deals online, depending what you need.

[VTeton]

Tracking down a full set of boat electronics today might be a herculean task. A lot of boat electronics are out of stock.

Always the way it goes. Only when you have an audience.

The electronics rabbit hole is vast. My only suggestion is either prepare to pay a knowledgeable person to do a full install, or learn everything you can about NMEA 2000 backbones. Hint- you most likely have nothing on that boat that will talk to the modern stuff.
Hint hint- even the transponder under the boat is likely outdated. If you have a through hull like I did, this is a pain.

Garmin is spendy but pretty reliable, and they have great customer service. Most guys I know in the business use Garmin because of their service. The addition on Navionics charts was a huge plus for me.

Simrad is big with the fishing guys these days.

Raymarine has really nice stuff at good prices. Getting it all to work together and getting reliable service seems to be the problem.

You can find some nice package deals online, depending what you need.

[wendigo]

The gpsstore does a good job of listing what is in stock, or when it will be available.
Recently upgraded from an ancient Furuno to a Garmin GPSMAP 943xsv w/a GT56UHD-TM world of difference!

[BFD]

Stay clear of used electronics unless you know where they came from

[oftpiste]

I appreciate the input and community wisdom! I'm on a budget of course so going after a fancy new all inclusive system is probably off the table as cool as it would be. Any large expenditures are going to be saved for mechanical upgrades, but I do want to be safe and smart underway. In the most minimal way possible.

I'm thinking of keeping the existing Furano and its transponder (through hull) for pure use as a sounder, and ditching its vintage and large GPS receiver strapped to a rail on the flying bridge. I really don't need that if I have an iPad with Navionics, right?

Also it appears I need a cel-capable (not necessarily connected to a number) iPad as the non cel ones don't have the GPS chip. Am I getting that right? Took my old iPad mini on the trip and no worky unless connected to wifi.

Then I guess it's a matter of finding something that will help me see in the dark/fog. Growing up we had none of that stuff. I remember when dad put a depth sounder on board and it was very cool. He just stayed tied up when it was foggy.

[The Tortoise]

You can always get a GPS receiver/antenna for the iPad.

[Garbowski]

You've got it- an old cell capable iPad will have the GPS antenna and it will work without a contract/service/signal. Could add an antenna as mentioned- may be a bit more accurate but probably not as cost effective for you especially if you want a bigger screen.

[oftpiste]

Seems less cumbersome to just find the cheapest, biggest, cel capable iPad I can find. Any other considerations? It's probably going to be a one-trick pony (I've rarely found much use for the mini I have as a regular device) and probably live on the boat so capacity, RAM and all that really won't matter much, right?

[Garbowski]

Storage space won't matter really for GPS app, I doubt the charts are going to take more than a few GB but I don't really know (you'll want them saved on the device of course). You could put music on it which may make it an issue but really a few GB is a lot of Jimmy Buffet. The other specs do matter though- the latest iOS will run like garbage on an real old one, and planned obsolescence is strong with apple. So I wouldn't go cheapest out there, but cheap version of a couple models back should last plenty long. I gave up on Android a long time ago, but it is also an option if you want an extra few minutes of fuel burn.

I think the biggest downside people have is visibility in the sun, but that sounds pretty manageable to me.

[PNWbrit]

is a lot of Jimmy Buffet.

Don't do it Oft!

[oftpiste]

Don't worry Brit! Never. All my JB is on Spotify anyway.

Yeah, the sun viz is definitely a thing. Requires moving the device to the shade frequently.

[BFD]

I do not know where you boat. A good VHF is a must. My chart plotter is on all the time when I am on the boat as is my shallow water alarm. Anchor drag whenever at anchor. Those items are a must. My son bought me one of these for my forward station https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/592804. Very handy when going into the beach and anchoring. Never hurts to have two sonars.

[oftpiste]

Neat unit (and son!). Through-hull transducer or....?

I found a free app for anchor monitoring.

I'm in the PNW, mostly the inland waters around Seattle. Hope to make it further north to BC coast one of these days. We don't have moving/shifting shallows here.

[BFD]

the shallow water alarm is useful in the fog. it can keep you off rocks or the beach. also if you anchor in tight and the tide goes out and wind shifts it can keep you off the bottom. installing a new transducer in a fiberglass boat is easy. you can just epoxy to the inside of hull. so need to be concerned about cutting a hole for another through hull. I do not know what features your software has just wanted to share what i find to be the most useful. I was in the market once for similar to your tolly, ended up with a bayliner contessa. Would rather of had the tolly.

[oftpiste]

Ah! I didn't realize new transducer tech wasn't through-hull. Good to know.

[warthog]

There is shoot through the hull and through hull. Shoot through the hull doesn't give you temp, and may be limited in really deep water for fishing.
Shoot through the hull needs to sit in a bath of antifreeze or mineral oil to work. Pretty cool stuff though.

To avoid popping holes in brand new hulls, a lot of guys here will pair that with a rear mount side scan x-ducer for fishing.
The shoot through takes care of SOG and depth.

My old boat was a step hull, so I had no option for a rear mount. At even minimal speed, a rear mount wouldn't work because the water wasn't clean- too many bubbles. I had a 20 degree fairing block that made it difficult to replace without some pretty major glass work, so I left it alone.

Trying to pair new electronics with old 'ducers was a chore, so I just had my old Raymarine screens replaced for a fraction of the cost of new, and lived with the old tech.

You can find pretty good deals on used stuff if you reach out locally. There are guys changing out relatively new stuff for brand new tech all the time. Find a reputable installer and see what they have. I bet you could get a 3 year old unit, radome, and auto pilot for pretty cheap plus install. Take a bit of research, but a good installer for this stuff is worth the $$ spent.

[ötzi]

Saw this one yesterday. Apparently it's from a while ago but still it should make Oft feel better.

[BmillsSkier]

Saw this one yesterday. Apparently it's from a while ago but still it should make Oft feel better.

Heh, I remember that.

Nailed it.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Shoot thru hull transducers can be epoxied in place w the proper epoxy insuring there are no air bubbles. I was curious about having a transducer sitting in a liquid and in my research found a pretty neat method of doing that.



"This is how i have my transducer permanently mounted. Get a PVC 4" slip fit to female thread fitting, cut the slip fit side to match the shape of the hull, caulk it in, caulk the transducer inside the fitting, fill with mineral oil (water will start to grow stuff), get a PVC threaded plug, drill a hile in it for the cable, screw the plug in the fitting, and caulk the hole around the cable. Installed 4 years ago and never looked at it again."


Mineral oil freezes at 24F necessitating the antifreeze for northern climates.

[wendigo]

Saw this one yesterday. Apparently it's from a while ago but still it should make Oft feel better.

the "somebody doesn't know what the fuck he's doing" is possibly an understatement

[BmillsSkier]

You have to appreciate the confidence with which he treats his throttle adjustments.