MacGregorSailors.com

What's the biggest total unit size chartplotter you would recommend installing on an X at the helm? What's the smallest? What's a good screen size?

I'm trying to narrow my options down and have made notes on some of the units you guys have installed. I'm thinking I would like to do a multiscreen unit for GPS and sonar data. I've mostly been looking at Garmin and Raymarine units so far, but I haven't been to a store that carries Lowrance/Eagle or other stuff yet.

Not sure on mounting yet, I've got to spend some more time in the cockpit. I might mount a pedestal guard and build a navpod for it or I might just mount it on the pedestal. While the larger screen units sure look nice I don't want to obstruct my vision too much or make it too hard to get around the pedestal.

The plan is to install an autopilot, (thanks for all the great info already posted here on that), larger wheel and chartplotter this summer so I'm researching. Actually that will probably necessitate a new sonar transducer as well. Man the list is getting long already.

It depends on you. I have the small Gramin 440x. This is OK for displacement speeds. If you plan on higher speeds then you may want a bigger screen for 2x or more the $$$$

I do like the weather potion, well worth the money.

I have the Garmin 478. I really like it.

Pros (my opinion):
1. Built in Nav Charts -- either coastal US or inland lakes/waterways US (no need to buy expensive US charts...very nice if you trailer out of your local area...which I do)
2. Decent size screen -- twice the size of my hand-held which is now my emergency back-up
3. Built in US Roads -- I use it regularly in my car...do not have a regular car GPS...this one works great including verbal commands (but only in land mode...not in marine mode)
4. Will do weather reporting if you pay for the service...I don't have this
5. Will do depth display and I think it will do fishfinder display if you also get the right transducer to hook up to it...I don't have this

It comes with a base that you can attach to the top of the pedastal. And it is very easy to remove. Base stays on pedatal and GPS gets locked up or in my car every time I leave the boat.

Comes with a seperate "bean bag base" for use on dashboard of car/truck for land use...I use this all the time.

Comes with 12v power cord for cigarette lighter type socket and comes with a power cord that can be permanently wired into a power cable in the pedastal and left on the pedastal permanently...I have done this.

And I ordered mine online for about $200 cheaper than the WM. But I don't remember the company.

I think the size is just about right.

Jim

Here's the pricing for the XM weather service. Click on the PDF to view the packages. I don't know about that, have to think about it some.

This is all so new to me. I'm used to using my paper chart, compass, and weather radio. I can see where it would be easy for me to go overboard on this stuff. Even my wife is in on it. Last night she said, "Don't you want radar?"

Not sure if the XM weather service is worth it to me. Will wait and see where I end up back in the US. But I am too cheap and will probably pass on this.

For the same reason I don't really think I need radar...but it would be pretty cool to have it.

And as for "going overboard"...very easy to do...

VHF/DSC/Remote Mic
B/U Handheld VHF
GPS Chartplotter
B/U Handheld GPS
Wind Instruments
Autopilot
LED lights
Radar
Forward Looking Depth Display
Battery Monitoring System
Electronic Engine Instruments
... the list goes on and on...

It's only money.

Jim

(Ok So I am breaking my own self imposed restriction but it is just taking me too long to meet it, so let it drift a while.)

I am also looking at a multifunction unit and the ones that appear obvious are the RayMarine C series, the C70 or C80.
http://www.raymarine.com/Default.aspx?S ... 2&PAGE=758
I am leaning towards Raymarine because I already have the RayMarine Wheel Pilot and would like to integrate it via Seatalk with the main unit.
My little Sea Eagle sonar started malfunctioning on me so I was contemplating replacement but in the end I just replaced the faulty connection and bought some time. Also have a Hand held GPS MAP 76cs with the itty bitty screen. I have a hand held VHF too but got the Uniden UM525 with an extra Wham set. But really what I want for christmas is a complete all in one system where I can sit at the helm and see it all right there in front of me. One can even operate the autohelm from this unit. The only downside I can foresee is the single point of failure, if it starts to get gremlins in it I lose all navigation ability so I will always have my handhelds for back-up, may even leave the Sea Eagle wired and transom skimmer transducer in place and use a shoot-thru-hull transducer on the new unit.
It may be a mis-print but the C70 & C80 units have substantially different dimensions with the C80 being the more appropriate overall smaller unit but bigger screen size (Go figure) and therefore fits the Mac helm-pod better, the C70 is less expensive but appears bigger by 3" each way according to specs.
There is a thread on it here,
http://www.sailboatowners.com/forums/pv ... 5104746.37
It is a very tempting purchase and I also have the Admirals approval on it. With the optional extras available I could really outfit it! Yup, it costs more $$$ but I can't take those to my grave with me, might as well spend them before someone else does, I am not getting any younger and don't know how many more years I can keep sailing (hoping for 15 more years at least).
Nice to hear someone else is looking at those multifunction units!

Terry. I looked at the C80 yesterday. It's NICE. That's where my original question about size came in because I wondered if it's too big for the helm. They didn't have a C70 out on display. That's interesting that it's total size is bigger.

I've also been thinking about it because I might decide to add radar later. It depends on how much we're going to be on the water at night and in the fog really - it can get really foggy here in the mornings at times. The weather avoidance aspect would be nice too but there are other options for that.

I think really the thing to do is cut out a piece of cardboard or spare plywood the size of the units I'm thinking about and go sailing with it placed on the pedestal to get an idea of how it would fit.

Have you looked at the A60 and A65 units as well? If you aren't contemplating radar the guy at the store said they would be a fine choice too.

Here's my dilemma. I have a budget of no more than 9k for upgrades to the very basic X I'm buying. It needs a bimini, cockpit cushions, lines led aft, maybe a furler but I'm still up in the air on that, radio (I've chosen the UM525 as well), a dual battery system and I'm sure a dozen other things I can't think of at the moment. So I'm really torn as to how much of my budget to allocate to electronics at this point.

I have a Raymarine E80 on my 26X mounts on a short pole that goes in the hole for the mast support for traveling on the center console. No problems with vision, or interference with Ritchie Compass. The nice thing about an E80 it is the only display unit you need because it runs everything you could possible put on a boat as far as Navigation and electronic instruments.

hart wrote:Have you looked at the A60 and A65 units as well? If you aren't contemplating radar the guy at the store said they would be a fine choice too.

I looked at the 'A' series and saw no mention of SeaTalk networking/integration capabilities which the 'C' series does have. This means I can plot a course on the Chartplotter and have it communicate the course to the Autohelm via waypoints and all I have to do is keep watch. Not that I will always do that but it is a nice to have and the 'C' series has other available options too so might as well spend a bit more at the beginning for the available features to add on in the future as budgets permit.
The piece of cardboard idea sounds great, I think I'll try it. One could also mount the RayMarine bracket on a swivel of washers or bearing like the M mast so that you can turn it sideways to get past.
The dimensions in the specs could be a misprint, it would be nice to see the C70 & C80 side by side to determine if there is a size difference as it does not make sense that the bigger display unit has smaller overall dimensions while the pictures on the site show them as identical panel/control layouts.
The 'E' series that RoadSoldier mentions are much pricier and somewhat overkill for the lowly Mac. They have the option of a repeater screen and controls at the nav station on larger boats so that you can control things from multiple stations, we have no Nav station on the Macs, just the helm pod so the 'C' series single station would suffice.
I am sure if you shop around you can get the 'C' series cheaper than the 'MSRP' listing.
My bad, just talking about this gets my blood pumping and excitement up, I will be watching for sale prices, maybe the next boat show will have a deal to offer. Over the long term I will likely get every optional add-on.

There are some nice prices on Ebay right now if you're willing to go that route.

While it looks awesome I think the E series is overkill for me and my budget too. Although you can get TV on it, lol.

I'm pretty sure you can interface your autopilot with the A series if you did like them but no it wouldn't be seatalk. It would be via NMEA - I haven't learned enough to know if you lose features that way or not.

Let me ask you this. If you go with the C80, the Navionics gold charts are what? Like $200 for each set right? How often do you plan to update them?

PS - you know Raymarine has a rebate deal right now right?

I really like my 7" screen. The difference between my previous 4" is amazing. I'll never go back to anything smaller. Of course I like it even better given that I was able to buy it for $599 a couple years ago. Normally units with screens this size go for $1,200+.

I have a Lowrance color 5" screen. Love it. But for me that's the smallest I would go. Duane's 7" looks pretty good .... it kind of depends how much room & money you have.

Just pick a price you want to pay and pay it. You just need pacience. I bought mine on E-Bay for $1400 used and everthing on it works. Also with E-80 you can network it to a laptop down below running Raytech RNS 6.0 which I dont have yet with a simple ethernet cable instead of a $700 connection you would need using a C series.

I love my Humminbird 383c it has served flawlessly. It is a fishfinder, chartplotter, depth gauge, thermometer and voltometer. It also has a computer lead out that I don't use. I like it's narrow profile and simple operation. It has built in maps for the USA but can be upgraded. I used 2 cutting boards for a combination mounting platform and grab handle.

We had a Garmin 178c on ours, and were satisfied with the size. The grab handle helped protect it and get the mainsheet above it. It had an internal antenna that worked even inside the cabin. I bought a power/data cored for a Garmin 172 (no sounder), put a lighter plug on it, and used it to power the 178C inside the cabin for using the anchor alarm at night. There's a nook you can reach just behind the aft dinette seat, about under the head door, where you can mount a shoot-through the hull (called in-hull) transducer. (A through hull transducer requires drilling a hole in the bottom.



In retrospect, I'd consider a handheld GPS with a separate, non-fishfinder depth sounder. Both use less power, and you only have to power one when you don't need the other. This depth sounder has an in-hull transducer: