Just Askin ...

[Cruising Moxy]

All things considered...if you were refitting 12 year old electonics(plotters, radar, sounders...) money was no object(it really is) you're looking for function and reliability for world cruising within 2-3 years....which brand would rise to the top n why.
We have aged Raymarine now. It still works but upgrades are out. So...what's a boater to do.

[svpattyd]

Simrad. Nse 8. All attachments/moduals.

[funjohnson]

We did just that and picked Raymarine's system. I went with the C95 display, a10 autopilot with linear drive, and 418d radar. I was all ready to get a Simard system for their broadband radar, but after taking to their own tech, even he suggested I go with their non-broadband (pulse) radar system. This was based in seeing weather. He said in the 4g system cannot detect rain all that well.

This pushed me towards the cheaper option of Raymarine. Also, I really like being able to control my system from the nav station using an Android tablet.... I'm a tech geek!

[Adelie]

Furuno
Built for use and abuse by fisherman. World-wide support.

Here's someone else with that opinion: Systems.
See last paragraph.

[colemj]

Why stick with just a single company? N2K makes networking compliant gear from different manufacturers a piece of cake. Choose individual pieces of gear that are the best fit for your needs without regard to who makes them. If a company doesn't fully support N2K without bastardizing it, forget that company.

If you would like a Simrad autopilot to work with Furuno radar/chartplotter and Raymarine mfd (i70) instruments all fed from Maretron and Airmar sensors and receivers, then no problem. Plug them in and go.

I don't think any single brand has the best gear in everything, and am not willing to compromise just to stay with one company.

Mark

[Dockhead]

I've just been through this exercise (choosing, not buying yet unfortunately).

I presently have Raymarine RL80CRC+, RL70, Pathfinder radar, etc. I had Garmin on the previous boat. I actually like the Ray kit very much -- I like the interface, I like the rugged military hardware feel of it. I would probably keep it for a while longer, except that the radar doesn't work very well, it doesn't take large area charts (so very expensive to buy charts for long range trips), and it won't do AIS.

I looked at the new Ray stuff and liked it. But I liked the Simrad/B&G stuff better. What really did it for me is the broadband radar (see various tests). So I'll be buying the B&G Zeus system (like Simrad NSE but made specially for sailing) with 4G radar. As a bonus, the Simrad autopilot (nee Robertson) seems to be about the best you can buy by general consensus.

[rebel heart]

I'm cheap and went with:

- standard horizon vhf with an ais receiver built in
- garmin 76 gps, nmea'd to the above standard horizon
- paper charts / pencil / triangles

[funjohnson]

I bought the AC12 autopilot before I bought the Raymarine stuff... I was extremely dissapointed in the literal overall feel of the AC12. Just holding the unit, it felt cheap. Now, based on reviews, they are considered the best, but I don't know if they changed much from the Robinson days. I'm sure they put their money into quality guts, but compared to the heavy duty feel of the Raymarine, I was disappointed. I know, it's a lame reason, but it was a thought when both were sitting in front of me.

[Cruising Moxy]

Thanks all. No real consensus but enough to work with. I'm still in the shopping stage so no harm done yet.
Like buying a boat...do it right the first time.

[craigb]

Hi I agree , I am in the process of completing a new build hybrid 38 foot catamaran. Have you found the Maretron sensors display on i70 MFD from Raymarine?

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by colemj

Why stick with just a single company? N2K makes networking compliant gear from different manufacturers a piece of cake. Choose individual pieces of gear that are the best fit for your needs without regard to who makes them. If a company doesn't fully support N2K without bastardizing it, forget that company.

If you would like a Simrad autopilot to work with Furuno radar/chartplotter and Raymarine mfd (i70) instruments all fed from Maretron and Airmar sensors and receivers, then no problem. Plug them in and go.

I don't think any single brand has the best gear in everything, and am not willing to compromise just to stay with one company.

Mark

Well that's a nice theory. I have been caught before with electronic systems that are dependent on components from other suppliers. When the XYZ supplier can't diagnose the problem with his component, he just shrugs his shoulders, packs up his tools and goes home blaming the other component supplied by ABC who blames either XYZ or someone else. I have been on the merry-go-around before and everyone has an excuse why it's not their problem. It's the poor customer who is left with the problem and usually doesn't have the technical expertise to communicate effectively with any of the technical guys. So my new boat has come with everything by the one supplier, in my case Simrad but it could have been Furuno if the Australian dealers had been more customer orientated.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

Well that's a nice theory.

It is not a theory - we are practicing it daily. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but so far Maretron, Airmar, Actisense, Furuno and Simrad have been very happy to help me with any questions and issues without blaming the others or passing the buck. In fact, all of them seem to expect to be operating in mixed systems.

For example, we were having GPS/chartplotter issues and Furuno (plotter) never blinked an eye about the Maretron GPS and worked through troubleshooting the whole system with me (problem was actually unrelated to any system - we were in a marina underneath a military radio tower and every time they transmitted, it knocked out everyone's GPS).

Similarly, Actisense didn't blink an eye about helping me with an issue interfacing with the Furuno plotter and the AIS and didn't pass the blame to Furuno.

And Simrad told me they had no qualms about me using a Maretron compass and Raymarine drive with their autopilot computer.

In my experience, all the companies will help diagnose issues down to particular components regardless of origin, but it will be up to the individual companies of those components to repair them, of course.

It is an individual decision, but I'm not willing to go second-rate with parts of my systems just to have a single brand.

Mark