Quote:
Originally Posted by SaulTeaDog
To my knowledge, B&G is very sailing oriented and since I cannot control the raymarine autopilot with the B&G Zeus2 MFD (checked with both Raymarine and Navionics) I need the B&G autopilot which can control the linear drive Type 1 and hence have control from the MFD. This should enable me to see on screen suggestions for tacks to take to get from point A to point B taking into consideration local tidal currents, true wind direction and speed and other performance parameters related to my particular boat. If you know differently, fill me in.
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I am a certified Raymarine Installer and
Service Provider (and most familiar with this brand of
marine electronics), but I am perfectly happy to sell and install any brand a customer desires.
This discussion reminds me of a few years back when my son was telling me why his new (and very expensive)
phone was so great.
He started rhyming off all of the "really cool new things" it could do.
With each item, I said, "Yep, been doin' that on this 4 year old
phone since I got it."
B&G does a great job
marketing to the
racing sailor.
However, I don't know if they do anything significantly new and unique compared to others.
For the particular functions you queried, Raymarine MFDs operating Lighthouse 17 firmware include start line and layline functions, which take into account the vessel polars, wind conditions, vessel speed, leeway,
current drift, etc.
The user can easily set up a "Racing" display page on the MFD, including pretty much all the same data.
In fact, when people ask me which brand they should choose, here is my response...
All brands do basically the same thing.
I recommend choosing one brand and sticking with it for maximum compatibility and minimum finger-pointing when something goes wrong.
In my opinion, Raymarine has better
core technology (especially autopilot and thermal imaging) than others.
Beyond that, it's really a personal "style preference" and "value for money" decision.
"Which brand appeals to you most?"
For your particular situation, by switching from Raymarine ACU 200, you are giving up a 9 axis gyro for a 2 axis
fluxgate compass, which is not so great if optimum autopilot performance is important.