Upgrading an ex charter boat.

[chuckr]

yes we are totally intregrated and we like raymarine -- some like it some don't

as for our solar we have 3 135watt panels and have room for one more and will add that probably next year if we can find one here in tunisia -- we took a hard look at wind and the cost and what you get for the cost and decided that the cost -- then we looked at diesel cost and we have a 150 amp alternator on board on the engine - and you can buy a lot of diesel for what the wind gen would produce especially with solar panels -- only time we really wished we had wind was in the san blas islands of panama when we had 21 stright days of clouds and no sunshine but a lot of wind --

if in the med look us up we will be sailing italy croatia and albania this year and will winter over again in tunisia

[Captain Ludd]

Thanks Chuck, good answer

[Neptune's Gear]

If you are going to live on the boat, I'd go the PC/Laptop route.
Way more flexible (all nav instruments, + Email, Office, Photo, Movie, Sound etc etc) and cheaper to replace.
Connections are not hard - you can use a multi port serial adapter for NMEA 0183, and talk to/from almost anything. You can have 3G or 4G radar overlays, Weather Overlays, and routing programs. Take a look at open CPN - it does all this for free, on a laptop you are likely to have onboard anyway. Use the money saved for a better AP, instrument setup, Solar Panels, or a windgen. No other vendor is likely to tell you that!
I'd be happy to help with the system if you need it.
Cheers
Matt

[chuckr]

we do run open cpn on a laptop but only as our backup -- one of the things i worry about with a pc is the wx conditions on deck and getting it wet -- some may not worry as much about insturments but i really like to see mine without going below

and night sails witht the radar running full time on the radar screen we find it kinda imperative to see what is out there

but each to his own

[savoir]

All charter boats are short on locker space and at the same time long on cabins. Think about turning one of the aft cabins into a locker room/sail bin.

[Lepke]

A former charter boat is just another used boat. Look it over carefully and even if you know what you are doing, get it surveyed. You'll need it for insurance anyway. For electronics, it depends on your budget. Everything is going electronic, I would suggest something that ties everything together like a charting program. To get started you might try Open CPN. A free open source program that runs on pc, mac, Linux and others. (Don't forget to donate). USA charts and some others are free for the downloading. A laptop, BU-353 from Amazon, and some downloaded software and charts and you're able to do some basic navigation. I have Maxsea but have been using Open CPN more. I originally got it for backup. It's nice to tie in radar, soundings and your autopilot into one program. You can find used electronics if you are careful. When you start to remodel remember you're on a boat, not a house. You may need to do repairs in the bilge or below the shower. Design things so you can work on them.
Lepke

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Lepke

A former charter boat is just another used boat.

That's my attitude. Are buying on condition now, and whilst past use (or non use!) is a factor in that it is only a part. The big pro is that have a good headstart on what needs a careful look at - even before seeing a specific boat plus know in advance what is likely to need replacing and installing.........and that gets factored into what price the boat is worth to you.

Of course if wanting a boat that is immaculate then likely ex - charter not the way to go......but then low use does not guarantee condition.