Minimum Nav station equipment suggetions

[anglooff]

I am in the process of a refit and will modernise the very basic layout that now exists. As it will be specifically designed and constructed from scratch My question is " If you could design it what would you include as "must have" and what would be optional."? I am a paper navigator from way back, but use and like ditigal charts and GPS.

Some nav stations look as if they could successfully launch a space shuttle. The existing electronics are really basic... so simple, useful and effective is the aim.

Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated as this is the one area I am a complete novice.

Alan

[Sandero]

Mine looks like a the space shuttle. But I like to mess about with joinery so I made it a winter project. I am not finished yet!

I like to have all the switches on the distriubtition panel handy. In addition to a MFD which can be a plotter, AIS and Radar, Water tank gauges, and VHF radio. A permanent pencil pen divider holder

After than you can add:

Speed log display
Wind data display
compass - (but most will display on the MFD)
interverter remote switch
12v cig plugs
battery monitor such as Link
clock
stereo
SSB

jef
sv shiva

[Paul L]

GPS, Depth Sounder, VHF. The rest is nice to haves.

Paul L

[NoTies]

A storage rack for the sextant???

[MysticGringo]

I would say you could get away with only a laptop at the nav station. All the other stuff should be in the cockpit.

My ideal arrangement would be to have seperate guages in the cockpit (some at the helm, and some on bulkhead for everyone in the cockpit to see) and repeat them all to a multi-function display at the nav station. VHF I might do the opposite... main unit at nav-station, and remote at helm.

[anglooff]

Originally Posted by defjef

Mine looks like a the space shuttle. But I like to mess about with joinery so I made it a winter project. I am not finished yet!

I like to have all the switches on the distriubtition panel handy. In addition to a MFD which can be a plotter, AIS and Radar, Water tank gauges, and VHF radio. A permanent pencil pen divider holder

After than you can add:

Speed log display
Wind data display
compass - (but most will display on the MFD)
interverter remote switch
12v cig plugs
battery monitor such as Link
clock
stereo
SSB

jef
sv shiva

As I mentioned in my initial thread i have never created a nav station, although like you i have some skill at woodwork and design.

Loon Song externally is excellent... down below not so.... Very basic and simple. And what electronics are quite spread apart.

IE Fuse box, VHF and SSb two metres apart. The engine and battery gauges another two metres apart in or around the engine compartments. GPS and auto pilot at the helm etc.

I will have a laptop with a 19-20" flat screen monitor.

Firstly I would love to see a photo of your NAV station, if that wouldn't inconvenience you.....

But Loon Song is a steel boat in excellent condition and its the first I have had. Here in Venezuela I am concerned that the quality of electricians are not so good and I am very unlikely to find one with marine expertise. Therefore the thought that a mistaken grounding or lack thereof could seriously effect or initiate electrolysis problems makes me cautious.

I can see the benefit of creating back up repeaters and one or more lighter/dc outlets. I don't have and am unlikely to have radar... Also some of your items/initials such as MDF and AIS would you kindly elaborate...I really was a paper man.

Many thanks, to you all for your impute....Do any of you have a suggestion or name of a multi unit repeating console which I could buy which would provide an easy option to install and be useful, without aggravating my electronic paranoia

Alan

[Sandero]

Here's a shot showing most of it... NEMA repeaters are very handy in the cockpit, BTW.

If you need more detailed info about NEMA wiring which you can do... contact Brookhouse.

jef
sv shiva

[Sandero]

Alan,

Take a look at the amount of wiring I did... and I am not an electrician. It may not be the neatest, but I was working with a lot of exisiting wires. It's very hard to keep order with hundreds of wires in such a small space.

You can do it... Go for it!

jef
sv shiva

[Weyalan]

We are refitting our boat, and that includes a complete replacement of all the instruments. This is a problematic exercise for us, particularly because our budget is small and we can't afford to buy all the toys in one hit, and have to buy each one as money allows, slowly building up the instruments as we can afford it. This makes designing the instrument layout difficult.

What we have done is to make a simple cheap panel; 3/8" marine ply, timber preserved and varnished, and put each instrument into it as we get them. We are not worrying too much about the layout, because when we get all the instrumetns we want, we will redesign the layour and make a new panel that will be a bit more fancy and better finished.

We currently have switch panel (which includes battery voltage and current draw), chart-plotter, CD player and VHF. We will eventually add fuel gauges, water gauges, battery monitor and either HF of sat-phone.

I would not put speed, depth or wind information at the nav station (unless I had money to burn), I prefer to have those on deck & visible from the steering position. I have speed, depth, wind speed, wind direction and GPS repeater on deck (I would like to have the plotter display on deck too, but with our current lack of dodger and the fact that peole have light fingers, I decided against).

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by NoTies

A storage rack for the sextant???

Lynn & Larry Pardey I think just recently picked up a VHF radio, but other than that, they had a sextant, hand compass, and some dividers.

For mine I've got:
- parallel bars.
- hand compass.
- pencil.
- pen & notebook.
- vhf.
- short wave /ssb handled reciever (got it used for $20).
- charts.
- as a gift, I got this little thing that shows what the different light patterns mean on a sliding plastic thing; it's neat.

All that other crap (chart plotter, etc) is West Marine making money off of you.

[Sandero]

Rebel,

Yes and no to the commercialism. I studied navigation and meterology including celestial. On the other hand I do like "gadgets" and my boat is in a sense one bog very complex gadget. I think the Pardy's had no auxillary either.

If my instrument gadgets failed I can navigate "old style". I agree that some of this stuff is pricey and maybe even in ripoff territory. But if you can afford it and find some "pleasure" in it... why not?

To each his own...

Fair winds and following seas mate.

jef
sv shiva

[rebel heart]

Oh by all means, if you like gadgets, get them. I'll probably put a flat panel TV on the boat with a tricked out swing arm mount because we like watching movies at night. Someone else might find that rediculous and silly, but it makes me happy.

There's just a lot of deep pocket sailors out there who tend to think everyone has the money for SSB / chart plotters / radar, so I try to chime in and be a voice of "you don't need all that fancy shmancy gear".

[Sandero]

I have an SSB... I set up the rig when I sailed offshore 20 times and thought it a safety feature. It was. I don't use it now... but I plan to again. You never know.

jef
sv shiva

Funny, everybody jumps in to offer advice, but NOBODY asked what kind of sailing you intend to do.

Your original question was about the MINIMUM needed. I think Rebel about covered that. Everything else should come from "surplus" boat bucks.

Bill

[rebel heart]

Yeah I just re-read that "mimimum" part. Anything that runs on electricity should be considered "non essential". I make two exceptions:

- VHF. You don't really need one, but it's nice to at least hear what others are talking about. In the states you can pick up weather broadcasts too, which is nice.
- GPS. Sextant knowledge is paramount, and I'd be willing to bet solid cash that 3/4 of people leaving site of land these don't have one onboard or know how to use one. That being said, taking a position on a moving boat is difficult and much more time consuming than just waiting for the satelite bars on your GPS to lock on. I have a sextant, backed up with two handheld GPS recievers. I get my lat/lon position off of them, and then put that on my chart with a pencil. Get cheap ones; anything over $200 isn't worth it in my book.