Helia 44: Instruments

[Cotemar]

Helia 44 instruments

[Nasa]

Gee don't those Garmin Instruments and Chartplotters look nice!!! All very well if you are in Europe or America. A word of warning if you are outside those areas.

The Garmin Chartplotters are proprietary in that they can only use the Garmin Bluechart g3 Vision charts. The World charts they apparently come with are minimal on detail. I chose the option of having a GPSMap 5012 at the helm station with the intention of having a laptop at the Nav table so that I could plan passages from the comfort of the salon then upload to the Chartplotter. With the Garmin this is not possible as the only software compatible with the Garmin is their own software called Homeport. To utilise home port I have to remove the charts SD card from the 5012 and insert into the computer so Homeport can use it for passage planning. Then take the chip out and reinsert into the 5012 to access the charts. Can you imagine walking around a boat in rough seas with your SD card with $500 in charts on it in your hot little hand. Opps there it goes onto a wet deck or god forbid overboard.

Next; as the Garmin NMEA 2000 network will not communicate with your laptop you can't upload you plan to your chart plotter!

Next; you can't download weather and overlay on you chart plotter as Garmin weather is proprietary and has to be downloaded via a Garmin subscription using a Garmin satellite antenna. Garmin weather does not cover Australia or SE Asia, Sth Pacific.

On the plus side Garmin state they will have a WiFi router for your vessel that will allow you laptop (Mac) or Ipad to communicate with your Garmin network. The Garmin rep states release within the next 6 months.

He couldn't answer the weather question.

My issue. Having to buy another navigation system for the laptop that is NOT compatible with Garmin for planning enabling weather download and planning that will then have to ......yada yada yada!!! It goes on. As my Helia is in the build process now I am considering cancelling the Garmin install and getting it back to Australia and putting in a customized navigation system.

Any suggestions?

[Cotemar]

Nasa,

FP uses www.pochon.com to install all it electronics. FP used to only use Furuno and that is whats on most FP upto the 2011. If you ask for Furuno they would not give you a hard time since Pochon still installs lots of Furuno systems.

Stick to your guns and get what will work for you, not some boat show.

[downunder]

I would cancell the Garmin install and have the basis of the system you want installed by a qualified installer in France if you were taking delivery in France or doing it all in Aust if taking delivery there.

I agree i would want my system to be able to talk to my laptop just as the Furuno systems do.

Surely FP does not only do just Garmin installs???

[Sander]

FP only Offer the Garmin packages. And not cheap.

If you want other brands it has to be a retrofit.

[dochueb]

The Helia at boat show">Annapolis boat show is being retrofitted with Raymarine by broker (Bay Yacht Agency). I think this is a pretty standard process. We're getting very close to ordering our 3 cabin Helia. It will also get Raymarine Nav...

DH

[Nasa]

In response to this post I have in fact cancelled the Garmin install and have an after market Raymarine system going in. FP will have a Garmin GPSMap 5012 in the helmstation for the Paris and Dusseldorf Boat Shows that will be removed at the conclusion of Dusseldorf. Further research has elicited a number of positive responses from users of the Garmin Electronics. All responders were based in the US though. I never intended to bag the Garmin electronics. I just don't believe they were appropriate for my applications in Northern Aust. and the Sth Pacific.