Electronics

[Thesilversurfer]

I purchased a 2000 Beneteau 36cc...the boat has a raymarine axion display and wind indicator along with digital radar...the autopilot and other instruments are older original equipment raymarine (st60?).....can these be simply upgraded with the newer raymarine gear? Will the older equipment talk to the new system? Which is recommended for the nav station? Another axion display - some say use an iPad and app?

[GreenWave]

How do you plan to use your boat- what type of sailing? Unless you are crossing oceans or doing long voyages I would probably not put a second MFD at the Nav if you have one in the cockpit. The Raymarine website gives a complete compatibility chart/

[Brian.D]

You are going to be dealing with two different communication protocols. The new state of the art equipment uses NMEA2000 protocol. The older equipment like what you currently have uses NMEA0183 protocol. The two are not compatible with each other. However, since your boat is a year 2000 model, you might be lucky to have NMEA2000 already.

If you upgrade piece meal then you will need converter to allow the different systems to talk to each other. Of course, you can do a complete upgrade and sell the older gear. If you already have NMEA2000 then you should be good to go with upgrading. Just make sure the pieces are compatible.

Now many will probably tell you to upgrade to the new, better, faster equipment. My thought is if the gear you have is still working, then use that and get a better understand of what each part does. Once you feel comfortable you can upgrade.

JMHO

[Mystic38]

There is no significant advantage in performance or operation in upgrading the ST60's but you can.

The newer units operate off seatalkNG which if i read you correctly you already have running from the Axiom to the Wind instrument. The autopilot however (the main unit, not the control head) will need Seatalk.. which is most easily done with the Seatalk to SeatalkNG converter..about $100.. If you can see speed & depth info on the Axiom then this is already in your system

All in all, its not a particularly challenging project..just read up on SeatalkNG and be prepared to buy a bunch of bits.. lol

Personally i have chartplotters at both helm and nav station ..its cohesive and dedicated, but you can run an ipad over wifi if that is your thing ..its not a cheaper solution, and personally i would say that the more adventurous your cruising plans, the more it would make sense to have the dedicated marine system..

Originally Posted by Thesilversurfer

I purchased a 2000 Beneteau 36cc...the boat has a raymarine axion display and wind indicator along with digital radar...the autopilot and other instruments are older original equipment raymarine (st60?).....can these be simply upgraded with the newer raymarine gear? Will the older equipment talk to the new system? Which is recommended for the nav station? Another axion display - some say use an iPad and app?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Brian.D

You are going to be dealing with two different communication protocols. The new state of the art equipment uses NMEA2000 protocol. The older equipment like what you currently have uses NMEA0183 protocol. The two are not compatible with each other. However, since your boat is a year 2000 model, you might be lucky to have NMEA2000 already.

If you upgrade piece meal then you will need converter to allow the different systems to talk to each other. Of course, you can do a complete upgrade and sell the older gear. If you already have NMEA2000 then you should be good to go with upgrading. Just make sure the pieces are compatible.

Now many will probably tell you to upgrade to the new, better, faster equipment. My thought is if the gear you have is still working, then use that and get a better understand of what each part does. Once you feel comfortable you can upgrade.

JMHO

As Mystic refers to right after your post, its not a big issue with the ST series (SeaTalk 1/NMEA 0183) and newer stuff (SeatalkNG/NMEA 2000).

RayMarine makes a converter block that plugs right into a SeaTalk NG network and has ports for several SeaTalk 1 devices.

I installed two new Axiom units on a friend's boat last year. He kept the older instruments at the helm. Added one Axiom at the helm and one at nav station. All went together pretty slick.

[Thesilversurfer]

Thank you for your guidance everyone...looking forward to a great Summer!