Best location for new GPS?

[Irish Rover]

I'm going to Greece next week to do some preparation with my new [to me] boat and I need some advice. It's my first time having a boat with a fly bridge and my first time having a wifi capable chart plotter - I got a good bargain on a Garmin820xs and I had had a GPSMap750S on my previous boat and was really happy with it. I was initially planning to install the new unit on the fly bridge but I'm now thinking I should install it in the saloon cockpit and use my Android tablet with Garmin Helm on the fly. Space on the fly cockpit is limited and I'll also need to use an extension cable from the transom mount transducer to get that far. I'm a novice and I may well be spouting nonsense so if anyone has any words of wisdom or advice to offer I'll be very grateful.

 

[Hadenough]

I'm going to Greece next week to do some preparation with my new [to me] boat and I need some advice. It's my first time having a boat with a fly bridge and my first time having a wifi capable chart plotter - I got a good bargain on a Garmin820xs and I had had a GPSMap750S on my previous boat and was really happy with it. I was initially planning to install the new unit on the fly bridge but I'm now thinking I should install it in the saloon cockpit and use my Android tablet with Garmin Helm on the fly. Space on the fly cockpit is limited and I'll also need to use an extension cable from the transom mount transducer to get that far. I'm a novice and I may well be spouting nonsense so if anyone has any words of wisdom or advice to offer I'll be very grateful.

I installed mine (Garmin too) the other way round, main plotter at the outer helm talking wirelessly to my Ipad in the protected wheelhouse. Ipad is easier to read indoors too. All of my other instruments speak to the plotter via the nmea backbone. The anologue engine data is converted via an Actisense gizmo and is also viewable on the external plotter.

 

[jfm]

Yup I agree that the garmin screen will be much more sunlight viewable so put that outside.

As for transducer, a thru hull would be nicer than transom mount but if you stick with transom then yes you will need whatever length of cable you need to get from there to plotter. An alternative is a black box sounder like gsd24 - this requires a short cable from transducer to black box, then Ethernet cat 5 cable from black box to either (a) plotter or (b) any other piece of Ethernet connected hardware.

 

[Irish Rover]

Yup I agree that the garmin screen will be much more sunlight viewable so put that outside.

As for transducer, a thru hull would be nicer than transom mount but if you stick with transom then yes you will need whatever length of cable you need to get from there to plotter. An alternative is a black box sounder like gsd24 - this requires a short cable from transducer to black box, then Ethernet cat 5 cable from black box to either (a) plotter or (b) any other piece of Ethernet connected hardware.

Thanks. GSD cost is a bit rich for me @ £500 approx. The transom mount downview t/d came included with the unit and is enough for me. I'm a semi serious fisher at best and my summer fishing will just be trolling while cruising and winter fishing will be mainly trolling for sea bass in areas I'm already familiar with.

 

[MapisM]

The transom mount downview t/d came included with the unit and is enough for me.

I'm just guessing from your avatar, does your boat have inboard (either on shafts or saildrive) engines?
If so, beware: transom transducer are bound to work awfully, or even not at all, in any post-propeller water flow.
They are only really acceptable with outdrives or outboards, where they can be installed forward of the prop(s).

 

[Irish Rover]

I'm just guessing from your avatar, does your boat have inboard (either on shafts or saildrive) engines?
If so, beware: transom transducer are bound to work awfully, or even not at all, in any post-propeller water flow.
They are only really acceptable with outdrives or outboards, where they can be installed forward of the prop(s).

Thanks. You’re right I have twin props and I was aware the t/d performance will be seriously degraded when underway. I’m going to see how I get on and if necessary I’ll look at doing something different next lift out.

 

[vas]

gone through a range or Garmin plotters one of them had wifi (751)
So I did what you planned, thinking as well that it's a good idea. Well, it was a v.bad idea (as also previous posters note...)
mobile, tablet, ipad under the med sun without a bimini was simply a joke. Further, some of them, were dimming or blanking the display and some of the devices had some issues reconnecting, so a constant struggle to keep it going.
Bearing in mind that you'll mostly helm from the top, just stick it there!
At some point you'll probably do what I did, buy another matching plotter and have one on each helm, so midday slow a/p moving from one isle to the next one with everyone sleeping, I just make my coffee and read a book on the lower helm able to watch everything. Rest of the time and with company, up on the f/b...


cheers

V.

 

[Momac]

I have flybridge and have the MFD at the upper helm.

I drive the boat from the upper helm most of the time - only retreating to the lower helm when absolutely necessary.
I use a tablet as a repeater at the lower helm . The tablet screen is not daylight viewable, nor is it waterproof. But it is okay as long as the sun is not on the screen.

I have used some double sided self adhesive velcro to fit the tablet to the dashboard - which is cheap but also far more successful than the suction mount shown in the picture.
If money was no object I would have a MFD at both helms .

 

[5teve]

Re the transom mount transducer these can be used as a shoot through transducer (even though they are not designed to be) do a search for transom mount used as shoot thru on Google and then see if you can make it work. Saves holes and possibly extension cables... Apparently they work very well if mounted right

Steve

 

[Irish Rover]

Thanks to everyone for the input. Back to plan A. I'll locate it outside on the fly bridge. I'm not so sure about the transducer - I'll have a look at the options when I visit the boat next week.

 

[benchmark]

I'm just guessing from your avatar, does your boat have inboard (either on shafts or saildrive) engines?
If so, beware: transom transducer are bound to work awfully, or even not at all, in any post-propeller water flow.
They are only really acceptable with outdrives or outboards, where they can be installed forward of the prop(s).

Not true, i have not just one but two transom transducers on my boat which is inboard and straight shaft .

 

[MapisM]

Not true, i have not just one but two transom transducers on my boat which is inboard and straight shaft.

Good for you. Proves that any rule has its exceptions, I reckon. :encouragement:
Just look at Raymarine recommendations for transom transducers.
And that's just the first example which I found with a quick search, but I'm sure to have seen similar instructions in the manuals of several other brands.

 

[Irish Rover]

My Garmin instructions say more or less the same thing but as I said in an earlier post the sonar performance won't be critical for me so I'm going to chance it.