Boat restoration: updating navigation equipment

[Lalass34]

Hi - I am restoring an SS34 that has been around the world a couple of times, but has been on the hard in the tropics for the last 7years

I am a first time boat owner - and it is quite the project! Could anyone point me towards a modern navigation set-up. I currently have:

• Codan 9103 automatic antenna tuner (and multiple antenna)
• Codan 9320 marine transceiver
• An AIS receiver
• Broken Vespermarine ais watch mate screen
• Garmin GPS 128i
• Furuno radar up the mast
• Broken Furuno chartplotter

I am most comfortable navigating on my phone/ipad for now, and would ideally connect the AIS system to that. I am still in my 20s and on quite a budget so any advice is much appreciated

Thanks!

 

[edsailing]

Have you looked at OpenCPN? It's free and one of the best navigation systems around. Easy to integrate with other hardware and can run on computer, tablet and phone (not macs and iPhones I believe).

Good luck

 

[Skylark]

Hi @Lalass34 and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new purchase.

You've not said where the boat is currently located nor talked about your near-term sailing ambitions. Both of these will likely impact meaningful recommendations.

As you're on a budget keep in mind that pretty much anything beyond a compass and a depth log is a luxury.

 

[steveeasy]

Shame the watch mate is damaged. Useful to have and easy to use. See if they can fix the screen.
Steveeasy

 

[KeelsonGraham]

If your budget is really tight, then an iPad (SIM card version) or iPhone as a chart plotter is probably all you need. The Navionics subscription is massively good value for money.

For your AIS receiver a Standard Horizon VHF radio for about £250 will give you AIS functionality and a rudimentary graphical display.

After 7 years on the hard you’ll need to devote most of your budget to more important things like sea cocks, standing and running rigging, and the engine.

PM me if you’d like an anchor and chain for free.

 

[Refueler]

I'm going to get flak for this .... but because you have faulty AIS watch mate and Chart plotter .... I would ditch those and get a Plotter with inbuilt AIS transceiver ... Onwa ... Matsutec ... XINUO are 3 brands that spring to mind ...

They come with free charts for area you request and you can download other areas free if you venture further. They are also Navionics or CMap compatible if you feel you need to have updated maps.

The GPS / AIS data is easily sent out via NMEA to a WiFi enabled plexor such as the WiFi4NMEA unit ....you can add in depth / speed etc .. if they can send out NMEA .. all gets sorted by this unit >

NMEA4WIFI - 4 x INPUT NMEA 0183 WIFI MULTIPLEXER WITH SEATALK1 INPUT | eBay

No need to run wires around the boat ...

 

[DoubleEnder]

Great boats. Sort the rig, sails, motor, loo, galley, upholstery. Sea cocks. Bilge pumps. Running rigging. These are all vital. Maybe the loo is optional……

Fit a compass and log. Modern VHF has GPS. Buy a tablet with Navionics and a spare.
All the rest can wait.

 

[Tranona]

Hi - I am restoring an SS34 that has been around the world a couple of times, but has been on the hard in the tropics for the last 7years

I am a first time boat owner - and it is quite the project! Could anyone point me towards a modern navigation set-up. I currently have:

• Codan 9103 automatic antenna tuner (and multiple antenna)
• Codan 9320 marine transceiver
• An AIS receiver
• Broken Vespermarine ais watch mate screen
• Garmin GPS 128i
• Furuno radar up the mast
• Broken Furuno chartplotter

I am most comfortable navigating on my phone/ipad for now, and would ideally connect the AIS system to that. I am still in my 20s and on quite a budget so any advice is much appreciated

Thanks!

There is not a simple answer. You do not say where you will be sailing or where the boat is located. In principle i agree with the other comments. A boat like that left ashore in the tropics for 7 years will require a huge amount of work to get seaworthy, so concentrate on that then see what money you have left for electronic nav gear. I expect you will have to ditch most of what is there already. I doubt the VHF is a modern DSC with built in GPS and the AIS receiver is unlikely to output wifi to a tablet. There are 2 low cost ways of getting chart plotting capability with an AIS transceiver. The first is as suggested in post#6 and the second is tablet based using a transceiver from here quark-elec.com

 

[Sandy]

It might be worth dropping an email to WatchMate, I know they have been taken over by Garmin, they have given me excellent service with older kit.

 

[Minerva]

You could easily drop >£10k upgrading the nav equipment if you get carried away!

My usual advice is; spend as little as your physically can to make her rudimentary seaworthy. Then sail her a season making note of what would be nice to upgrade / desirables / essentials. Then priorities the budget from there.

No point dropping all the budget on a fancy chart plotter of the engine is goosed and you need new sails but now can't afford them!