Electronics Upgrade

[Dino]

My new (to me) boat came with all the original electronics. A Raymarine C80 chart plotter, a Furuno 1721 Mk2 radar, an ST7000 autopilot, Type 100 Course Computer, ST30 Speed (not working) and i40 Depth. It also has a Raymarine i70 display but I’m not really sure why.

Im looking to do some updating to the systems as my previous boat had more modern equipment
I’m based on inland lakes but i do a few weeks cruising at sea every second summer.
I’m planning the following…
Replace the ST30 Speed with a more modern looking i40.
Move the i70 to a new location between the two i40’s.
Add a basic AIS Transponder
Add a Raymarine Axiom 9 MFD.
I’m going to keep the ST7000 autopilot and run it standalone as it won’t talk to the new Axiom.

I’d like to update the radar but it’s a bit pricey at €2k+ for something I might use once in a blue moon.
I’m tempted to either keep the old Furuno or another option is to keep the C80 and add a secondhand RD218 radar.
Would the RD218 linked to the C80 be much better than the old Furuno?

 

[jrudge]

The issue you have is how much is the boat worth and what do you want to spend. It is easy to get carried away - and the boat goes no faster !

I am surprised the auto pilot will not would the an Axiom MFD. I know nothing of the axiom but most autopilots will work ( as in follow a course set on the plotter) but will not hold other conversations such are start / stop tracking etc.

The C80 is a small screen so adding radar may work but depending on your age you may not be able to read it.

I don't know where in the world you are. I am in the med and the only time I use radar is to check it is working. I recently replaced the scanner as it failed but I am not really sure why I bothered!

 

[Mr Googler]

The issue you have is how much is the boat worth and what do you want to spend. It is easy to get carried away - and the boat goes no faster !

I am surprised the auto pilot will not would the an Axiom MFD. I know nothing of the axiom but most autopilots will work ( as in follow a course set on the plotter) but will not hold other conversations such are start / stop tracking etc.

The C80 is a small screen so adding radar may work but depending on your age you may not be able to read it.

I don't know where in the world you are. I am in the med and the only time I use radar is to check it is working. I recently replaced the scanner as it failed but I am not really sure why I bothered!

Axiom 9 is n2k only…….type 100 Course Computer is 0183. One of these will solve it

Actisense NMEA 0183 to NMEA 2000 Gateway - ISO NGW-1

What functions it’ll support I don’t know. Raymarine forum might cover it

 

[Dino]

Thanks folks, it seems that the ST7000 with Type 100 course computer will work through an NMEA 0183 to N2000 gateway. It seems it’s best to avoid using the Seatalk to SeatalkNG converter for the Type 100.
The main reason for not buying the modern quantum unit is the price and how often it’s used. If I could pick up an old RD218 in working order and add it to the C80, I could use it for radar only. In fact,I might not need to bother with the Axiom at all.
I’m based in Ireland but I bought the boat in Mallorca and brought it to Barcelona to get it trucked home. I was glad of the old Furuno when we crossed the Med as a bank of fog was sitting 50nm south of Barcelona and there was 3 large cargo ships nearby. The Furuno allowed us to track the shipping and avoid them.

 

[markc]

I have an older Raymarine Autopilot, I think same as yours.I installed Axiom and the Raymarine converter and it works well together. The only limitation is that when tracking a route on autopilot you need to press a button when reaching a waypoint to confirm it to follow the new waypoint.

 

[harvey38]

I'm pretty sure your ST7000 wont work with the Axiom? I've got an ST6000 that I run through an e9 and e16 that are linked together.

 

[Obi]

I never upgrade working items on a new purchase until I know it all better. There might be reasons that the system was put in the way it was. There might be other much more expensive items to address elsewhere in the boat that you do not yet know about.

My first yacht, I put in a slightly complex but very flexible and capable battery/charging set up - I was led this way by a marine engineer. When I sold it the new owner did not understand it, despite excellent documentation (user guides/design/overview/troubleshooting) and we sat down twice for a few hours to go over it all.

What he should have done is figured it out, instead he ripped it out and made it a very basic set up instead. I had wind/solar/victron/alternator/shore into 5 batteries, three inverters and could run power from a variety of sources to a variety of circuits ensuring that there was almost always going to be power available regardless of failures. I cannot remember all the detail and benefits now, but it served me well and cost a lot to design and put together.

A friend recently bought a 1978 C3 Corvette. I advised him to stop spending on chrome and cosmetics and to wait and see what the car presented in terms of mechanical and structural issues. His scary "Vanessa Feltz-alike" wife was already fuming that he had upped his total budget to £15k for a "better car that needed less". So he felt by spending more than rock-bottom he could get on with the frippery rather than the serious stuff. Well, after polishing wheels, doing paint, adding chrome, new leather, speakers and stereo and more, then the mechanical stuff started to happen and he is now "into it" for the best part of £40k and a very unhappy wife.

Possibly the moral of my stories is this: Perhaps don't rush to spend money on non-essentials until you know more about the boat. Unless cost is not an issue.

 

[oldgit]

Seem to remember a poster (short term) on here, who purchased a do-er upper MoBo . Spent a fortune on vinyl wrapping and decals,.
When he ran out of money /got fed up...... and had to sell the boat, it appeared that nothing had be done or spent regards minor items such as engines/ gearboxes or the interior .

 

[Dino]

Thanks for the input. I got a good deal on the boat but it needs plenty of updating. It’s mechanically and structurally sound and everything works but it’s old fashioned inside. The Broom interior designers in the 90’s had some strange colour schemes. Mine has green everywhere, carpets, seats, canopy, etc. At least there are no floral patterns.
I’ll be replacing the canopy, interior upholstery and carpets. The Avonite worktop is cracked and a pale green colour so that is being replaced. The previous owner removed the oven and fitted a washing machine so that’s going too.
I’m looking to do a fairly low cost electronics refresh. I may just add a radar to the C80 and not bother with the Axiom. I use an iPad with Navionics a lot anyway. The idea is to replace the walnut effect dash panels with something a bit more modern, then reconfigure the layout a bit.
I found this on the Raymarine forum Can a Type 100/300 Autopilot Course Computer be interfaced to a ST-STng Converter?

 

[Obi]

Sounds like a nice project to do and one you will be happy with once all finished. Good luck and I hope it is an enjoyable journey.
Whilst some sailors rail against green. As you say, at least it is not floral and it is all homogenously green I would be OK with it I think.

One thing I have learned is that sometimes when I had newer and better and traded in and ended up with older. Initially I might have wanted to upgrade back to what I was used to, but then after time I adapted to the change and accepted it, saving a lot of ££

 

[Whopper]

Dino interested to see what you do with the dash panels. I got in touch with the crowd who did them for Broom a few years ago and the quote was crazy especially as the 3m (and equivalent) wraps were gaining popularity and the DIY jobs look good in photos. I’m guessing a wrap in carbon style or matt grey/black is the direction you’re going.

 

[Dino]

Hi Whopper, I’m actually looking to create Cad drawings of the panels and get a local sign company to CNC cut them. The switch panel has writing embedded in the panel so I’ll have to see what I can do with that. I got a price of £1200stg ex vat from a company in Norfolk.
If the Cad option doesn’t work out I’ll wrap them in vinyl. A friend did it on his 42CL and it turned out great.

 

[vas]

could go for laser cutting which includes etching for the letters. with the right material, you can get v.nice and prof looking two tone results.
having said that, I'm pretty sure that signmakers can also do two depths of "cutting" so etch and cut cheaper than laser.
dodgy if you want to add signs for switches or whatnot as you got to find them in vector files, not always possible.

If you have plenty of time, for the cad drawing, it will pay off

V

 

[Dino]

My local sign company owner also owns a boat and I know him well. I used to do some work in CAD when I was back in college so I’m hoping it will come back to me. Just need to find a cheap option for my MacBook that allows me to create .dwg files.

 

[vas]

most difficult thing I've found is getting the measurements of the old panel right so that the new thing fits...

there is an autocad natively on the mac these days. There maybe a 30day demo, I'm using the educational version but you need an academic account. Demo versions are usually printing restricted but you dont want printing anyway...
in the pc world there are a couple of genuinely free cad s/w that do dwg export, not sure on macs.

good luck

V