Nobeltec v Navnet 3D

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Erre

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Does anyone have experience of the relative merits of these navigation & plotter systems? Alternatively, for use in Northern European and the Mediterranean waters on a full displacement motor yacht of 24m length (with a fuel efficient cruising speed of c 10 knots), which do forum users feel they would prefer and why?
 
Erre said:
Does anyone have experience of the relative merits of these navigation & plotter systems? Alternatively, for use in Northern European and the Mediterranean waters on a full displacement motor yacht of 24m length (with a fuel efficient cruising speed of c 10 knots), which do forum users feel they would prefer and why?
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Nobeltec is software and Navnet is hardware, I thought, so there's no direct comparison???

Anyway, to answer your question, I'd recommend Ratymarine touchscreens with Navionics Platinum + charts :)
 
jfm said:
I'd recommend Ratymarine touchscreens with Navionics Platinum + charts :)
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Yep - I always get that typo - Ratmarine - you'll upset Roger!!!

On a serious point though - I put a second vote for Raymarine - its by far the most intuative system - not sure about the touch screens - we will see how jfm gets on this season. However you cant go wrong with Raymarine kit - IMO.
 
Nobletec do I think offer stand alone radars.

I have used Furuno Navnet for years now and like it.

Raymarine is much easier to use I think as it is without doubt most intuative system.

That makes it better IMHO when its used infrequently as opposed to daily use on the bridge of a commercial craft.

My view is that Furuno is a spin off from their commercial technology whilst Raymarine is 100% leisure. Horses for horses but I will be sticking with Furuno
 
Thanks all

MJF - That is entirely my impression following a few lines of research. I have also been impressed more with Raymarine than Furuno in terms of apparant customer service.

Intuitiveness is attractive but to be honest whichever is chosen will become second nature soon enough given that it is lived with 24/7. That said, I am under the impression that Raymarine offer better post-sale service than Furuno. Is that view consistent with the experience of others?

Cheers
 
If so then you will like the 3D.

The digital radars now are fab as one scan can display on different screens showing different range info.

On the after sales service I have had no issue at all and when I have asked Furuno agent gets my keys and provides software updates FOC. Been a while since i had one of these but I guess it depends who you use.

I like furuno gear a lot and its very reliable - the kit is basically big ship / commercial fishing boat stuff.

Unsure on the Raymarine plotters but 3D can display vector or raster chart info which is very nice I think.
 
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Thanks again MJF. It is very useful to hear of actual experience.

I am coming down on the side of Furuno not only for the reasons you admire but due to concern for the health of Raymarine as a company also. I like the robustness of the Furuno gear (possibly as a result of their commercial pedigree). I also like the world-wide coverage of support and spares.

Whilst I noted some customer service issues previously, further investigation would suggest that these well local and not necessarily typical. That being said, if nowt goes wrong with the units in the first place, post sale service is less of an issue!

I still have a little time before I need to commit but meanwhile, my thanks for your valued input.
 
Two further comments

Will you ever use 3D?
IMO its a bit flash but not really of much use.

Most importantly though - speed - I recently had a go with a new Furuno plotter whilst on a short passage and found it really slow - especially redrawing the screen - big dissapointment.
I suggest that you check this out - the Raymarine kit is much faster IMO.
From my experience, this is a big issue.
 
Erre said:
if nowt goes wrong with the units in the first place, post sale service is less of an issue!
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Exactly. I've been using Furuno stuff for a couple of decades - just about all of it: radar, sounder, chartplotter, a/p, ssb, navtex/meteofax.
The only problem you can expect is that when you get bored by them, it's still hard to find a good excuse for an upgrade! :)
Btw, fishermen are not exactly known for wasting their money, so there must be a reason if most of them choose Furuno, which surely ain't cheap...
 
Erre said:
I am coming down on the side of Furuno not only for the reasons you admire but due to concern for the health of Raymarine as a company also.
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As others have said on here previously, the Raymarine stuff is leading edge, so there's no way the gear or the brand will be discontinued, even if the company itself doesn't pull through or find a buyer (and it'll almost certainly do one of the two).

If you prefer the Furuno gear then of course you should buy it, but if you really can't choose between the two, then why not buy the British stuff just because it's British, assuming of course that you live here?
 
MapisM said:
Maybe for the same reasons why you said I like the Furuno, and i'd happily spec one of the new 3D plotters on a new boat...? ;)
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Indeed I would, but by choice at the moment i'd spec Raymarine gear because I think it's just as good and it's British. I've never suggested anyone buy something they think is inferior, or less suited to their needs, just because it's British (I have a Norwegian boat and a German car), but if you can't find any other differentiator between two products, then why not buy something that benefits your own economy?
 
Nick_H said:
I've never suggested anyone buy something they think is inferior, or less suited to their needs, just because it's British
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Yeah I know Nick, just couldn't resist... :D
Thing is, I remembered that you have Furuno onboard (in your fine British boat :)) because there's just a few of us, among this Raymarine gang!
Btw, I never said RM products aren't fine, either.
I was a bit unlucky with the only RM plotter I've got, on a Cranchi where it came factory installed btw, but that doesn't mean a lot really.
 
I had a brief look at Nobeltec, and it has good functionality but I would not want to rely on anything that uses Microsoft Windows on a boat. That's not to say that the PC has no place on a boat, just that I do not feel safe in it being the primary system.

As far as Navnet goes, I do not feel it is the leader either. IMHO Garmin have better screens, better integration between all the components (e.g. radar, plotter,instruments) and importantly better NMEA 2000 integration if you plan to connect to future systems.

Over the last couple of years I have put in a full range of Garmin kit and have on several occasions needed to seek clarification with them (due to my lack of understanding). The support team in Europe are very knowledgeable, very accessible and also responsive. Any minor glitches have quickly been remedied through the software update process, via SD card, and over the last year they have delivered a lot of new functionality, all free of charge.

As they are the only company with a strong position in aviation, marine and personal use I think they may well be the best long term investment.
 
I went the Nobeltec route and am very happy with the system. I also have the Nobeltec radar, but have not had a chance to fit it yet! My choice was based on the capability vs price. At the time I bought the others could not do multiple monitors, multiple different displays, radar overlay etc. Nobletec now also owns Cmap, so fairly confident about future chart availability.

However the inherent 'risks' of navigation pcs have been discussed before, and are well founded (IMHO). I have two backup systems, inc a standalone chart plotter, and a laptop with the Nobeltec software loaded.
 
Hurricane said:
Two further comments

Will you ever use 3D?
IMO its a bit flash but not really of much use.

Most importantly though - speed - I recently had a go with a new Furuno plotter whilst on a short passage and found it really slow - especially redrawing the screen - big dissapointment.
I suggest that you check this out - the Raymarine kit is much faster IMO.
From my experience, this is a big issue.
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Are you 100% sure it was a 3G unit?

The ones I have seen there was no redraw time - it was just seemless.
 
Personally i'd wait and play with the new Garmin 6/7000 series. I've tried them and they are faster than Raymarie E-series hybrid AND Furuno NN3D by miles.

See which of the 3 you like best and go for it. They are all good, its personal preference really.
 
I think that a PC based system is generally much easier to use than a dedicated plotter, and Nobeltec's is one of the easiest to use. Not as geared towards sailing boat needs as some nav software, but then the original enquiry was for a powerboat. They can hook up to a radar and also to a full fish finder, plus the normal rtange of instruments.

Actually Nobeltec don't own C-Map. Jeppesen (who are owned by Boeing) bought up Nobeltec and C-Map, but have since sold Nobeltec to Signet, who are the company that own Maxsea - and a few years ago Furuno bought 49% of Signet. C-Map are still owned by Jeppesen, and to my mind are still more accurate and more detailed than Navionics.

Regarding using Windows and a boat PC, this isn't a problem so long as done properly. If you want a stable system, treat it like any corporate would their IT systems, and just install the software you need on it. Don't fill it up with crud from friends, the web, magazine CDs, or anything else that isn't specifically needed for the job. Also, install the PC properly, plonking a laptop on the chart table is asking for trouble - see my article and review on marine PCs in a couple of months' time in Yachting Monthly.
Tim
 
chrisharris said:
I went the Nobeltec route and am very happy with the system. I also have the Nobeltec radar, but have not had a chance to fit it yet! My choice was based on the capability vs price. At the time I bought the others could not do multiple monitors, multiple different displays, radar overlay etc. Nobletec now also owns Cmap, so fairly confident about future chart availability.

However the inherent 'risks' of navigation pcs have been discussed before, and are well founded (IMHO). I have two backup systems, inc a standalone chart plotter, and a laptop with the Nobeltec software loaded.
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Do you have VNS? What are you doing now that VNS is approaching end-of-life? I've been happy with it, but find I need new PC & radar plus new software & new charts to migrate to Trident: very expensive option.

Alan
 
since the thread is 3.5 yo and I was very confused by seeing JFM recommending Raymarine :D I'd say you have to check what's happened over the last couple of years as it looks like many ppl have changed direction so to speak ;)

V.
 
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