placing instruments & chart plotter

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tangofour

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Ignoring the arguments about the amount of electronics on board a 11.6m yacht I'd like some adviceon where to mount my kit.

I have a full raymarine suite. e-80 chartplotter and radar ( forward looking depth interface to follow one day )
wind, depth and log instruments. 6001 inboard autopilot display.
Remote mic for the standard horizon VHF.

The questions are

Where best to mount the e-80? On a binnacle pod looks best to me. I dont see the point of putting the radar and chart down in the saloon and my eysight is not what it used to be so mounting under the spray dodger over the companionway is just too far away.

Autopilot control ( 6001 head )?
The head needs to be on the binnacle too so that I can engage the autopilot from the helm position.

Remote Mic?
In the binnacle too - then I have all the kit at the steering position.

The other instruments will be mounted in a pod over the companionway - nice big displays so everyone can see them.

I have the remote wireless controller from raymarine so I can use that at the chart table to read the log and all the other perameters if I need to. I could also display a copy of whatever is on the e-80 on a monitor or the lap-top if I wanted to.

Ian
 
Chartplotter /Radar should be at helm position IMHO if you ever need sail singlehanded (Crew asleep or seasick!)


On our 1st boat I put it at chart - table and regretted it. Best of all worlds is large unit at chart table and smaller repeater at helm - but costly.
 
Re: placing instruments & chart plotter

Autohelm head, personally I'd place it near the throttle lever, the reasoning being that sometimes you need to /engage/disengage the auto at the same time as fooling with the throttle.

However, as you have a remote, as I do, the siting is arbitrary 'cos you can do all of the ap functions from the remote. (And top fun for confusing the hell out the crew if happen to change course remotely without them being aware that you are doing it!)
 
Agree with your approach - radar and plotter are much better on deck. But if you are sailing any distance you will likely be sat at the front of the cockpit with the autohelm on. So under the sprayhood is probably best.
 
I went through the same decision making process a couple of years ago when mounting a radar/chart plotter.

I thought I would want to look at it the whole time, but in reality you really only need to look at a radar screen every 10 minutes or so.

A chart plotter is the same you don't need to look at it every few seconds.

I do however have a hand held GPS mounted in the instrument pod over the main hatch to bee able to keep on course.

At night time especially, the light from the screen would not allow you to have good night vision, despite the night light settings on the screen.

I have mounted the radar and chart plotter at the nav table, I can see it OK from the cockpit, even in force 8's off Lands End in heavy rain.

Your eyes are better looking out for lights etc out to sea rather than hoping to see radar images through the sea and rain clutter when boats are close.

What I did do and have never used it is to allow enough cable from the radar screen to dismount it from the nav table and to allow it to be mounted in a made up washboard. Thus bringing it closer to my eyes when in the cockpit. As said I have never used that facility.

I did see a boat that had cut out a section in the bulkead beteween the cabin and cockpit and mounted his radar there.

Personally, I think the radar screen and gubbins ought to be somewhere dry. Being a gadget man, I just love playing with these electonics, but then I enjoy the fresh air and sailing even better, so am glad the gadgetry is tucked away for when its needed.

Good luck
 
Re: placing instruments & chart plotter

As an observation.... this weekend, as Tome will confirm, we had a 'little' bit of rain, ie it pissed down..... and reading a plotter/radar that isn't vertically mounted, and not sheltered became increasingly difficult... even a little water on the screen could easily cause you to miss a vital detail such as a small radar return, or a buoy..... and working the thing when its teeming down (and therefore presumably when theres plenty of green water coming over the bow too) would be far from ideal.... ironically, the exact conditions when you would most likely be grateful for having it to start with....

For that reason alone, i would be looking for a fairly upright mounting, and located in shelter.....
 
I reckon that the best place for the radar/plotter is in the cockpit, so it can be seen by the helm. Now whether it goes on a binnacle or under a sprayhood is a matter of personal preference. I often sail singlehanded, and if the weather's evil I tend to sit under the sprayhood and use the autopilot. So I've got my radar/plotter (Raymarine C120) under the sprayhood, where I can see it easily - either from shelter or from the helm. Similarly, my autopilot control is on the cockpit coaming, where it's easily accessible from the helm or from the shelter of the sprayhood.
 
Re: placing instruments & chart plotter

Yes agreed. A tricky approach 0200 with stair-rods makes you realise you don't want an exposed screen just as the leading lights dim into submission

We had a navigator under the spayhood conning the short straw on the helm
 
I too have a chart plotter/radar mounted at the chart table. Radar/plotter is Furuno, GPS is MLR. Radar & plotter normally only need attention every 5 or 10 minutes although recently in thick fog in Carrick Roads I must admit I would have prefered to be able to keep a constant eye on the radar display as there were a lot of boats suddenly caught out and behaving unpredictably. The solution that time was to post a crew member at the radar but this is not always possible.
I would like to fit a GPS repeater with a rolling road display in the cockpit. This is not essential but is a nice to have. I am also considering fitting a radar repeater at the helm if it is cost effective.
Has anyone any eperience or ideas abouit this?
 
[ QUOTE ]

Remote Mic?
In the binnacle too - then I have all the kit at the steering position.



[/ QUOTE ]
Be careful of interference with the binnacle compass.
 
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