plotter / radar decision

Bosun Higgs

Bosun Higgs

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My Simrad radar has failed and is unrepairable despite being only 18 years old. The plotter is a fully functional C80 but the matching radar for it is unavaliable. And finally I am contemplating selling the boat ( value about 70k) in the next couple of years to downsize. So my options are :

1/ sell the boat with a non functioning radar
2/ flog the C80 on ebay and replace with the current plotter / radar combo.
3/ buy the furuno stand alone lcd radar and keep the C80
What do you reckon is the best course?
 
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It's difficult to know how the second hand boat market will be when you come to sell, but if it's anything like the present, I think a none functioning radar will not exactly encourage anyone to buy your boat rather than a similar one, or at the very least will use it to knock down the price. I would therefore drop option one.

As to whether option two or three is best, in view of the fairly imminent sale, I would choose the cheapest.
 
I would discount option 1 on the basis that if you have sailed with radar for 18 years you wouldn't be comfortable without it for the next 2 years.

How about flogging the C80 (say £500) and buying a 2nd hand E80 (say £650?). I was told last week by Raymarine that the classic E80 functions with current digital and HD scanners so that route would open your options. Its the same size as the C80 (check) and will fit wherever your current chart plotter is installed. It also uses the same Navionics card.
 
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Furuno is the best option.

Stand alone is better yet. You do not get connected failures when each component is stand alone. My opinion of course.
 
robmcg said:
I would go with option 4. Buy a Raymarine analogue radar dome on eBay that works with the C80. They do come up regularly and should come in under £500
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I had the same issue as the OP two years back, unfortunately at the time analogue radars were fetching anything up to £1,000 on eBay (so slightly more expensive than a new digital raydome) so after a coupe failed attempts to secure one at a more reasonable price I ended up with the second option and flogged the plotter on here.
 
Brent Goose said:
I had the same issue as the OP two years back, unfortunately at the time analogue radars were fetching anything up to £1,000 on eBay (so slightly more expensive than a new digital raydome) so after a coupe failed attempts to secure one at a more reasonable price I ended up with the second option and flogged the plotter on here.
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I do know what you mean but I bought an RD218 analogue dome in the last few months for under £500 including cable. Picked up a mast bracket for £50. Prices do seem to have come down a bit.
 
robmcg said:
I would go with option 4. Buy a Raymarine analogue radar dome on eBay that works with the C80. They do come up regularly and should come in under £500
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Yes, I'd look to do that if I were in the same position. A stand-alone radar makes no sense when the plotter is capable of the incredibly useful radar/chart overlay.
 
Given that you are only contemplating the sale, I'd worry about that when the time becomes more appropriate. In the mean time you'll be sailing your beloved boat and be familiar with having radar aboard. Sell anything that has any value and buy a new, latest technology plotter / radar combo.

Unless you are a professional and/or use it all of the time, imho, a stand alone radar is a complex piece of kit, not always easy to interpret. A radar overlay on a plotter, otoh, is child's play by comparison.
 
robmcg said:
I do know what you mean but I bought an RD218 analogue dome in the last few months for under £500 including cable. Picked up a mast bracket for £50. Prices do seem to have come down a bit.
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That is good news, certainly if I had been able to secure a raydome at a more sensible price then I would have no hesitation in going down that road.
 
pvb said:
Yes, I'd look to do that if I were in the same position. A stand-alone radar makes no sense when the plotter is capable of the incredibly useful radar/chart overlay.
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On the other hand, it makes a lot of sense when one goes down, you still have the other display. I would go the Furuno route.
 
GrahamM376 said:
On the other hand, it makes a lot of sense when one goes down, you still have the other display. I would go the Furuno route.
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Do you have two engines? Radar/plotters are generally very reliable. The radar/chart overlay is an invaluable feature which I use a lot in poor visibility. I'd certainly not want to go back to a stand-alone radar.
 
pvb said:
Do you have two engines? Radar/plotters are generally very reliable. The radar/chart overlay is an invaluable feature which I use a lot in poor visibility. I'd certainly not want to go back to a stand-alone radar.
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I'm a bit uncomfortable with this approach - I suppose its because it begs thge question of how far do you go. The present set up is simrad radar, C80 and ST60 instruments, simrad / robertson autopilot. If I start on the latest Raymarine integreated radar/ plotter, what about the instruments and the pilot?
 
Bosun Higgs said:
My Simrad radar has failed and is unrepairable despite being only 18 years old. The plotter is a fully functional C80 but the matching radar for it is unavaliable. And finally I am contemplating selling the boat ( value about 70k) in the next couple of years to downsize. So my options are :

1/ sell the boat with a non functioning radar
2/ flog the C80 on ebay and replace with the current plotter / radar combo.
3/ buy the furuno stand alone lcd radar and keep the C80
What do you reckon is the best course?
Click to expand...

How about
4/ Use the next two years to look for a replacement radar of the current type on eBay and elsewhere?
 
Bosun Higgs said:
One did come up six months back but it went for silly money given that it was 15year old obsolete and unrepairable kit
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There's been at least 3 in the last 2 months on eBay UK. One sold in late October for £290. Another in early October for £255. And another for £385. I don't think that's silly money.
 
We must be talking different models. I have an ebay saved search for the simrad anritsu radar that has failed and its only come up once so far. Are you referring to the raymarine radar that is compatible with my old style C80?
 
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