Raymarine Axiom

[rubberduck]

Having decided to keep boat, we now need to upgrade nav systems.
The above has been recommended, anyone got any experience or opinions, we intend to replace everything, plotter, radar, auto pilot etc.

 

[prv]

I've recently fitted one, haven't been out with it yet.

First impressions are that the build quality is excellent - it seems to have been milled from a solid block of aluminium (I assume there's a more sophisticated process involved that doesn't create a cubic metre of swarf, but the result is the same) with black powder-coating and a thick plate of glass bonded across the whole front.

I've no idea what the computing specs are, but they seem more than adequate - the UI is fast and responsive with both charts and radar (including with charts, radar overlay, all the AIS targets in Southampton docks, a couple of MARPA targets being tracked, etc. The general software design seems quite good and easy to use - though I'm comparing it against the clunky old C70 rather than its modern peers.

Where it currently lacks is in feature-completeness - Lighthouse 3 is a total rewrite and it's apparent that they've had to slip some features to meet the ship date. Nothing that's there feels half-finished, but there are some capabilities from the original announce that have been postponed to a "future update" (eg C-Map charts, support for the physical keypad accessory) and a few minor things you might expect it to do that it doesn't (none spring to mind right now, it was just a general impression). I expect these will arrive as updates in due course; it's very easy to check for and install updates on the device using either marina wifi or tethering from your phone.

I fitted mine along with a Quantum radome, but kept the original instruments and autopilot via a SeaTalk 1 to SeaTalk ng converter. The radar seems excellent (again, only in marina testing and compared to an old RD218). So far all the instruments appear to operate seamlessly with their data available on the plotter, but direct control of my SeaTalk 1 autopilot (to engage/disengage it from the plotter) is missing. I hope this will appear in an update, but presumably if you're replacing the pilot your new STng one will work immediately.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I knew when buying a bleeding-edge device that there was a risk of bugs and missing features, but you can fix those in software whereas you're stuck with the hardware you install. So it seemed sensible to me to choose the latest generation of hardware. So far I haven't seen any bugs, and I have confidence that the features will expand as Raymarine keep working on their new OS.

Pete

 

[rubberduck]

Mmmm, boat not going back in this year so may wait, thanks for info.

 

[Mr Googler]

Have a look at Simrad. I guess it depends what you already have installed and want to keep.

I'm using a go series and very impressed with it.

 

[rubberduck]

Have a look at Simrad. I guess it depends what you already have installed and want to keep.

I'm using a go series and very impressed with it.

Had Simrad on a previous boat & liked it, Think I will go have a look at all options when I'm allowed by SWMBO !

 

[Mr Googler]

We are in the same boat there then