Updating Electronics

[witeagle]

I am thinking about upgrading to a newer electronics package on my 32 open. Currently there is an L760 gps/depth combo and a non-functional RL70 radar. The radar screen comes on but it tells me it has no data (4kw dome may be caboom)

I am going back and forth between Raymarine and Garmin:
Raymarine Pros:
- Already have Raymarine thru-hull transducer installed and will work with new system (according to Raymarine)
- Faster response times (from what I have read)
Raymarine Cons:
- C series can only have 1 display
- E series - price is out of control

Garmin Pros: (4200 series)
- offers a 10" screen
- can have multiple displays
- cost is around the same as C series
- Has built in charts

Garmin Cons:
- I would have to change my transducer (thru-hull)
- Not as fast as Ramarine (from what I have read)


Without starting an electronics war, has anyone had good/bad luck with either product?
If you went Raymarine, did you go e or c?
Either system: What screen worked well for you on a 32 open for upper and lower helms?

[HisDoghouse]

Any my experience has been EXTREMELY favorable.

On my last boat I had a C80, and loved it. It worked well, and did everything I wanted it to do.

On my current boat (2004 Luhrs 38 Open), I have the E series. I've got an E120 at the helm, an E80 in the tower, a DSM300 sounder, a 12kW Super HD Digital 4' open array radar, the SR100 Sirius weather receiver, the AIS250 receiver, and a Raymarine autopilot. I had my dealer remove the Raymarine VHF (dinky unit) and installed an Icom M602.

Feel free to contact me.

Joe

[irishrogue]

we upgraded to the c120 and moved our 10" garmin overhead.

the DSM 300 has been nothing but a headache. sent back to ray 2x now. it is just too sensitive to voltage fluctuations and always loses signal. radar and chartplotter are nice but I just saw the navnet 3D last week and was blown away....the picture was unreal. neither the ray nor the furuno are as easy to use as the garmin...

to do it over i would not go ray b/c of the fishfiinder problems....short of giving it a dedicated battery or an expensive navmar power conditioner, we cant fix it....

[witeagle]

I was just at a Consumer Marine Electronics looking at all of the options -

Raymarine - E series - very nice but kind of overpriced in my opinion

Raymarine - C series - also nice - little slower than e series and can only have 1 display which kind of bothers me to no end.

Garmin 4000 (4212) series - easy to use and great display and priced better. According to the sales team they garmin's NMEA 2000 is the most advanced and if you plan on adding on to the system, it's the best option

Garmin 5000 series - same as 4000 and very clean with touch screen. My only downfall for this unit is fingerprints on the display will actually be annoying to keep cleaning it off. This is more true when hands are a bit grimmy from fishing.

Furuno x2 - becoming outdated similar to Garmin's 3k series

Furuno 3D - Wow - very nice - however sales team informed me that there are some bugs being worked out with compatability issues between the software and hardware. I am sure the software (firmware?) can be updated at a later date. I am sure that by the time I actually make my purchase early next year the kinks will be worked out and the 3D may be back in the mix. Also an expensive unit.

[flbluerunner]

Greetings,
I own a 2006 38 Open with all E series Raymarine, I was kinda forced this direction due to only 2 manufacturers having autopilots that work with Volvo IPS.
So far I have replaced the transducer, radar, tower radio and now am replacing a 2nd transducer.
The stuf is not intuitive and hard to search through the various layers.
If I could I would sell it all and start over,
Not sure whether that would be Garmin or Furuno.:dunno:

John

[witeagle]

I heard a bunch of complaints already about issues with Raymarine so I think I am going to go for Garmin. I am going to finish out the season and then go for the system over the winter so I have time to install while the boat is out of the water.

I like that fact that Garmin will allow multiple displays at the price of a c-series. I honestly think Raymarine is loosing a lot of customers by not having the c-series allow for more than 1 display.

[irishrogue]

here are a couple shots of our C120 and our 10" garmin as a back up.

[witeagle]

That is a great idea (mounted to the back of the helm station). After a while of looking up - necks tend to kink...

[irishrogue]

we were hesitant at first - not sure how it would look or whether somebody would grab it in a heavy sea heading for the steps. it was sized perfectly for the 10" garmin (now up high as a back up) - and just barely fits the 12" E120. the daylight readable screen is bright even in sunlight. And you cannot beat looking straight ahead rather than staring up....mounting all electronics up there is nothing short of horrible. i used to stand on my tip toes so i wouldnt have to crane my neck. my 5' 8" brother had trouble reaching the buttons!

People do rest on the bracket but it is through bolted to the console and is very solid. it is natural for people to balance themselves on it without hanging on it.

[witeagle]

I saw another setup where the owner just mounted a 10" garmin hanging down from the bottom of the electronics mounting space on the hardtop. This made it low enough as to not crane your neck however it was a little to low for my taste and was more of a hazard.

[irishrogue]

we actually hung an RL9 raytheon LCD radar from a RAM mount on our 27 center console. it vibrated and blocked too much of the view forward. it was nice not to crane but was still less than ideal.

for the 320 open, i dont think you can do any better than the custom mount we devised. tower guy charged us like $300 to make it based on my sketch and dimensions....