New MFD and Auto pilot for 95 370DA

[TN370]

Look for some advice on equipment upgrade for my 370 sundancer. I currently have Raymarine MFD, radar, fish finder and auto pilot. And a Dart display for speed and temp. It seems my transducers are bad for both the fish finder and the dart. And my Auto pilot controller is going out too. The C120 MFD is still ok but would love some better integration.
SO, the big question! What gear do I go with. I’m strongly leaning towards Garmin. But what all have to be changed out? I assume everything including the hydraulic pump for the auto pilot?
I’m not afraid of the install, but looking for someone to guide me on everything that needs to be purchased to fully upgrade. Ideally I have a basic tri-data display for speed, temp and distance.
And a new MFD for radar, sonar and makes chart plotting easy for auto pilot. A night vision camera would be a nice add on too.
Please let me know you’re thoughts. TIA

 

[Stee6043]

I feel like answering this question without a budget target would be pretty hard. Before you start talking night vision you are already in the $20k ballpark for a new pilot, MFD, radar, tri-data with transducers and all the networking.

Whatcha willing to spend??

 

[dtfeld]

If your set on Garmin, I would check with BOE Marine they are a sponsor here, and could likely get you a decent BOM for the project. I am just finishing up a 2 year upgrade coming from 2000 era electronics and stayed with Raymarine. It is solid stuff, but I would take a hard look at Garmin. Hardware specs are pretty similar, but the connectivity, 3rd party connectivity (Fusion Marine) and little creature features on the Garmin I think set it apart.

Depending on your needs, I think you could redo everything for $10k in hardware if you do the install. They are starting to put out packages and rebates, its that time of year people start retrofitting.

 

[TN370]

I feel like answering this question without a budget target would be pretty hard. Before you start talking night vision you are already in the $20k ballpark for a new pilot, MFD, radar, tri-data with transducers and all the networking.

Whatcha willing to spend??

I’m hoping to be at 8-10k in equipment. Figured I’d have to leave the night camera out for now. Can always add that later.
The obvious equipment items that I’m curious about opinions on are;
- MFD
- pilot
- radar
- tri-data
Then what are the missing pieces thst you need to make things work... that you find out about later? I see mention of “networking” equipment. And are the pilot systems in packages or have to piece together the pump, hoses, controls, cables, etc?

I think I need a sales rep that knows the boat and can package it up for me.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I can only speak authoritatively on RM equipment having just gone through this last year. I did two axiom pro 12 displays, gps and autopilot plus N2K/SeatalkNG network. This however also replaced the DSM sonar module function as the axioms have this built in. I was able to reuse my radar, AIS and depth transducer, sort of that is as the transducers being redone as I write this, and the AIS had to get a new vhf antenna last summer. I will have spent about $16k including a $1100 rebate when it’s finally done. I did have a hefty labor bill because there was extensive removal work that probably matched the installation work. 8-10 is probably doable depending careful shopping, spring/boat show rebate programs and doing some of the dog work yourself.

 

[Craig]

I did what you see here with RM including a flir m232 for around 7k with rebates. Includes heading sensor and n2k network. No AP or radar.

 

[TN370]

I did what you see here with RM including a flir m232 for around 7k with rebates. Includes heading sensor and n2k network. No AP or radar.
View attachment 99349

I like that setup!
can you tell me the need for the “heading sensor” and the “n2k network”. The obvious helm equipment, radar on the arch, and auto pilot equipment in the bilge make sense to me. It’s things like the “network” and “heading sensor” that scare me when I’m trying to size up the necessary equipment.
Secondly, did you buy online or work with someone to figure out what you want/need to make it work?

 

[TN370]

I can only speak authoritatively on RM equipment having just gone through this last year. I did two axiom pro 12 displays, gps and autopilot plus N2K/SeatalkNG network. This however also replaced the DSM sonar module function as the axioms have this built in. I was able to reuse my radar, AIS and depth transducer, sort of that is as the transducers being redone as I write this, and the AIS had to get a new vhf antenna last summer. I will have spent about $16k including a $1100 rebate when it’s finally done. I did have a hefty labor bill because there was extensive removal work that probably matched the installation work. 8-10 is probably doable depending careful shopping, spring/boat show rebate programs and doing some of the dog work yourself.

mom not opposed to going back with RM equipment. Wonder if I can still use my auto pilot equipment in the bilge with new RM equipment otherwise? That would be a huge reason to stay with RM!!!

 

[Stee6043]

There's nothing that says you can't have two brands and that you can't upgrade over time.

I've played with Simrad, Raymarine and Garmin. My personal preference is the user interface on the Garmin gear. For me it feels very "Apple". It's just easy to use.

Since I don't have a $20k budget I started my upgrades with 2 small Garmin MFD's and a VHF. I am saving my pennies to someday replace my existing Raymarine radar with Garmin. The autopilot will be the last thing I change. The Raypilot is bullet proof from what I hear.

 

[Todd320]

I like that setup!
can you tell me the need for the “heading sensor” and the “n2k network”. The obvious helm equipment, radar on the arch, and auto pilot equipment in the bilge make sense to me. It’s things like the “network” and “heading sensor” that scare me when I’m trying to size up the necessary equipment.
Secondly, did you buy online or work with someone to figure out what you want/need to make it work?

Heading sensor provides a magnetic heading, even when standing still. This allows RADAR images to be super imposed on your maps, and provides accurate heading data to the auto pilot. Typically, GPS can calculate heading based upon your current vs previous position, but you have to be moving. And even then, if your boat is traveling due east, 90 degrees, you might have a 91 or 92 degree heading if there are currents moving your boat to the north. I believe a heading sensor is mandatory for auto pilots, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Stee6043]

One more consideration for Garmin, if you're into audio gear, is that they own Fusion. The interfacing between Garmin and Fusion is quite nice...

 

[Henry Boyd]

mom not opposed to going back with RM equipment. Wonder if I can still use my auto pilot equipment in the bilge with new RM equipment otherwise? That would be a huge reason to stay with RM!!!

The now closed, but still accessible, Raymarine customer support forum has a number of FAQ posts discussing the inter generational compatibility of various RM autopilots and displays. It is well worth the read. It is also very hardware specific so make the effort to record exactly what you have by RM model designation so you can accurately follow the discussion.

 

[Craig]

I like that setup!
can you tell me the need for the “heading sensor” and the “n2k network”. The obvious helm equipment, radar on the arch, and auto pilot equipment in the bilge make sense to me. It’s things like the “network” and “heading sensor” that scare me when I’m trying to size up the necessary equipment.
Secondly, did you buy online or work with someone to figure out what you want/need to make it work?

Heading sensor also adds some proprietary features to the flir camera via the axiom mfd. n2k is for sharing vesselview data with rm stuff and ais from the vhf. I also have a network switch to connect the screens.