This is a wonderful place to see (and disect) the latest, greatest, and most expensive electronic marvels for boats, but they are beyond the economic reach of a huge number of boat owners. I would like to see us discuss how to equip a boat with modern features without breaking the bank. What features are most desireable for a sail or power boat?
Surely we want DSC integrated with a chart plotter, and for anyone sailing in big water, AIS is a very good idea, but can it be receive only?
They are clearly not equivalent, but does AIS ease the need for Radar? Is the additional cost of NMEA 2000 over 0183 justified for the economical boater? Do we have to stick with a single Manufacturer to get the best durability, reliability, and after market support?
What other questions can we ask?
In the spirit of Panbo, we should stick with current product and not bemoan the fact that Noah is not continuing to build Arks, or that Astrolabes got generations of sailors to the correct lattitude seven times out of ten.....
Sandy, I can't help but to rib you here, read it with a smile.
-Dan
Sandy wrote "AIS is a very good idea, but can it be receive only?"
>> Hell no. If you want to receive the safety benefits of AIS, you too should contribute your position, heading, and speed to the safety net created by AIS.
Sandy wrote "They are clearly not equivalent, but does AIS ease the need for Radar?"
>> Perhaps a new Radar will ease the need for AIS, and my my what an excellent crop of new radar product we have to choose from.
Sandy wrote "Is the additional cost of NMEA 2000 over 0183 justified for the economical boater?"
>> How about neither, Tack Tick has shown us another way to obtain low complexity and economy (for small boats)
Sandy wrote "What other questions can we ask?"
>> What happened to eLoran ?
I think AIS only alleviates the need for RADAR in US and EU waters and with registered vessels. Once you leave the US or EU you're going see a whole lot of poorly maintained vessesl conforming to no code or law let alone carrying AIS.
I'm not sure where you got that idea, Playa. AIS mandates for international ships are international, and you'll see them in action world wide. The U.S. is by no means the most advanced nation in terms of mandating AIS on vessels that don't fall under IMO regulations. There are lots of large commercial vessels on our coasts that don't yet carry AIS, though the USCG is working on it.
All that said, even the cheapest one-channel-at-a-time AIS receiver can help a boat be more aware of what's going.
My ribs are very well padded, Dan! I do love my radar, and tacktick has always appealed to me (just as much for the solar charged aspect as for being wireless), but I would like this discussion to focus on the budget boat owner.
Suppose for the moment that a thirty-five foot older sailboat has two group 27 batteries, and worn out instruments. Can two thousand dollars give this skipper a modern set of bells and whistles? What does he NEED?
I think he needs, in this order; a compass, depth sounder, DSC radio, GPS chartplotter, wind, satellite weather, AIS, and EPIRB. He should carry a handheld GPS and VHF, and a water-proof cell phone.
If his budget recovers from this outlay, he should get a radar. If he sails offshore (outside VHF range) he should add a liferaft if its a monohull. If the water temperature is below 65 degrees, he should carry dry suits for everyone aboard.
I think depth sounder, speed, wind, no displays, small charplotter that can network and display information from those instruments without dedicated displays, vhf radio with DSC connected). And if there is still room in the budget, add the sat weather next.
After adding the weather, I would add a Raymarine ST70 or ST70 like display so that you can get your wind, depth, and speed onto a display and use the charplotter just for cartography.
I've long thought that Garmin's 440 with its tiny but useable screen and low power requirements would be ideal for this application. Now that the 441 does N2K it can display a lot of data from a variety of N2K sensors.
Dan, I have Garmin's GMI 10 instrument and it handles the data from my PB200 very well.
Garmin's new HomePort software can make a little screen a lot more useful, since you can grab the embedded maps and plan routes on them using a PC, then easily load the routes to the plotter. I've been testing HomePort this week, and it works quite well.
But how about a Lowrance HDS-5M for big bang on little money? Seems possible to get one for $600, can do nice data overlay on charts (something Garmin might consider), and could support a Broadband radar at a later date.
That IS an interesting product, Ben. Customer support issues aside, it offers a pretty decent bang, but buying comparable cartography raises the price, and it needs a little more power. However, radar (especially Broadband) is a very nice upgrade possibility.
Why don't you think Lowrance Insight cartography is comparable to Garmin's? My sense is that it is a little weaker, mostly in terms of presentation (which is fixable), but wonder where you got that idea.
Comparing the products in the store leads me to rank Garmin Blue Charts with Navionics Gold. G2 and vision products are close behind Navionics Platinum. Homeport nudges the Garmin cartography up a notch in features. IMHO that previous generation crude base maps were hazardous to the health of your bottom paint at least, but Garmin has shamed everyone else into offering better product. I have only played with the Lowrance offerings, but was not overwhelmed. Its good that there are more options.
I make no appologies for my Garmin bias!
O__M__G__!!! If a boat has working depth speed, and wind instruments, the One Thousand Dollar Electronic Modernization Barrier (1KDEMB or OhKayDELMODBAR for us DICNAVAB folks*)has been broken! Standard Horizon's AIS/DSC/VHF radio and a $600 chart plotter provide state of the art information, and will do so at around one amp hour on 12 volts (give or take)
*What? you don't speak DICNAVAB? Shame on you! It's the Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations and contains references beyond the ridiculously sublime.
I guess! 450 pages worth:
http://bit.ly/5K0sqe