Gents.
I have just signed in this forum and I am whiling to get some help to make decisions regarding a boat I am building. I have had 3 boats so far and all were self built. Now, retirement is coming and I am building a 46' 25 ton disp. trawler in which I intend to live and cruise around the American Continent. My previous boast all had stand alone electronics, Garmin or Raytheon, for fishing purposes, nothing fancy, they were all, by the way, fishing vessels, the passion of the family. Now I am moving into a serious vessel and as there will be only 2 persons on board, I am looking into having the best and reliable help for navigation within a not generous budget. It is time to install cabling and equipment and I am begging for your help because my port of origin is in Northeast Brazil and there are very few sources for help, and the ones available are very unreliable.
In my local market research I came to the conclusion that Furuno is the best backed up brand, but not the new NavNet 3 models. The best options are still the old NavNetvx2 models. I already have a SIMRAD AP28 autopilot that I bought in advance due to an outstanding pricing opportunity. Can I use this autopilot integrated with the Furuno NavNet VX2 radar/chart/GPS/Fishfinder? I have two steering stations and intend to use a MU 120C up on the Fly reproducing all data from the main station down below. Will it be a reliable setup? Can I expect some incompatibility issues connecting both brands?
Thank you in advance to all who border to answer my topic.
Fernando Rodrigues
The Panbo Forum
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Fernando,
I don't think a remote display on the flybridge will be very good, how will you control the MFD and the auto pilot? For $3000 you are better off getting an extra MFD.
Navnet 2 is nice, but outdated. I don't think it has NMEA 2000. The AC12 or AC42 does not have a NMEA 0183 interface, so you would need to add a Simrad AT10 but that is pretty cheap.
I recommend going for a NMEA 2000 solution. It will be more future proof. My personal preference is for Garmin and Navico (Simrad/Lowrance.) I like the sensibly priced Garmin 700 series MFDs. Lowrance HDS is what I have personally. If you have a Simrad AP28 then the new NSO would mean you only need that on the flybridge and be able to control your autopilot from it. No cross-brand products allow this at the moment.
Kees
Thank you for your prompt response. I realy like Simrad. I had the opportunity to charter motorboats twice in the mediterranean while we were working in Egipt, and the equipment seamed to be flawless. Having your idea in mind, would NSE12/NSE8 set up work perfectly?
THanks