So, looks like Toodle-oo! is about to get a complete new set of electronics following our lightning strike. GPS, Chartplotters, Autopilot, Radar, AIS, etc.

Up to now we 've used Raymarine primarily - so I 'm familiar with it - albeit not totally impressed by it 's reliability - looking to study alternatives at the upcoming boat show in Newport...

We plan to circumnavigate - slowly - so I 'm interested to hear what brands of electronics are common around the world - since I fully expect to have to repair or replace items along the way.

Up to now we are considering Raymarine, Garmin and B&G - are these available all the way around? Are other options more sensible?

Thanks for any guidance available...

Bill Balme

Bill,

We did spend the weekend atthe Southampton boat show trying to work out where to go with boat electronics. We are really fed up with the reliability issues we have experienced with RayMarine pilot 's. To be honest the salesmen at the show just confused things. We have been looking seriously at B&G but it does sound like the new Raymarine Evolution system is a big change from the old products. I would be very interested to hear what you conclude.

Simon

I must admit to a certain amount of brand loyalty with Furuno, which is widely available. My GPS (non-chartplotting) is one thing on the boat that I 'm prepared to rely on 100%, and the canbus cabling system between units seems good and reliable, too.

Bill, I 'd love to hear more about your lightning strike. I 've just contributed to an upcoming article in Yachting World about a strike on a previous boat of ours.

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Here are some more practical electronic products, you can go to the above reference.

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Pandababy - 5/31/2019

Here are some more practical electronic products, you can go to the above reference.

Hi Bill and all,
I went with all Furuno 7 years ago when I completely re-instrumented with a NMEA 2000 (Furuno is completely compatible with NMEA 2000) backbone and have had no issues and have been quite pleased. (I was a B&G guy before that over a couple of decades and instrument packages, but B&G had changed hands and just come out with a whole new system and I did not want to try something untried in the real world of cruising.) I had Furuno radar for decades and was always happy. It is always heartening when the commercial fishing guys and gals almost always have Furuno radar. I suspect Furuno has a world-wide presence (and it certainly has so in Europe, North America and Central America).
I would lean away from Raymarine strongly. Too many cruising friends have had significant issues in out of the way places. Their QC seems to have on-again/off-again years and they like to get their new designs out to the public far too quickly allowing their customers to do the R&D on their products.
B&G has a good solid rep. but seems less of a presence among cruisers than it used to have: probably because the company changed hands and/or amalgamated with others or something.
If you are feeling a bit adventurous, you might consider a Maritron package. They are the go-to people for NMEA 2000 backbone gear and have a good reputation for their instruments (check it out as my info is a few years old). I say adventurous because when I last looked, you would need to design the system yourself (with their help) and their equipment while solid and doing the job, will lack the elegance and polish of the B&G’s, Furuno and Raymarine products: lacks the price tag also.
Finally, if at all handy, consider doing the job yourself. It is not hard, but it does take time (the hard part can be the enclosures/mounting). I have seen terrible looking jobs done by “professionals” and trouble-shot jobs of those who did not follow directions and cut corners. Much of the considerable time to do the job is running wires (after considerable time pulling out the old instrument’s wires): all that grunt work would be at the $$ hourly rate of your local professionals.
Come back with questions/comments/thoughts.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

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Dick - 5/31/2019

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Pandababy - 5/31/2019

Here are some more practical electronic products, you can go to the above reference.

Hi Bill and all,
I went with all Furuno 7 years ago when I completely re-instrumented with a NMEA 2000 (Furuno is completely compatible with NMEA 2000) backbone and have had no issues and have been quite pleased. (I was a B&G guy before that over a couple of decades and instrument packages, but B&G had changed hands and just come out with a whole new system and I did not want to try something untried in the real world of cruising.) I had Furuno radar for decades and was always happy. It is always heartening when the commercial fishing guys and gals almost always have Furuno radar. I suspect Furuno has a world-wide presence (and it certainly has so in Europe, North America and Central America).
I would lean away from Raymarine strongly. Too many cruising friends have had significant issues in out of the way places. Their QC seems to have on-again/off-again years and they like to get their new designs out to the public far too quickly allowing their customers to do the R&D on their products.
B&G has a good solid rep. but seems less of a presence among cruisers than it used to have: probably because the company changed hands and/or amalgamated with others or something.
If you are feeling a bit adventurous, you might consider a Maritron package. They are the go-to people for NMEA 2000 backbone gear and have a good reputation for their instruments (check it out as my info is a few years old). I say adventurous because when I last looked, you would need to design the system yourself (with their help) and their equipment while solid and doing the job, will lack the elegance and polish of the B&G’s, Furuno and Raymarine products: lacks the price tag also.
Finally, if at all handy, consider doing the job yourself. It is not hard, but it does take time (the hard part can be the enclosures/mounting). I have seen terrible looking jobs done by “professionals” and trouble-shot jobs of those who did not follow directions and cut corners. Much of the considerable time to do the job is running wires (after considerable time pulling out the old instrument’s wires): all that grunt work would be at the $$ hourly rate of your local professionals.
Come back with questions/comments/thoughts.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hi all,
Pertaining to lightning strikes:
My friends who are marine surveyors recommend: if you have been hit by lightning, once you get a bit sorted and to a safe place where your insurance surveyor can visit, they recommend you run all seemingly unaffected equipment hard for long periods asap. You might also give them a little bump to shake the internal connections a bit: a bump like hitting big waves going to wind. They also recommend a caveat on the initial survey report saying that it is possible/likely that equipment that worked during the survey might very well stop working in the ensuing weeks or months and that this equipment should be considered part of the lightning strike damage and covered.
Lightning strikes are weird unpredictable events and the damage to electronics in particular is often masked and unapparent. Connections can be internally fried but still initially functional.
May few of us have need to use these suggestions,
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Hi Dick,
Our lightning strike issues continued for quite a while - and I'm convinced that our recent generator issues - 3 + years after the strike were related. What's more, the insurance company agreed and settled yet another part of the claim - over 3 years after the event!
I certainly agree with the sentiment to run everything as much as possible as hard as possible to try to find any faults quickly - can't believe that other insurers are as good as ours (Markel's Jackline policy).


Bill Balme

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Bill Balme - 6/1/2019

Hi Dick,
Our lightning strike issues continued for quite a while - and I'm convinced that our recent generator issues - 3 + years after the strike were related. What's more, the insurance company agreed and settled yet another part of the claim - over 3 years after the event!
I certainly agree with the sentiment to run everything as much as possible as hard as possible to try to find any faults quickly - can't believe that other insurers are as good as ours (Markel's Jackline policy).

Hi Bill,
Always good to hear a field report, even if one wishes the reported event had not occurred in the first place. And always good to hear a positive report of an insurance claim, especially when I carry the same ins.
Let us know what your researches into instruments turns up.
My best, Dick