Hello All,
I have been trying to make a decision regarding the purchase of a new GPS/radar system for a while. I had settled on a Furuno 1724 radar/gps unit at the helm. The problem I see with marine electronics is the same as any electronics. Obsolesence. We are planning on taking the E38 to the Caribbean in 5 years or so with many shorter trips planned around NE in the years working up to that.
So the question becomes do we bother replacing a working nav station mounted CRT Furuno radar now or do we wait for the longer trips?
Option #1 Furuno 1724 gps/radar: Installed this system will cost about $3700. It will allow radar and gps overlay. Keeps the array "hot" so switching it on when needed is simple if you just want to check on things every 20minutes or so. Expensive but nice. The negative would be the obsolesence. Would I need to go through this all again in 5 years? Hmmmm.
Option #2 Keep the Furuno CRT radar the nav station down below. Its old but works great. Just difficult to use as you have to leave the helm or have someone else below watching the screen. When you need the radar unfortunately having a second person in the cockpit with you would be helpful also so its a compromise. With this option I would replace just the dead helm mounted Raymarine chartplotter with a Furuno chartplotter. This option is about $2000 installed.
So I guess its a question of spend now, spend later? Another idea is a mounting bracket and a longer cable to allow the CRT radar to either swing out or hang in the companionway so it could be viewed from the cockpit. This is a partial solution IMHO as if the weather turns really bad keeping the companionway open is not an option.
So what to do? RT
I have been trying to make a decision regarding the purchase of a new GPS/radar system for a while. I had settled on a Furuno 1724 radar/gps unit at the helm. The problem I see with marine electronics is the same as any electronics. Obsolesence. We are planning on taking the E38 to the Caribbean in 5 years or so with many shorter trips planned around NE in the years working up to that.
So the question becomes do we bother replacing a working nav station mounted CRT Furuno radar now or do we wait for the longer trips?
Option #1 Furuno 1724 gps/radar: Installed this system will cost about $3700. It will allow radar and gps overlay. Keeps the array "hot" so switching it on when needed is simple if you just want to check on things every 20minutes or so. Expensive but nice. The negative would be the obsolesence. Would I need to go through this all again in 5 years? Hmmmm.
Option #2 Keep the Furuno CRT radar the nav station down below. Its old but works great. Just difficult to use as you have to leave the helm or have someone else below watching the screen. When you need the radar unfortunately having a second person in the cockpit with you would be helpful also so its a compromise. With this option I would replace just the dead helm mounted Raymarine chartplotter with a Furuno chartplotter. This option is about $2000 installed.
So I guess its a question of spend now, spend later? Another idea is a mounting bracket and a longer cable to allow the CRT radar to either swing out or hang in the companionway so it could be viewed from the cockpit. This is a partial solution IMHO as if the weather turns really bad keeping the companionway open is not an option.
So what to do? RT
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