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Time for Electronics

chaco

Member III
The DockFather sez I don't get to go to the Channel Islands without Radar
cause it can get Wicked Foggy UP there :cool:
Will be looking for ChartPlotter / GPS / FishFinder / Radar System.
Well....is it RayMarine or Foruno ? I am leaning Foruno :confused:

Happy Navigating :egrin: :egrin:
 

Captron

Member III
Radar

Radar is a lovely thing. Kismet our E-38 is the first boat we've owned with radar and we love it. We don't often sail in fog (although my brain is often less than clear) but I can't imagine how we sailed for over 40 years without it. You can't beat it on a night crossing of the Gulf Stream. It's like playing Frogger, crossing the path of all that shipping... oh, sorry you're probably too young to remember Frogger.

Our Furuno unit was installed by a previous owner. It's likely about a 1990-1994 vintage unit, black and white or maybe a shade of blue on gray. Works great even after I rerouted the main cable to move the display off the binnacle. I would highly recommend the Furuno unit. We have ours interfaced to a Garmin GPS which is something I would also recommend.

I'm no fan of Raymarine although I do have one of their below decks autopilots that I installed myself and it works great too except for some birthing pains (long story). Raymarine beats Navico/Simrad but the margin is pretty slim.

Sorry I can't recommend a GPS/Plotter/Fishfinder ... I haven't found one yet worthy of the Captain Ron Approved Paraphenalia Seal.

New electronics are a fun thing. Unlike new tires, you actually get to play with the toys your money bought.
:egrin:

p.s. The meek shall inherit the earth ... the brave get the oceans.
 

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Why is Garmin not in the running? I have a GPSMAP 3206 with the GMR18 radome. Garmin stuff is much more user friendly than Raymarine. Usually also cheaper.
 

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
Furuno. Their stuff is built like military equipment. Go look at the units side-by-side. Everything else feels like a toy. Their support is fantastic too. RT
 

ChrisS

Member III
Go with the Garmin

I second the Garmin. Just got back from a trip from San Francisco to Catalina and back, and the Garmin 3206 with 18" HD Raydome came in very handy. Excellent/intuative user interface. It was neat to see the radar overlay on the chart--the GPS lags a bit behind the radar return, and so going in and out of anchorages at night and in the fog the radar was a big help.

Johnson Hicks, a local electronics dealer, is selling the 3206 for $850 right now as advertised in Latitude 38. The Raydome is about the same, so for less than $2K you get a nice package. When I was looking at getting radar without a plotter, the Furuno with a 16" screen was $1300, so it made sense to go the Garmin route.

For another $400 you can get an AIS receiver that will plot ships on the screen, which gives you even more information.

I really envy you Southern California sailors having the Channel Islands nearby--part of the newest version of my retirement plan is to have a boat in Ventura. It'd be really easy to spend weeks at a time out there, heading back to the mainland every so often for provisions, etc.
 
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Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Fruno!

Fruno Radar,

In the six years I have owned my Fruno 1622, 16 mile, it was only this year that I had a problem. The belt had come off because the gear on the motor had come loose. After contacting Fruno's wonderful customer service & tech support I was able to solve the problem at no expense.

I remember doing a lot of home work at the time I purchased the unit. There were cheaper JCR's and more expensive Raymarine's at the time but with this unit at 2.2kW of power was the best for the money.

The 1622 was the bottom of their line back in 2003. It had worked flawlessly until the belt problem this year. I have been caught in the fog coming back from Santa Cruz Island to Channel Islands Harbor w/o radar. That experience had a lot to do with my decision to purchase a radar, even on my little E-27. It has saved my butt several times since crossing to and from Catalina and once when I had to motor 10 miles through the fog inside LA harbor to get to the boat yard in Alamitos from San Pedro, dodging ships, tugs & crew boats.

Easy to use as far as radars go and very durable. I think what most impresses me now it how good their support is. They answer the phone right away and you don't have to go through any phone push button prompt menus as is the case with so many marine electronics companies.

BTW, West Marine no longer sells or supports Fruno.
 
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Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
Furuno is professional level gear

The differences in the lifetime of the equipment alone make the Furuno a lot cheaper. It is not uncommon for a number of people that actually use their boats to have cheaper consumer grade units out once a year or more for repairs. After about 2 - 5 years parts for the consumer units are no longer available and they are pushed into buying another unit instead of repairing their current one.

If you want a Radar that just works for a couple of decades, get a Furuno.

Guy
:)
 
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