I am looking at a 26’ center console with no electronics. It would be used as an occasional offshore fishing boat, as well as family entertainment, riding around burning gas.
I was thinking:
2 icom vhf’s
furuno depthfinder
furuno radar
simrad autopilot
garmin gps
I was always taught to steer away from the all in one or combo units that combine gps, depth, and some with radar because if it breaks, you lose everything. I tried to pick what I think have been the industry best for each item.
Prob will have custom car stereo in west ashley do the tunes.
I priced some of this and got a $12,000 quote from thegpsstore.com, and that didn’t include installation, cables and connectors, or the stereo!
After this quote I am considering changing my way of thinking, and trying to stay under $10K. Suggestions? Also, if you know a good installer who knows how to interface all of this and do a neat, organized job, please let me know.
My prefrence would be a Furono NavNet with Raymarine autopilot. Seem to be very reliable, fairly user friedly, great customer service when needed and pretty much is “plug and play”. Would then have a backup handheld GPS just in case as with any model installed.
The installation is one of the most important parts tho, a poor install job, ie: running sensor wires along power lines, poor electronic compass location, not twisting power lines together to reduce bleed thru intereference, not tuning radar properly after installation, not initializing or setting autopilot to “learn”, stc…etc…etc…
Russ B. www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
Give Jim Maier a call at BOE Marine(1-866-735-5926). He offers discounts on complete packages, and will answer any installation questions. I strongly advise you have the autopilot professionally installed…you can DIY, but it’s not easy.
My choice would be a Garmin package…they have a great A/P(the old Gladiator TR-1 system), and it’s all plug-n-play with the sounder and radar black boxes. Carry a hand-held chartplotter and VHF as back-up. I would stick with only one VHF on a boat that size…unless you just feel compelled to carry two fixed-mount units.
I’ve outfitted 4 boats with complete electronics. Connecting several different makes of units to one another is a PITA…and if something does go wrong, it’s usually where they are interconnected. The advantages of using “packaged systems” far outweigh the disadvantages, IMO…especially when you are installing and connecting everything together.
Your budget should allow you to get all items…radar, sounder, A/P, VHF.
“Never argue with an idiot…he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
I bought all of my electronics from Chris V. His prices were very close to or the same as rock bottom that I’ve seen on the Internet. Support local business. At least get a quote.