The area on which I spend the
most time during the process of guiding folks through the purchase of their
new cruiser is electronics. Second is the electrical system, then
power, then other accessories. With that thought in mind I'm writing
this guide to answer many of the questions that come up and to give an
overview of what the typical system looks like today. Keep in mind
that almost every electronic "goody" in the following article can be
purchased on the Internet for not much more, or sometimes less, than I'm
able to buy the same item for. So this article is not written in order
to generate more sales (or more profit) for our company since there's very
little to be made in the electronics we'll be covering. Rather these
are things we do for our own boat even though they cost us as much as anyone
and I believe them to be solid choices.
Fundamentally what I'm after
is a system that allows me to take the boat where I want when I want; I want
the decision to go or not go to be based on personal comfort and boat
performance and not on whether or not the proper navigation system is
installed. The difference between an "ok" system and a very good one
may look like a large dollar figure on paper but it's only a fraction of the
overall cost of the boat. I firmly believe it's better to put a very
good system together up front and use its capabilities than it is to be
caught out and scared wishing a different decision had been made.
You'd probably happily spend twice the up-front difference in that
particular moment to change the situation. I'm not trying to scare
anyone here; cruising should be, and usually is, fun. But things do
happen, if not to you then to someone else, and there's nothing like being
prepared ahead of time to calm down a potentially traumatic situation.
Just as everything electronic,
the marine electronics market is ever changing and ever evolving.
There's no way to make it stop so we just need to take the current state of
affairs and make our best choice. This does mean however that what was
the best choice 6 months ago isn't necessarily the way to go right at the
moment. I keep up as best I can with the industry so that I'm able to
provide accurate and pertinent information to our customers. If you
think of a electronics suite on your boat as you would a home theatre system
you'll understand that there are many choices that can be made; there is no
one "right" way and there are several ways to achieve the desired end
result. While I'm going to give some specifics here (I think they're
helpful) please don't take me to task because you think there's something
else available (I know there is) or some other way to do it (I know that
to); I can't possibly present all the options in one short article and it
would just make things confusing. I'll mention Raymarine a lot and
it's what we install a large percentage of the time but my comments could
equally apply to Garmin, Furuno, Simrad, Standard Horizon, or any number of
other systems.
So let me set the stage by
asking what a system should do in the first place? It's really pretty
simple because almost everyone wants to know the same things; where am I,
where am I going, how much water do I have under my keel, and where is
everyone else. Which put in equipment terms is GPS, chartplotter,
depth sounder, and radar (and AIS). You'd probably like to have a way
to communicate and that adds a VHF radio. Do not rely on just a cell
phone alone; remember a VHF broadcasts to everyone with a radio on close
enough to hear you and the cell phone only allows you to talk to one person.
In my neck of the woods, if I call 911 just outside Deception Pass I get the
Canadian emergency services which doesn't do me much good and requires them
to transfer me to another agency. Oft times just getting some
assistance from the nearest boat is all it takes to keep a situation under
control and not escalate it to an emergency status.
First I'm going to alienate
all the old-timers out there that want a plethora of units hanging from the
overhead and perched in every conceivable nook and cranny on the dash to
satisfy the notion that all those single use units are somehow superior to
multifunction units. If that were the case no modern airplane would
leave the ground and the military has spent millions in developing the best
HUD (Heads Up Display) possible for their planes. Why? Because
you can present very complex situations with interrelated information in a
more understandable way in a smaller space resulting in less stress and less
workload for the operator with multifunction displays. I've even seen
some really great displays in cranes! So the basis for all our
installations is a multifunction display sitting on the dash in front of the
helm person where it can be seen and operated easily. Forget
everything you thought you knew about the old school way to do things...that
display sitting in front of the helm seat is the primary navigation
instrument on the boat. It deserves a place of honor and should be the
best one you can afford to put in that place. This is not to say you
shouldn't have back up systems but that's a different subject for later on.
How large should it be...get as big a screen as will fit and not impede
sight lines. Money will (or at least often does) play a part but
realize if you compromise here you're not going to save a lot of money in
the overall scheme of things and you'll always pay for it in the long run.
I'd typically use 7" as the bare minimum (remember, I'm addressing the need
of a cruising boat here so the boat should be large enough to handle that)
though 8" is much better; better still is a 10" or 12" display if there's
room for it.
The next step is to add the
peripheral equipment that sends information to the display. Really
this isn't any different in concept than having a DVD player, and a satellite
receiver or cable box, and so on connected to your TV screen at home.
All we're doing is adding the components we want in the system to get the
information we're after. In most cases we'll add a depth sounder
module, a GPS sensor, a radar scanner, and an AIS receiver; and weather
modules are coming on strong. Each of these components sends its data
to the multifunction unit for display and as operators we get to choose what
and how we see it. Most of the components get mounted in the boat out
of sight and therefore add nothing to the "clutter factor".
The advantages of this system
are multiple. In the first place you only have to learn one operating
scheme and not multiple schemes for multiple units from different
manufacturers. But what really pays off is the integration. I've
shown folks unfamiliar with radar what that display looks like underway and
it usually just draws a blank stare; it looks like an ink blob test (we're
in Puget Sound, not open ocean). As soon as I show them the same radar
display overlaid on the chart I can see the light come on. In that one
step I've just reduced by orders of magnitude the time and effort required
to use the radar at a fundamental level and introduced a level of
understanding that only comes with hours and hours of practice with a
traditional radar presentation. This is not to say that this
miraculously makes radar operators out of novices but it certainly propels
them along the learning curve to great advantage and allows the radar to
become part of the working tools sooner rather than later.
These days we routinely add an
AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver to the system. AIS is
quite possibly the proverbial best thing since sliced bread. Whereas
radar is getting much better and now layered over the chart for quicker
interpretation it still relies on the operator to understand when it needs
some "tweaking" to do its best work. AIS is a passive system; that is,
just by virtue of having the receiver turned on and sending information to
the multifunction display it's working. Every boat that has an AIS
transponder sending data within the reception range of the AIS receiver will
show up on the display screen with no further operator intervention
required. I often demonstrate this by having an AIS target on the
screen that's around a point; I'll turn off the AIS layer and ask the person
for whom I'm conducting the demonstration to locate the target on the radar.
When they can't (since it's out of sight around a point of land) I turn the
AIS layer back on and there's the target. They instantly understand
what that means to their comfort level and safety. In an area like
ours where there is lots of commercial traffic like barges, tows, State
ferries, tankers, and such in waters dotted with islands it really pays big
dividends; especially when the fog rolls in. Coming soon will the the
AIS B transponders for smaller boats. These will not be the
receive-only units we've been installing so far but rather will also
transmit information from our vessel so other AIS-equipped boats will know
where we are as well. It looks like these units (they're still pending
FCC approval in the U.S. but used throughout the rest of the world) will be
competitively priced with the current receive-only unit we've been
utilizing. That means more and more small boats will show up on the
display so in the fog you'll not only know where that tug and tow are but
the other recreational vessels near you as well.
Another component in the
system is the depth sounder module and its function is pretty obvious.
Modern electronics have really made these units extremely good so even those
that are fisherman will find no fault with the new systems.
The final piece of the system
that we install in almost every cruiser is the autopilot. Once thought
of as a yacht's toy (except for offshore long-distance cruisers that have
always used them or a windvane) today they're affordable, reliable and
really part of the safety aspect of a good system. When you're in the
thick of things, with targets on the screen everywhere, with several knots
of current running, and islands dotting the chart around you, there's
nothing like having someone at the helm that's unwavering, that will react
to every nuance and steer a bang on course without falling asleep or needing
to take a break...enter the autopilot. It frees you up do to the
important other stuff that demands your attention and decision making
skills. Steering a small boat in rough conditions or in heavy fog
requires a lot more effort and attention that most folks think. Every
minute you spend trying to chase your course is time you could spend with
your head up watching the radar and chart, watching for debris in the water,
listening for other boats in the fog, and so forth.
So there you have it for the
basic setup. When you step aboard one of our boats you're greeted with
three items to interface with; the main display at the helm, the VHF radio,
and the autopilot controller. That's it. For those folks looking
for a cockpit that looks like a 747 we'll have to dig up more goodies with
lights on them but really all you need are the three units I listed for a
great system. In addition, there's usually an electronic compass
sitting close by to feed fast heading update to the nav system and to use
for quick directional checks and there may be a stereo installed for
entertainment as well.
Additional technologies and
thoughts:
Other technologies are rapidly
being introduced and one of the more promising is real time weather via
satellite. In the Raymarine product line this is a black-box unit
mounted out of the way feeding information to the multifunction display at
the helm for immediate use. This weather is provided by Sirius (XM has
a similar service for other brands) and you'll also get Sirius satellite
radio as part of the package.
Another up and coming
technology is HD radar. This digital High Definition radar technology
depicts targets much more sharply, with greater separation of close targets,
and much sharper edge definition. At this point in time (March 2008)
it means choosing an open array antenna and spending a considerably larger
amount of money (about $2500 at this writing for 4KW scanners). For
the typical boat we rig an open array radar scanner isn't usually the best
choice and it's doubtful many would choose the HD radar right now but it's
worth noting for the ultimate system and the technology may be available on
lower cost units (perhaps even radomes) in the future.
Do you have a laptop computer
you'd like to use aboard. In addition to the normal functions you use
the laptop for with the installation of a software package like RayTech RNS
6.1 and an Ethernet connection to the E-series Raymarine system your laptop
can become a fully functional additional station in your navigation suite.
And, it means you can work with your laptop at home for route
planning or trip review as well.