Electronics Upgrade for 1982 37' C & C

[Showme]

I am looking for advice/suggestions for Upgrading the Electronics on a 1982 37' C & C...Most of current electronics are missing...Plan to use boat for cruising the Gulf Coast and possible Bluewater Crossings...

John

[sailnaway]

I just saw your post so here we go. First look close at the hull damage on the boat it could be a bugger to fix because of the liner being in the way its below the water line. They had five foot waves pounding some boats on the piles man that is a beating it could be a total loss if it has fractures in the glass all over the side you cant see them it would have to be ground down to the bare glass to tell. I have done some extensive repairs on glass and if you cant get to the inside its real tough to make it strong enough. The electronics well Garmin GPS so many I really like the 3006 or the 3010 because of the live weather and you can put a DVD online and watch a movie on a long watch and have music what ever $$$$$$ 3010 with all the bells which included Depth interface but a separate display and control,weather module and antenna atachment for your lap top ect was around $6500 best deal I could find not installed ,Standard Horizon VHF Matrix with command mike for the cockpit $530 great radio. With the NEMA plug you can plug in your hand held Garmin GPS into it and it displays the fix if you need to send a distress its automatic keeps repeating as long as the radio works.B&G insturments I think was able to be interfaced with the Garmin so you could touch a button and see your wind direction, speed and other info. This is dream stuff I have a wife and she saw this list and said Bugger off you old fool. We will talk some more on this, I have sailed around with old stuff for many miles and never missed the high dollar stuff just sailed pure. I sailed with a guy once who during the night threw our TV and radio overboard.

[redcorvette1995]

Hi! I would go with the Raymarine ST60 for insturments. It is a good product, and easy to install. You can also get good deals on them on ebay. Beyond that a good chart plotter. If you have the dollars a nice Raymarine C70 or C80 (around 1300 or so). You can add radar to that if you want. Get a navpod or two to put it all on the pedestal for you and you are done. I did this on mine over the last couple of years. No regrets. If you take your time you can get some great deals.

[sailingdog]

I'd second the ST60 Raymarine gear. If you don't want to run wires, then TackTick gear is also a pretty good choice, as the instruments are wireless and solar powered.

I'd go with a Garmin chartplotter, either the 192C/392C/492C, or the 276/376. The x92 series have a larger screen and have a good base map of the US built in... with the 192 and 492 having Coastal US, and 392 having inland US waters. The x76 series are usable both in auto and marine, and the 376 has weather capability.

[jared]

I don't think any of the name-brand gear on the market is "bad" but make sure to check that everything you are looking for can be interfaced. Raytheon/Raymarine is nice--but you may have to buy an extra "NMEA interface box" to tie in a GPS or autopilot. And even with NMEA, there are different standards, so make sure all the toys will speak to each other.

When it comes to installation time, buy a tube of silicon grease (aka "high temperature brake grease" at 1/10th the price) and use a dab in every connection, it ensures moisture cannot get in. Ever. And personally, I like to add a spike-protection device (like a 15volt rated varistor or zener diode) on the lines at every device, because your starter and alternator will routinely throw spikes into the power lines, and sometimes that makes instruments die for no obvious reason. The protection devices are cheap, typically 25c-50c each. (The alternative is to make sure all the toys are OFF before starting or stopping the engine.)