What new electronics would you add to your boat ?

[bud37]

Was sitting on the deck looking thru a 50 page glossy catalogue ( somebody marine) of all the current marine electronics from one of the manufacturers.....wow there really is some neat stuff out there now, from fish finders,night vision cameras,touch screens,all sorts of engine data interfaces........endless.

So I was wondering what would you get for your boat if money was no object........

[tomschauer]

When we bought our 355, it had dual plotters, radar, fish finder and auto pilot, all Raymarine from 1998 (the boat had less than 200 hours on it, so it wasn't used much). I removed it all and installed a Raymarine A97 plotter. With the intent to add radar etc. But, we don't do a lot of long range cruising. Usually 40-50 mile at a clip in familiar waters. As such I hardly ever turn on my plotter unless entering a new harbor. So for me, it would be a waste to add all of the "I wants". And everything gets outdated so quickly now, its frustrating....

[PJHoffnet]

FLIR for forward looks during dark/low light/fog - safety
Wireless camera looking aft - would make backing into the slip easier.

[dsolo]

I've added the Raymarine es78 mfd, thruhull transducer, and quantum Radome. The Raymarine mfd came with Navionics charting, auto route planning, with radar overlay on charts. I leave from Onekema, Michigan Monday for Hilton Beach Ontario. I plan on cruising at 10 knots and taking 3 days. I feel I need every feature of the system.

[bud37]

What I would like if,.....install three 12" touch screen in dash displays, one with the chart plotter and radar overlay...the centre with all the engines data etc, the other with depth and forward looking sonar, cameras etc. Now this being said, for the boating we do this would be total overkill, but none the less cool stuff.

[taddly]

What would I like to add? First response is, everything in that catalog you were looking at (lol). But I am in the process of adding a very cool device, but alas, it is only for Mercury/MerCruiser engines later than 2004. It is called VesselView Mobile and like most engine/boat system monitors, it provides a great deal of engine information.

Unlike most engine/boat system monitors, this is a $275 Bluetooth module that you plug into the engine harness, download the app on your tablet/smartphone, and get (quasi-) fuel flow, engine parameters, fault codes & instructions, scheduled maintenance reminders, etc, etc,. Most in dash twin engine monitors will run $1k (US) or more, sometimes much more.

I am stoked but the brand new MerCruiser Remanufactured 383 MAG Strokers did not come with a $12 (retail) CAN termination resistor so I am forced to wait another week for one to arrive. I'll let you know how well it works in a week or so.