Marine Forum

Nav Systems - who's worth the money?

jstewart30

08 October 2010 21:51:44

Joined: 08 October 2010 21:48:09 | Posts: 1

OK, guys. Just joined the forum to pick the brains of folks more experienced than I. I am helping my grandpa resurrect an 85 Chris Craft 50' motoryacht that is in some neglect. On top of trying to just clean the dang thing up, we want to replace the entire nav system with new, reliable equipment.

I am definitely a newbie but have been doing my own research to see what products have the right specs, seem to network well, etc. That's not that hard except I really don't know which brands of navigation equipment/gauges are actually worth looking at. Looking at two nav stations with monitors (flybridge and lower helm) and network everything together. We are planning on building new instrument panels so I don't have to worry about matching existing holes.

I need a brand that is reliable and has great products. My grandpa is paying for the repairs and new equipment and he is willing to spend the money on something good if I could justify why it was good and not just "pretty".

What are your recommendations on navigation brands (chartplotter, radar, AP and other supporting products) to look at based on reliability, reputation, etc. that we won't regret using later. I am not concerned about specific models or system packages yet as I can pare that down once I know which companies are worth researching.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Jace

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Jace