I am contemplating a major update to the navsystem on VALIS, my Pacific
Seacraft 44 sailboat, and would appreciate some advice.

Currently, I have a Raymarine RL70CRC+ chartplotter at the navstation, a
RLC80CRC+ at the helm, and a Raymarine 4kW radome on the mast. There is a
Raymarine GPS receiver on the pushpit, and a Raymarine "Smart Heading
Sensor" down below. I also have B&G "Network" gear for depth, speed, wind,
and autopilot (including a B&G fluxgate compass). There is a B&G "Data"
repeater unit at the navstation.

The Raymarine chartplotters are getting old. They will never support AIS
(which I *really* want on my chartplotter), and one of the units has started
to reset when in high temperatures. These chartplotters don't recognize all
the NMEA data that the B&G units send, and they are no longer being
manufactured, so I am looking into replacements. In order to put in the new
Raymarine "E-series" gear, I will need to replace my radar scanner for
compatability.

I am inclined to keep the B&G gear, since it has been working well for me,
but this may change once I start looking at the new stuff. Money isn't a
big problem, but reliability, performance, and features are important.

Furuno is an alternative I have been considering -- their NAVnet vx2 system.
Furuno has been very effective selling into the fishing fleets, and this has
been used in sales-pitches to demonstrate their value and reliability. This
may be true, or it may show that Furuno has better marketing, or has
features that are particularly useful for fishing operations. I don't
really care about fishing, so I am interested in anyone's experience with
the new Furuno gear, particularly on sailboats.

Here are my current priorities:

Charting - ease of use, good world-wide charts available, other important
features?
Radar - performance, chart overlay and dual-window modes. ARPA / MARPA
AIS - on-chart display, flexible alarms, ease of use.
Display of data from my other nav gear - Depth, speed through the water,
wind.
Autopilot integration - not necessary, bit nice.
Networking - helm and navstation units must work well together, all features
available at both locations.
Display visibility - especially at the helm. Visible in full sun, fully
dimmable for night operation.
Power consumption - lower is better. VALIS is a sailboat, with solar panels
and an engine-alternator.
Reliability - of course.
Computer interface - possibly nice to have?

Other features such as weather overlays on the chart are probably not so
important, but I will have to play with this before I decide. I currently
use a laptop for route-planning and weather-routing (and email ications) but
if the chartplotter worked well for this I would consider it. At the
moment, I consider these to be two different functions, and the laptop is
better-suited for what it does.

So, does anybody have any experience with the latest Raymarine or Furuno
systems? Are there other systems I should be considering? Larry, have you
looked at the *latest* Raymarine radomes? Or at the Furuno ones? Any
features I should re-consider?

Thanks,
Paul
S/V VALIS - PSC44 #16 - Sausalito, California
www.sailvalis.com