IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Discussions regarding electronics, gear and other equipment of maintenance issues that ARE NOT SPECIFIC to a certain PDQ model yacht
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MagicDragon
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IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by MagicDragon »

OK, we admit we are doing our best to look on the bright side when it comes to our recent lightning strike (see website for more detailed list and pictures). In addition to some hull damage, it looks like the only piece of instrumentation that we WON'T be replacing is the Garmin 5212 (it was in a closet, disconnected, and it looks like the wiring is OK). It appears insurance will reimburse for depreciated value, but there's lots of stuff that got fried in the strike that we may or may not replace. What we're saying is we have some newfound flexibility. We'll probably never use the SSB radio, the Autohelm electronics most likely came as original equipment, and we've already sold off the PUR watermaker and a few other things.

So, given that information - if Mother Nature gave you an opportunity to re-do some things on your boat....

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? We'd like to hear any feedback, especially that suited for for 36 LRC's. Thanks!
http://www.MagicDragonPDQ.com
Angela Barbati
S/V Magic Dragon 36054
near Cleveland, OH
Dan White
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Re: IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by Dan White »

For the VHF radio, we love the PA/loud hailer with listenback and auto-fog features.
For the chartplotter/GPS/Radar, get the large screen color.
For the autohelm, get the remote.
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Page 83
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Re: IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by Page 83 »

It appears a ship in a safe harbor is not safe!
I too had a lightning strike on my PDQ 32, and was fortunate to have had very good insurance (Markel American "Yachtsman")
You have a virtually blank slate since its likely you will need to replace virtually every piece of electronics, but you're off to a great start. The Garmin 5212 is a superb MFD.
I would skip trying to match the previous equipment and take advantage of the fact that NMEA 2000 instruments are maturing and available. They are much easier to install and offer a number of advantages over NMEA 0813 stuff.
Start at the bottom: install an AIRMAR DST800 depth/speed/temp transducer. It replaces two of your old Raymarine transducers while relieving you of the necessity of using Raymarine/seatalk instruments.
Next, start at the top: install an AIRMAR PB200 Ultrasonic Weather Sensor. This provides you with both apparent and true wind, a GPS antenna, A very good compass, (that can easily drive your autopilot and give you full MARPA function if you go with radar) and motion compensators to keep everything calm when you are getting bounced around in powerboat wakes.
While all of this stuff will display on your 5212, I would add Garmin's instrument, the GMI 10 to display the wind data and interpret your fuel status: quantity, consumption, range, etc.
Buy Garmin's VHF 200, with NMEA 2000 connection to the 5212. It will give you the ability to click and call DSC and AIS targets with total integration. Get the remote mic so you can keep your radio locked up in the nav station. If you can make do with a cheap VHF until November or December, you could get Garmin's VHF 300, which will have full class D DSC, and dual frequency AIS receivers, all of which will use the N2K backbone to share information. This will be a pretty pricey number, so I hesitate to suggest it. The alternative is to get a simple AIS receiver for $189 and deal with the complexities.

Rationale: Modern electronics are extremely reliable, most failures occur outside the box, in the wiring or antenna leads. With Garmin, you very likely won't have to send their products back for anything less than physical damage because they use downloaded firmware upgrades so much. For these reasons, the old "eggs in one basket" fears are groundless provided:

Get a metal briefcase or makeup case and fill it with 1. a handheld GPS. 2. a hand held VHF. 3. a small solar charger, and 4. make sure they all use the same size batteries, such as Double A. 5. carry twice as many rechargeable batteries as will fit in all your gadgets, and the same number of Alkalines, for their long shelf life. This is your Faraday Cage emergency stash. It, and your paper charts, will get you home if lightning does indeed strike twice.
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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MagicDragon
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Re: IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by MagicDragon »

Sandy - all wonderful suggestions, and deeply appreciated! We bought the XM Weather antenna last year to display on the 5212, but I think the PB200 you have suggested provides different information. The yard (dealers for Raymarine but not Garmin) is trying to convince us to go with ST60 technology. I had already looked at Garmin's VHF300 and was going to do exactly what you recommended: use our cheap handheld for the balance of the season since we won't be doing any long distance cruising this year. If you think of more, would love to hear from you - this forum is the GREATEST!
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Angela Barbati
S/V Magic Dragon 36054
near Cleveland, OH
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Re: IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by Page 83 »

The PB200 will give you the actual conditions at the top of the mast. It detects the wind direction and speed extremely accurately, based on its internal GPS and compass, and compensates for mast motion with other sensors, all solid state.
When it has water data (speed and temperature) it calculates a bunch of enviromental data*, but its the wind data that matters most for me. I removed my ST50 wind transducer, and rely exclusively on the PB200. Another benefit: there's no place for a seagull to perch!

*barometric pressure, dew point, and maybe more.

Suggestion: start your N2K "backbone" at the masthead and end it at the connector for the fuel
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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Re: IF you could have ANYTHING YOU WANTED...

Post by Page 83 »

There could be one reason to go back to Raymarine instruments: if your thru-hull transducers are OK, you can just replace the cockpit instruments without hauling the boat. You would have to haul the boat to install the Airmar DST 800; it won't fit the old sleeve. If, however, you have to haul the boat for other reasons, go N2K. The Oooh-factor can help your resale value in addition to providing major new giggles! :D
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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