An electronics budget

Could anyone give a rough estimate ( ball park figure if necessary) as to what it would cost to kit out a 7.5m rib with all the necessary and up to date electronics, nothing fancy. Just wondering what other people have spent?.

i think you need to be a little more specific


ie fixed radio or handheld, icom....200
colour or b/w chartplotter, garmin 178c 550
depth/fishfinder, colour or b/w built into garmin
then what ever maps/charts you want

anything else you might want ?

Could anyone give a rough estimate ( ball park figure if necessary) as to what it would cost to kit out a 7.5m rib with all the necessary and up to date electronics, nothing fancy. Just wondering what other people have spent?.

How long is a piece of string???

I ended up spending quite a bit but shopped around for the best deals.

With a normal boat with a cabin I would have used a laptop with my handheld gps connected to it but on an open RIB that was ruled out!!!

Electronics have come down massively in price lately - just read a test in MBY on h/h vhfs - they rated the Cobra at about £50 as quite good - just need a waterproof bag for it.

As to what I bought

Raymarine C80 with fishfinder module and GPS - no radome yet
Wide area chart
Navman 3100 fuel computer
Raymarine 54E vhf
Icom M1V h/h vhf

Total spend was about £2200 plus VAT

One thing I learnt was the transducers are more important than the actual units!!! For example a cheap Raymarine display with an expensive radome will outperform a much more expensive set with a smaller scanner.

Same with fishfinder/echo sounders. Some transducers run into the £thousands - a cheap head unit with an expensive transducer will be better than the other way around!!!

Suppose you could say the same about radios - an expensive set with a cheap aerial will not perform as well as a budget set with a bloody great big aerial fitted to it.

To give you idea of what we have, however the types are endless

VHF DSC ICOM 421 (i think) - about 250
Depth/log = 200
Compass = 100
chart plotter , ours is Raymarine, but i think you could get a colour one for about 700, with same screen dimensions

All other gauges i need came with the engine

If your really on a budget, VHF (so you call for assistance), depth log (so you dont run aground and distance), Compass (so you know what direction), and a cheap GSP (so you know where you are on the chart),,e.g navigate

I've got an eagle/lowrance cuda 240 combined gps/fishfinder and a waterproof dsc radio on my 4m-whole lot came to under £400 and the screen size for the fishfinder means the gps is really easy to use. You'd get away with those two and a chart easily. Depth on the fishfinder seems to work ok at speed.

Only one choice for me

Garmin 178C (http://www.jgtech.co.uk/j/g/jgtech.ndo.co.uk/web/shop13.htm) (£579) + Icom M421 (http://www.jgtech.co.uk/j/g/jgtech.ndo.co.uk/web/shop3.htm) (£199) + Rib Raider Antenna (http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/100098) ($47)

I have this kit in my boat - and will fit the same kit in my next boat (or equivalent models when that day comes)

and will fit the same kit in my next boat

Hey Roy are you thinking ahead already?

was the weather kind this weekend? did you do a few hours/miles

Hey Roy are you thinking ahead already?

was the weather kind this weekend? did you do a few hours/miles No - not thinking ahead at all - am over the moon with the rib just trying to point out how much I like these two pieces of electronics.

Yes the weather was kind to us in the end - check here (http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=11896) or follow the riblog link in my signature for what I've been up to...

Could anyone give a rough estimate ( ball park figure if necessary) as to what it would cost to kit out a 7.5m rib with all the necessary and up to date electronics, nothing fancy. Just wondering what other people have spent?.

Again, hard to say (radar etc?).

Depends on what you consider 'necessary' but a starting budget of £2,000 should get you somewhere.

Might be worth having a brief chat with your local chandler.

Good luck!

Us :cool:

Hi,

Thanks for all the info so far, its been very helpful. I've always been a fan of the raymarine range so would probaly opt for their products. But having read the replies i may now take a closer look at others (garmin and Icom).I would want to have a fixed radio/vhf, colour charplotter, depth/fishfinder and compass, no radar.

I guess raymarine and garmin are towards the top end of the market?.

Hi,

Thanks for all the info so far, its been very helpful. I've always been a fan of the raymarine range so would probaly opt for their products. But having read the replies i may now take a closer look at others (garmin and Icom).I would want to have a fixed radio/vhf, colour charplotter, depth/fishfinder and compass, no radar.

I guess raymarine and garmin are towards the top end of the market?.

I don't believe there are many better radios than Icom, and they're getting more affordable by the day....

My view is, buy the very best you can afford, as with all marine electronics/machinery. After all, they may help save your life one day...

Just read a review of VHF sets - the raymarine won with the Icom 2nd - of course this doesn't count for long term use which is what really matters but I reckon there prob isn't much to chose between them.

To hedge my bets I have also bout an Icom h/h - the M1V so should have the best of both worlds!!!

I would at least buy one VHF and a chartplotter.

Then if the budget alows(in order): one big colorchartplotter with depth indication, one portable vhf, a fuel manager and last but not least....a stereo with enough power to keep you singin along at high speeds. :thumbs:

I don't believe there are many better radios than Icom, and they're getting more affordable by the day....

My view is, buy the very best you can afford, as with all marine electronics/machinery. After all, they may help save your life one day...


i don't think as much of Icoms as you do, but that aside, are you seriously recomending that one buys the very best in order to be assured of reliability in an emergency, I can understand that logic in the case of a regulator for a SCUBA set but I am not so sure for radios

Wouldn't you be better buying two cheaper ( but still high Quality) units than than one of the very best. that way you have redundancy, which I think is safer. (VHF wise)

Also the quality/capacity of your electronics depends on what range you expect to cover You need a lot more faith in your electronics in the Atlantic than you do in the Solent

Also the quality/capacity of your electronics depends on what range you expect to cover You need a lot more faith in your electronics in the Atlantic than you do in the Solent

Totally agree :thumbs:

Us

i don't think as much of Icoms as you do, but that aside, are you seriously recomending that one buys the very best in order to be assured of reliability in an emergency, I can understand that logic in the case of a regulator for a SCUBA set but I am not so sure for radios

Wouldn't you be better buying two cheaper ( but still high Quality) units than than one of the very best. that way you have redundancy, which I think is safer. (VHF wise)

Also the quality/capacity of your electronics depends on what range you expect to cover You need a lot more faith in your electronics in the Atlantic than you do in the Solent

hmmm, take your point, never thought of double redundancy, but I always carry a portable as well anyway. The difference between an Icom and say a Silva portable (both "waterproof") seems to be in battery life. I used to buy cheaper stuff (Silva) and the Icom outperformed it both in power and battery life by a significant margin, so now i buy Icom. I'm not actually saying that if it's cheap it's gonna be crap, or if it's expensive it's gonna be good, but certain brands seem to represent uncompromising performance and they always tend to be expensive. I'm afraid I'm one of those that prefer all my kit to be as best as I can afford, especially safety gear. Another interesting example is the outboard motor performance/reliability syndrome. Most seem to want the power and performance whereas I would gladly sacrifice top speed for reliability and would be prepared to pay more for it.

As for reliability in the Atlantic/vs Solent, I don't believe anyone knowingly asks for a lesser degree of reliability/performance just because it is going to be used inshore. I expect most, like me, want the very best for the least!!

As a matter of interest, for portable use, which model do you prefer over the Icom?

As for reliability in the Atlantic/vs Solent, I don't believe anyone knowingly asks for a lesser degree of reliability/performance just because it is going to be used inshore. I expect most, like me, want the very best for the least!!


True also!

It's just that it can get a lot more scary & lonely in the Atlantic.

Us

Good point about radios

We have an ICOM, for me it works and has simple menus. We also have a Sim rad Handheld for the grab bag (with a spare charged battery)

As a matter of interest, for portable use, which model do you prefer over the Icom?


de rinkly owld bastud az gott.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...............wate forr itt............................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ................an IMOC mv yewro

fuk mee itt woz lyke laiyin a eemew eg too gett dat owt

gArf

Ok good reply, it's nice to get in a discussion ( as opposed to if you don't agree with my choice then your a w.....r) so here goes.

Double redundancy? I am not advocating three radios just two A portable and a fixed set would fit within the parameters of my suggestion, but not within the original suggestion made by yourself which I queried.

You indicated that one should buy the very best one can afford. I interpretted that as meaning buy the best model you can afford. Even if you were to buy Icoms then as radios is there any difference in the build quality between a 421 or a 601. do they use inferior Robots to assemble the cheaper machines? Do the transmitters put out more or less power? I suspect not, but I stand to be corrected.

However if you can only buy 1 Radio then make it a fixed DSC and no I am not suggesting Silva products!

Your comments re uncompromising performance make sense and that certainly is the perception that Icom have managed to create.
Can you think of any other companies that have that reputation Raymarine certainly springs to mind

I'm afraid I'm one of those that prefer all my kit to be as best as I can afford, especially safety gear. Another interesting example is the outboard motor performance/reliability syndrome. Most seem to want the power and performance whereas I would gladly sacrifice top speed for reliability and would be prepared to pay more for it.

As for reliability in the Atlantic/vs Solent, I don't believe anyone knowingly asks for a lesser degree of reliability/performance just because it is going to be used inshore. I expect most, like me, want the very best for the least!!

As a matter of interest, for portable use, which model do you prefer over the Icom?


It was difficult for me to prcis this section of your post so I'll address the points you have raised.

Couldn't agre more with the first sentence but am a little confused by the rest of the paragraph I see you own an Optimax which fits into the first part of your engine statement and not the second! ( Bear in mind nobody loves Opti's more than me) :D Or are you on your way to a different engine

Let me expand my comments about the Solent/Atlantic. I see you operate a charter boat out of the Western Solent (which would be say from Calshot to das niedles). about 8 nautical miles.

Within that stretch you have at your disposal the rescue services of:

Solent Coastguard
Calshot RNLI Lifeboat
Cowes Inshore Rescue
Venture Rescue ? from Bewley
Yarmouth RNLI Lifeboat
Hamble rescue (if they got there Skates on)
Let me know if I have missed any

On top of that it is densely populated with leisure traffic and is an incredibly busy commercial shipping area. So your radio signal will be picked and relayed by any number of VHF sets if neccasary. Also it is fully covered with mobile phone networks. So you just migt be able to get away with a slightly lesser model of VHF

This area is populated with a large number of commercial Bouyage and a vertable cornucopia of racing marks and plenty of Landmarks. So you don't need the ultimate GPS Chart plotter to get a position fix if you are in the doo doo and trying to be rescued.

Compare this with Peterhead harbour trwo bouys and a big rock Then the North sea all the way to Norway. Now I am looking for the better eKwipment

portable Radios it is true I do own an Icom portable but when it fails it will be replaced with an Entec or Standard Horizon which I think are excellent waterproof VHF's

over

Totally agree with all your comments, and as far as the Opti goes....it's been OK for me (I'm trying to whisper in case it hears me) and yes I'm looking at a replacement 2 stroke and am in a slight quandry over a known quantity (Opti) over a largely unknown quantity (Etec) and some of the final decision will be driven by price not necessarily ultimate proveable reliability, 'cos that's hard to prove/quantify. Like I said before, I don't believe anyone knowingly asks for lesser performance in anything mechanical or electrical/electronic as we find ourselves in a numbers driven society. I've always been amazed at the gear on the average RIB/hardboat in the Solent as they could probably navigate their way around the world with some of their kit and radar has even been seen recently on Solent RIBS. Most of it totally unecessary as you rightly say. I suppose, in keeping with their land based brethren, any RIB not sporting the "toys" would not be considered pukka, if you get my meaning. Thanks for the insight into portables. I am not familiar with these models and I'll make a point of checking them out. In the meantime, my RIB hasn't a forward looking or even side scanning sonar, so I'll be checking those out too. ;)

VHF's are leased for the specific job by the company i work for in the North Sea normally they use Motorolas but on one one mission Standard Horizons were delivered and we used them for a month and they were most impressive. I gained the feeling they were waterproof! Entec I just realised was a production company I used to work for I think the VHF's are called Entels

Re Rib gizmos The Rib I drive in the North Sea has an all singing and dancing Raymarine Radar/Plotter but the boss keeps the chip in the office in case somebody swipes it! :thumbs:

Re your Opti, I think they are great engines and other than the Etec they haven't any real (2 stroke) competition at the 200 hp plus level. But like any modern engine it uses lots of complicated and expensive bits. So if your engines in Warranty then it's cushty! The 200 HPDI is a nice engine but I have heard bad reports about the bigger HPDI's