[Uhehner]

Whenever I do autopilot work on a customers boat I always suggest a main power cut-off switch next to the AP control head. If you have an AP failure you can quickly loose control of the boat and don't have time to leave the helm and locate the breaker. If you read my earlier posts you know my opinion of Raymarine products. Well my boat came with a Raymarine AP and last weekend while cruising at 9 kts the boat made a hard right turn, the LCD display got a large black circle in the center and the standby button would not turn it off. Saved by the main power cut-off switch. Luckily we were in open water and recovered quickly. FYI there are no LCD repair parts for ST7000+ heads . They are throw aways. Capt. George

[RobS]

Couldn't agree more about a dedicated switch for the AP at the AP. If she does something wacky all bets are off that any function will actually function...

At least you were doing 9 knots and not 30 knots. My prior boat had an 18 knot cruise and I would never leave the helm unattended unless I was running at hull speed in open water. That was a Furuno unit I installed back in 2009 and in 6 years and thousands of miles she never missed a beat. Sounds like the Raymarine unit on the Tiara I am in contract on might be a different story. I know Furuno's support of "yesterday's" models is second to none, and Raymarine's support of their older gear is nil. That also plays a huge role in resale value when you pull older gear when upgrading. My older Furuno stuff brought good money.

[Jakes]

I have a 2002 Open with Raymarine electronics that has been giving me alot of trouble. The local service company is suggesting that I replace it all with RM for up to $24K! I just bought the boat last year and the survey included a clean bill of health on the electronics. I have a Simrad AP which is the only part working fine. Can I just replace the Chartplotter/GPS or will the new equipment not "talk" to the old?
Scotty

[Uhehner]

Ask your electronics salesman if his Garmin / Furuno equipment will talk to Simrad and your VHF. I'll bet they can and you will have a reliable setup. Garmins are the most user friendly. Furunos are top shelf. Raymarines are POS but I heard they are getting better. Just my opinion. Capt. George

[Jakes]

As a matter of fact....he told me that Furuno will cost me an additional $12K. Thanks for the advice.

[anthem]

When I put my Raymarine Autopilot into the AUTO mode, sometimes it veers about 90 degrees to port. Not a very good feeling at 24 knots. It doesn't always do it. Consequently, I never engage the autopilot in close quarters or narrow channels no matter what speed I am going. I am in total agreement with Capt. George....Raymarine gear is crap! I just replaced my Raymarine plotter with a Garmin 7215 and the Raymarine VHF with a Garmin with an AIS receiver. Works great. It's great gear.

[Fuzzdr]

To Captain George and others who advocate installing an emergency 'cut off switch' next to the control head of a Ray AP especially. I would like to do that but need help; my control head gets it's power through the NMEA 2000 backbone.......not simply a wire from the ignition switch. I don't want to mess with the power to all of the other components attached to that backbone. So what is the best way to proceed?

I am planning to switch my electronics from Ray over to Garmin. In fact, I am waiting for the open array radar, new smart AP etc to arrive. My 16" MFD is already here. I wish to finish the season with my present setup and will install everything during the winter months. But my Ray AP is unreliable at best; the Stdby button can't be trusted to work when I need it. Need that button to allow manual steering prn.

Any suggestions or info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!  Fuzzdr

[jclark003]

Fuzzdr

try wiring your disconnect switch into the AP computer instead of the control head. The computer is what controls the pump and consequently what you want to power down in an emergency situation.

I recently installed all the latest Furuno equipment installed (2 15" MFDs, radar, autopilot, etc) and yes, have an AP disconnect switch. Phenomenal equipment wih support second to none. I found their pricing to be in line with Garmin.

[Fuzzdr]

Thank you J Clark for yet another helpful thread. It is good to know that Furuno equipment can be had for a reasonable price. I started with Garmin from the beginning of the GPS (circa 1990) era and have owned a high number of their GPS units from totally manually through the graphical units of today. I have no doubt that Garmin has saved my life a couple of times over the years. My moto "if undecided between my gut feeling and Garmin, go with Garmin". I am sure that you feel the same about the top shelf equipment from Furuno with very good reason. Fuzzdr

[Sans Peur]

I am in the process of exchanging everything out to Garmin. New to me 2000 41 Open that still had the original Raymarine on it. So far I redid the dash panel to accommodate 2 Garmin 8212's and am waiting on the new radar to arrive. Next is the VHF and old stereo system. I was thinking on keeping the Raymarine autopilot since it seems to work really well. If I do a dedicated switch will definitely go on the dash just under the head unit. I have a few open Assy slots.