Electronics - what to do?

Marine Electronics - What to do?

Update - installed the vYacht wifi router and was able to get nmea data transmitted to my iPad - very cool.   I now have 3 redundant multifunction displays (laptop and two iPads) 3 chart plotter apps (opencpn, inavx, and NavionicsHD.) and 3 redundant gps sources, (garmin x19, garmin get Bluetooth glo, and iPad on board- is suppose my phone too.... ).  as well as a world of apps that are constantly evolving, all integrated with display devices I already own, and a standardized data set. 

Screenshot from inavx with nmea instrument data displayed.  Clearly shows Windstar in the marina parking lot.

Ram mount with Lifeproof ipad case bracket, and Edson Pod with autopilot control head at helm.

I started sailing my own boat circa 1990 with paper charts, a few books and after having taken at least one course on piloting (might have been two).  This was a skill taken quite seriously by all sailors at the time and was a very cool and satisfying part of the experience.  In fact, the challenge added some richness and a sense of adventure to sailing, which has been lost with the advent of inexpensive GPS and chart-plotter technologies.   While I do miss the satisfaction of being sheepishly consulted mid-lake by lost power boaters, I certainly wouldn't go back.   I do I like knowing exactly where i am and how fast I am going.  

When we bought Windstar in 2014, she was equipped with original, 1980s vintage B&G instruments, which were well made and still working fine.   She did not have an autopilot, and that quest resulted in an electronics refit spree which now includes:

• SeatalkNG backbone
• Raymarine P70, EV1, EV 100 autopilot bundle
• DST-800 transducer
• Garmin X19 GPS
• Raymarine i70 multifunction instrument
• Icom M506 VHF - AIS, NMEA 2000

I had original contemplated the addition of a Raymarine chartplotter but was not ready to choose the particular model.   There was no rush anyway, as I had two ipads (one with GPS) both running NavionicsHD.   To enable the one non-GPS ipad I acquired a:

• Garmin GLO Bluetooth GPS.

This gave me three GPS sources, two chartplotters and most of the functionality I wanted.  I bought two Edson pedestal arms, one pod for same (thanks to a kind cnc lister) and a lifeproof case, bracket and ram mount.  I added a Bluesea USB charger to the electrical panel, and a RAM ball at the chart table.   The iPad can be easily moved from nav station to helm.  

Some more photos:

the ipad on its mount, and the Ray marine P70 autopilot controller in its pod.  both can be rotated 180 deg. 

I have another RAM mount ball that will be screwed through the hull liner directly above where the ipad sits in this photo.  This will provide a location to keep it safe, that is also within reach of the panel mount charger.   It could also be rotated and extended on its mount for viewing from several angles.  It occurs to me that a third mount near the companion way might be useful.  You can see the Garmin GLO between the stereo and VHF.

The lifeproof case, its mounting bracket and the compatible RAM hardware are all ruggedly made and are quite adequate for my use.

The good:  it works.  I have no issues with screen brightness (it's under the bimini)
The bad:  one needs to be mindful of the ipad chartplotter's state of charge, and that it is not integrated with the network, and therefore cannot use the Garmin X19 antenna, nor can it drive waypoints to the autopilot. 
In practice, none of this has been a big deal  given how I use the boat, but the underexploited potential bothers me.   So, I decided to buy a gateway, enabling tablets and PCs to connect to the n2k bus.   What was recommended was the:

• Actisense NGT-1 USB gateway.

This is cool, and after a being tortured by an old laptop and Windows 7 bugs, I can now run a laptop-based chartplotter, instruments, etc.   I can also view all of the devices on the bus, check their firmware versions etc.    What I did not anticipate, was that the iPad could not be made to connect to the network via USB.  This is not true of other tablets.   So, to use the iPad I need wifi, and have ordered and await a:

• vYacht wifi router.

This was not the most expensive router out there, but it is proven to work with the iPad.   As I research this whole area, it is clear advancements are being made at a rapid pace, and I expect some further evolution.

In the end, decisions will need to be made about a single OS, and a single chartplotter app, where today I have 3.

Would a chartplotter/MFD have been a better approach?

Certainly, it would have been simpler to integrate, though more costly to install.  Until recently I was considering a Raymarine unit.  To date I have used both ipads with Navionics, one with its internal GPS, and one with the bluetooth-connected garmin GLO.   Both are very accurate.  I have connected an old laptop running OPENCPN to the network, and it appears to work fine.  I am about to integrate the ipads through wifi.   All of this  for much less money than the installed (hardware) cost of a chartplotter.  (I can't bring myself to call it a multi-function display, because compared to an android tablet or iPad, it simply isn't one.)

The more I learn, the more convinced I am that disruptive digital technologies are knocking hard at the door of the old boys club of electronics manufacturers, and that a chart-plotter bought today will be obsolete very soon indeed.  For me, it already is.

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