As part of a major refit of our BoatWorks Bailout boat, a 1983 Ericson 34, we installed an up-to-the-minute electronics package. It was easier than expected.
By Mark Corke
Installing a new pedestal from Edson gave us space for a number of instruments, with the C80 display taking center stage. The C80 acts as a chartplotter, radar display, and, with optional modules, can be set up with cameras to monitor the engine room. Navionics Gold cards provide charting information.
As we stripped off Castaway’s old electronics gear, we were reminded just how far things have developed during the last 25 years. Back in the day, a log and a depthsounder was about all you were likely to find on the average sailboat. GPS had yet to be invented, and big, heavy, electricity-hogging radar was limited to big boats.
In the last few years, solid-state circuitry and silicon chips have made inroads everywhere into our daily lives, and sailboats are no exception. Castaway is being fitted with all the latest gizmos—windspeed/depth/radar/chartplotter/autopilot—
from Raymarine. These modern electronics offer full integration and are able to share information on the network.
The course computer has numerous cables connected to it. Even though everything is color-coded, it is essential to work methodically to avoid errors.
