Best navigation setup?

[David_A]

Hi all,

I just bought a Cal 34 III and though the survey showed good hull, good rigging and good engine, the boat has barely any equipment: no wind (though I swear I see a wind arrow at the top of the mast), speed, depth (a sounder bathing in a mineral oil filled dish under the settee barely qualifies), no chart plotter (only a hand held GPS), no radar anything...

I figure this is a great opportunity to squander some time and money upgrading

Given that I like a "keep it simple, stupid" approach, and that I am budget oriented (boat was under $10K), does anyone have suggestions on what a good set up would be for coastal cruising (Sea of Cortez, possibly, one day, central America)?

I understand that sticking to one brand (Raymarine, Garmin, etc) has its upsides yet so does not having everything so tied together that any failure entails complete failure...

Does looking for used equipment make sense? Or does embracing as much new WiFi or Bluetooth technology constitute a good option?

Thanks for any advice!
D.

[Jamesth]

Hi David,
we use the KISS principle, and budget, on our Cal 39.
Navionics on mobile and tablet.
Backup paper charts with sextant and tables. Never used yet though.
Wind indicator at the masthead.
No windspeed or direction.
No boatspeed.
Radar no longer functioning. Came with the boat. Only time we used it was approaching an atoll in the Cook Islands at night. Not replacing it.
Our only electronic navigation aid is depth sounder.
VHF.
SSB but probably only handy on ocean voyages.
We did have sat phone in the Pacific.

Jamie

[conifer]

David, I have a Cal2-34 and same setup as Jamie above for cruising the Chesapeake.

I am starting to plan out more instrumentation, but I’ll be integrating it myself using a Raspberry Pi and other low cost gear (anemometer, autopilot, more sensors, some home automation). Intent is for low cost and all done myself so I can fix it when something breaks.

- Al
S/V Conifer

[Jamesth]

Yeh, I'd like to go the raspberry Pi route as well if I go to more instrumentation, for similar reasons.

[David_A]

Thank you all for the feedback. Glad to hear it IS possible to KISS - it sounds like I might not get there first, but will get there nonetheless (and a little richer?).

I forgot to mention that the boat does have an Australian made hydro-vane. I hail out of San Carlos, Mexico, where I hear the days of little or no wind abound, so I'm not sure I will do without autopilot for long motoring days, but I should probably try without first.

I'll definitely look into going the raspberry Pi route if I ever want to add on: that seems to be the choice of sailors with an approach similar to mine.

I'm excited! It doesn't sound like I'll need much to start the enjoyment.

Thanks again for the replies.
S/V Amaranth

[rcvesselstyn]

Hi David, you don't mention if you're single handing. The autopilot is a must have. We have been very happy with our Raymarine autopilots over the years. This new one, the evolution, seems to have a great deal of interconnectivity. However we have no instruments to connect to it. It has served us well with no failures.

[Jamesth]

Hi David,
I think Hydrovane is Canadian.

If you Google, open plotter raspberry pi, you should find lots of information on how to set up with freeware, including autopilot setups. Lots to keep occupied under lockdown!

[David_A]

Yes, I intend to single hand and yes, I am pretty confident the autopilot will be a must - I think if it is NMEA 2000 compatible it ought to interface with other instrumentation, even of a variety of different brands.

I'll study up on raspberry pi for sure, thanks for the info!

The "wind+hydro" autopilot is indeed Australian, the exact brand is Fleming, I called it Hydrovane simply to reference the type, which I got wrong... I believe the Monitor works like the Fleming: wind to submerged foil to wheel (in my case) - it's a servo-pedulum system.

Thanks everyone for the great info.
David

[Mary Mac]

Just wanted to bump this post back to the top since it got buried by all the archive stuff I posted. Plus, I have the same boat Carry on!

[thebastidge]

My 1978 Cal 34-III had a LORAN-C unit; which I believe had the last beacon de-activated around 2009. I've picked up a new GPS antenna that does NMEA 2000 communication, so I'm installing that, with a gateway that will let me display data on a tablet or on my Android-based AM/FM stereo system that I'm also installing as an update to the original am/fm cassete deck from the 70s.