[Attachment(s) from Bill & Judy Rouse included below]

All,

As maybe one of my last postings and a parting gift for your use, I uploaded to the Files section a slide presentation of "BeBe Electronic Equipment, Reasons, Connections and Interrelationships.pdf." And I attached an overview flowchart to this email.

The 6.5mb file reflects what you can do with B&G Electronics, Furuno and Raymarine; adding things like Furuno heading sensor, Furuno radar 1832 automatic tracking board (ARP-10), AIS Transponder, and PC Computers running OpenCPN chartplotting. I installed 2 PCs for "hot" redundancy which is certainly "double overkill," but you can see how that can be done. BTW, the Furuno 1832 CRT Radar will paint and report TCPA in time and distance and automatically track a target when you install the ARP-10 and a Heading sensor. You can also connect the heading sensor via NMEA to a NMEA multiplexer to distribute heading to PC chartplotters. 

It was very interesting to note our heading yesterday, displayed as a boat icon moving across the chart in heavy weather and high currents. The boat icon's heading was about 20 degrees off of the GPS COG which was displayed as a time/distance vector. This looked like we were going through the water 20 degrees sideways...and we were!!! At 2000 RPM, we were making 2.5kts SOG because of the conditions.

There is detail in the file I uploaded. For instance, where to connect NMEA OUT or IN to the B&G 2000 FFD and how to program and connect to Furuno Radar, GPS, and Raymarine control head and course computer. For instance, when we are in very shallow water, we look at Depth, digitally, in 3" numbers on the Raymarine 7001+ control head...when we are a passage, we might display COG or SOG in 3" numbers on the 7001+ control head...one connected via NEMA from the B&G 2000 FFD, the Raymarine 7001+ is fully capable of displaying many different pieces of NMEA information...a multifunction display unit. This connection will also allow the Raymarine 7001+ to steer in Windvane mode...really great on ocean passages.

I hope this helps you on small electronic connection questions as well as large projects. Don't try to do this all at once...I didn't.

Dan and Lori Carlson are now the owners of BeBe and will keep the same name. As you see BeBe in the future, please say hello to Dan and Lori from Chicago.

Best,

Bill

BeBe #387

Currently St. John with new owners

On Sun, Jan 15, 2017 at 7:27 AM, John Hayes johnhayes862@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Hi Steve

Welcome to the club so to speak!  I am travelling about two months ahead of you having just purchased a Santorin sailed out to New Zealand a couple of years ago

It's been a quick learning curve. I've learned a lot from this group and every time I set foot  on Nga Waka

As to your electronics questions I inherited an original set of B & G ELECTRONICS and heaps of European charts not much use in the South Pacific 

So step one was to buy a Vestures AIS transponder (nz) made. Brilliant

Then brought a zeus2 b& g chart plotter, wind speed and direction (easy enough to drop new wires down the mast but you need 100 feet of cable not the 80 foot option)

Replaced the speed sensor with a combined speedo depth sounder in the old sensor hole)

And looking at a forward scanner to go in place of the now redundant depth sounder sensor (planning to head to Vavau Tonga in May

Also spent a fortune on getting a pactor modem so can run emails from the SSB 

Might have been smarter to have brought an iridium hot spot. 

Bringing the boat to CAT 1 have reserviced the life raft adding a n epirb 

Replaced house batteries. All running rigging.  Been over the engine replacing the rubber mounts for the prop drive, impellers hoses oil and flushed and changed the engine fresh water 

The motor on the main outhaul stopped working on day 2 of ownership. Stripped the gear box and motor discovered a bearing in the motor had siezed so replaced both bearings 

Still have to replace a bearing in the wind generator 

Still plenty to go over but am really pleased with my purchase. They are great yachts 

An annual race from our north to South Island was canceled last month because of 50 knot winds. So as a trial I went anyway. The boat was faultless   Very dry and easy to pull out as much sail as appropriate and had a very safe feel about it

Enjoy you purchase you won't be dissapointed

John hayes. Nga Waka based in Wellington nz

On 15/01/2017, at 6:41 PM, Steve Morrison steve_morrison@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...om> wrote:

 

Thank you Colin and Lauren,

Thank you for your detailed response. I admit that it will take me a little research to envision the various components you mentioned, though I am interested to go online and begin to mentally build your system in my head.  It is my understanding that todays systems integrate more completely and with far fewer wires and cables than systems even a few years ago.  Did you experience any issues with installation?  Would you possibly be willing and able to send me a photo of your nav station as well as helm station?  

All the best,

Steve

 

On 14 January 2017, at 7:26 PM, SV Island Pearl II colin.d.streeter@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...om> wrote:

On Island Pearl II we like the old B&G instruments but we have linked these to two new Raymarine E70 chart plotters (Nav station & rear cabin) plus a new ES97 at the helm. We went with a Raymarine 650 AIS, a Raymarine Network system to network all displays off any one of the plotters chart cards and added a 2nd full new Raymarine Autopilot at the helm with quick change over switch between autopilot 1 and 2.

These are all great but you could do the same with any brand, we just happen to prefer Raymarine now as it is robust (like B&G used to be before being bought out).

By far the best new equipment we added was the latest Raymarine Quantum radar. This little unit is absolutely incredible in picking up even isolated unlit thin mooring poles when night sailing and best of all uses almost nil power!! We now have it on all the time whilst sailing, and for the first time ever we now have peace of mind sailing on pitch black nights with no moonlight! It was not all that expensive either, and we kept the old Amel supplied radar as well as backup and for seeing further but haven't even switched the old one on once since getting the Quantum. Just moved it's screen back in the nav station area so we can fit a monitor in front of it on a swing arm to access the old radar when/if required. Also on the 2nd radar mount (1 meter below the original) we have a fwd and rear facing camera linked to the TV's so can see what's coming and going whilst sailing solo and down making a cup of tea etc..

Lastly, if it is not yet done, have the old B&G instruments linked to your auto-pilots and network. This way everything talks to each other via NMEA. We also have 4 extra Raymarine i 70 displays on the boat so we can see wind, radar, AIS, Speed, Depth on these too, plus to get the benefit of using the new autopilot on "wind pilot" mode which we sometimes find handy. Possibly all the I70's was overkill though and not necessary as we generally only have 2 of these on most of the time. 

But of everything I would say absolutely the Quantum Radar was the very best buy.

Colin & Lauren Streeter, 

Island Pearl II, Amel 53 # 332

Brisbane

On Sun, Jan 15, 2017 at 8:20 AM, Alexandre Uster von Baar uster@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Good afternoon Steve, 

First, congratulations for becoming the owner of #380, you definitely acquire a beautiful sailing vessel and welcome to the Amel Family.  

I can’t reply your question, but want to pick your mind on it…  

Just like you, when I purchased my SM2K not so long ago in 2012, I was very excited, had lots of ideas… changing, upgrading, etc… 
many people (Bill, Kent, etc.) gave the same advice: don’t change anything for at least one year.  

If I may ask, what is wrong with your current Furuno radar? Just Old? Not the latest?  
The technician that installed my ICOM AIS Transmitter in 2013, give me his opinion on the rest of my electronics, since he was highly recommended and I would have done (right or wrong) anything he said. He actually said my Furuno Radar (regardless of its age) is a great one, still used by many fishermen, so don’t replace it. And I follow his advice.  

Regarding the Navigation equipments, my plan was to do like Francisco and Oddette on Peregrinus SM2K #250 having a B&G Zeus 12 with slave monitor, etc.).
Therefore, to be honest, the 20% spending budget on the purchasing price for the 1st year, was already spent, so I decided to keep using multiple (for back up reason) iPad with Navionics charts on and Bad Elf to send GPS location through Blue Tooth.  
I am sure it is very deferent to what most people use, but has been working very well for me for the last 4 years in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.  
I can walk anywhere I want with my iPad (with water proof protection), etc. 
If not use as a primary, I would definitely recommend use it as back up, countless stories of sailing I met (non-Amel owners) who had their primary Chart plotter failing and end up using the iPad + GPS sending.  

As one of my instructors said, don’t spend too much money upgrading what is already working (and has been working sufficiently for over a decade), think more about spending money on “expected/scheduled” maintenance (like Bow Thruster, C-Drive, engine, genset, etc.).  

Just sharing, and congratulations again on purchasing SM#280!

Sincerely, Alexandre
SM2K #289 NIKIMAT
Harbor View Marina, Tortola, BVI

--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 1/14/17, steve_morrison@...m [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...om> wrote:

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Electronics questions for 2003 sm#380
To: amelyachtowners@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, January 14, 2017, 3:36 PM

 









Hi all, I am headed down to Fort
Lauderdale next week to continue getting to know my newly
acquired SM and am planning on meeting with Jeff Grossman of
Associated Electronics to evaluate the current Furuno vx2
set up and discuss possible upgrades.  I have recently seen
a few comments on the forum warning against letting regular
'electronics types' poke around and work in the
electrically bonded world of Amel electronics.  Are there
specific things I need to be aware of before going ahead
with an upgrade?  Are there 24v/bonded protocols or
specialists in the south Florida
area?
I must say, the sense I get
from reading the various threads on the forum make me feel
as if I need to educate myself to a level higher than most
of those I ask to service my vessel so that I can personally
oversee all work done to her, and this seems daunting to a
new owner.  
Those that have altered or
replaced the original Nav electronics (Chartplotters, radar,
AIS, etc), what have you gone with, and where and who did
the work, or would you recommend to do the
work?
Thanks for your time,
consideration, and knowledge,Steve
MorrisonSM#380

TouraiFt Lauderdale

-- 

Colin Streeter

0411 016 445