[C320-list] ST-50 Instrument Replacement

[John Ellis]

Warren,
I’m leaning towards ST60s for a relatively lower cost / lower risk solution. It’s too bad the old ST50 instruments did not die in November; I could have asked Santa for new ST60s!
I have a chartplotter at the nav station providing GPS data to the VHF DSC radio. I find I only use the chartplotter on longer trips and keep a handheld GPS in the cockpit for back up as well as paper charts. I’ve thought about having a chartplotter and radar at the helm and one of the NEMA-2000 Garmin chartplotters would also provide redundancy for Garmin instrument displays. Is having a chartplotter at the helm one of those things that you’d never want to be without once you had one? 
So this is a classic “peeling the onion” problem. The full solution is to buy a new 1.25” angled pedestal guard, a new Navpro housing for the instruments and another chartplotter, and then while I’ve got it all torn apart, add a radar and wire it to the chartplotter. Everything that is attached to the current pedestal guard (cockpit table, drinks holder, winch handle holder) would then need to have new mounting hardware or be replaced. This cost for all of this would be more than three times that of just the new instruments.
John

 
> From: wupdike at hotmail.com
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:48:44 -0500
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] ST-50 Instrument Replacement
> 
> John, we're in a similar situation with our #62. I'm sure a number of owners
> of the older hulls have either done something or are thinking about it. It
> would be a useful to collect info and publish Mainsheet articles and web
> site posting on it. I'd sure like to follow your progress as you seem to be
> somewhat ahead of me in actually taking some action.
> 
> Our failures are wind speed and STW. I've tried to fix the wind speed but
> haven't found the source of the problem. The STW I've given up on as the
> critters in the warm water of the Chesapeake Bay like to make a home in the
> recess of the paddle wheel. I'm considering a device that will emit the GPS
> SOG as a STW SeaTalk signal and eliminate the speed transducer altogether.
> 
> I've been doing research for the past couple of years on possible upgrades,
> buy keeping my eyes open for vendor info, and going to the boat show in
> Annapolis. As for NEMA-2000, as a backbone system it seems to have some
> advantages for making changes. I'd need to learn the specifics of
> installation, connections, interfaces, and etc. I haven't found a good
> source of non-specific vendor info as yet. 
> 
> I do know that there are NEMA-2000 interfaces compatible with the older
> transducers. I think what they do is convert the pulse type signals from the
> transducer to NEMA-2000 sentences on the LAN. At least you don't have to
> replace everything all at once.
> 
> I've also liked the Garmin GMI 10 displays; but, must confess that the least
> expensive, least complex approach may be to go with the ST-60 replacements.
> 
> 
> What's your position on a chart plotter? Do you have one or considering on
> installing one? I've not found a need for it as I carry paper charts as my
> primary navigation tool and a hand-held GPS for general steering. However,
> the next owner will probably want one and having one may make the boat more
> attractive on the market.
> 
> I would like to consider the Airmar PB-200 Weather Station instrument.
> Google "airmar pb-200." It's a solid-state masthead device that does a bunch
> of things. Airmar has been developing it for a number of years. It has some
> drawbacks on sailboats you can learn about by following some Google links. 
> 
> Maybe we could break this into segments to peruse as separate threads:
> Display Instruments
> Backbone topology
> Transducers
> Chart plotter
> Installation & testing
> ???
> 
> Has anyone on the list actually done this stuff or can tell where to get
> info?
> 
> Warren & Pattie Updike
> 1994 C320 #62 "Warr de Mar"
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Ellis [mailto:jr_ellis100 at hotmail.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 10:36 PM
> To: Catalina 320 association
> Subject: [C320-list] ST-50 Instrument Replacement
> 
> 
> The 15-year old ST-50 instruments on my boat are slowly failing, and are no
> longer repairable by the Raymarine factory. First the speed transducer died
> and a replacement failed to fix the problem, and now the wind vane has
> started to disintegrate - the anemometer no longer turns and part of the
> wind vane has broken off. I noticed the wind vane failure sailing today when
> there was apparent wind direction, but no wind speed on the display. It must
> be time to break out some boat bucks for replacement instruments.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with NMEA 2000? I'm considering Garmin's GWS
> wind sensor, through hull transducer for depth and speed, and two GMI
> instruments. Another alternative is wind/speed/depth Raymarine ST-60s, which
> are not NMEA 2000. One factor will be ease of installation, that's why a
> NMEA 2000 system with one backbone cable is attractive. The other factor is
> compatibility with the existing through-hull sensors - the best case would
> be if the Garmin/Raymarine speed sensors will fit in the existing ST-50
> through-hull fitting; since my boat is in the water year round avoiding a
> haul out to replace the entire fitting would be a big help.
> 
> Any advice or experiences with a similar instrument replacement will be much
> appreciated!
> 
> John #271
> 
>