Sea Wolves - Why I choose Raymarine over B&G - Installing the EV-200 SailPack evolution Autopilot
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Today, I'd like to give you some insight into why I made the choice to go for RayMarine systems as my new main system for my boat. Considering some tech aspects and also potential servicing options, here is my in-depth analysis into my choice. This video is NOT sponsored in any way!
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#EV-200SailPackevolution #Raymarine #SeaWolves
I've used and worked on Raymarine and B&G systems as well as Furuno and a bit w/ Garmin (plus all sorts of laptop/tablet apps). The greatest advance has been the NMEA-2000 standard which allows one to mix easily different vendor's gear on the same network and have most of it work. But the biggest change has been that computers are everywhere - in the sensors, the displays, and the MFDs. This means that there's software everywhere, too, and none of the vendors have really gotten the full functionality and reliability into their systems yet - there are lots of bugs. Everyone's customer support is horrible. I prefer B&G on sailboats and I really like the Triton displays, but maybe that's my racing background. Everyone's system is good enough to get you to a destination, and they're all much better than systems from even 10 years ago.
Florian - thanks for the video and your explanation. We sailed the Indian Ocean - Perth to Durban in 2004. We had a heavy steel boat and bought the biggest Raymarine autopilot we could - with a huge hydraulic ram. It was not cheap way back then. I was told Raymarine was world wide and if we had any problems Ray marine would fix it. Well it died crossing the Mozambique channel - and we had to hand steer for 2 days. Fortunately we had a Hydrovane - however I had not fixed a tiller pilot to the Hydrovane (if you do this it is a redundant autopilot system that uses little power) - and if you have no wind Hydrovane does not work... When we got to Durban I called Raymarine - and explained the problem - and asked if they would fix it under warranty - basically they told me to get lost and had to have it repaired at my own cost - and had to buy new parts. So am not a Raymarine fan - however that is my biased opinion.. And right now we are about to install a new electronic suite on our HR43. Looking at B&G / Zeus /Halo radar - the thing that is magic is that it is all integrated - but this also scares the shit out of me. When it breaks - and it will - will I loose everything. I would love the the french NKE Autopilot.. but do not know if it will talk on NMEA 2000 to B&G. Love your videos and your work
Don't forget to plugin in the blue terminator for terminating the backbone .
Hi Florian, I was interested in what you were saying about your sailing systems breaking down. The main problem as you probably know is water ingress into plugs and electrical junctions. A polymer treatment I used when working in the aviation industry called Stabilant 22 or 22A (mixed 5:1 with isopropyl alcohol that is 5 parts isopropyl to 1 part stabilant.) We used this material on all connections disturbed in maintenance of maritime helicopters and it is very effective.
Volkswagen recommended this product on electrical connections back in 2001, i use it on all automotive electrical connections.
@@jonathanbilodeau2456 yes and BMW and Ferrari use in the assembly process on their vehicles I learned of the product from Pratt & Whitney Canada when I was on a PT6 engine course they also recommend it
Cool tip! In general everything on my ship runs smoothly because I keep my boat fairly low tech. But I will remember it it I install anything I think may get problems. I usually heat-shrink anything electrical if possible. That seems to prevent all water ingress very well also.
Raymarine happens to big, real big, in The Netherlands, but internationally Simrad + Lowrance + B&G is the same size or bigger than Raymarine, is my guess. Lowrance in particular sells crazy amounts of kit due to it being installed on smaller motor boats.
Also you do not need a tech to set up a B&G system, it is just that they push this more. And rightly so as most sailors I know have zero knowledge and interest in installing navigation hardware.
Hardware availability of all suppliers is very variable right now due to the chip supply issues, some devices have to be completely redesigned as various low-end chips are no longer available. Try finding a Raspberry Pi 4 right now, for instance! This effect is hitting some more than others, but they all have this problem in 2022.
Took a drink each time you said "uh". Was drunk within a minute.
That is the way to do it :)
Raymarine was bought by FLIR Technologies which in turn was recently bought by Teledyne Technologies. So yes, from a corporate size perspective they dwarf B&G which is owned by Navico.
@Bud Brown Now I am confused .....is this a reference to Hyperdyne / Teledyne or Joe Lietz's comment about using a terminator to terminate your back bone? ;-)
Funny I just ripped out a 12 Raymarine Axion Pro, a 9 Axiom Pro, a Quantum 2 radar and 5 MFDs at both helms and the wind transducer. Staying in is the VHF and the AIS 700, plus the ACU 400 autopilot. Why? because the displays are impossible to see on a bright day with sunglasses on. If your sunnies are polaroid, all you see are rainbows. The processors are slow and getting slower with the upgrades to the OS and functionality improvements. The radar is good but short-range and target differentiation for small boats is iffy, to say the least. I love the quality of the cables etc, but I am fed up with generic boating software on a chart plotter. B&G is IMO, aimed more at sail boats, whereas Raymarine seems more suited to power vessels.
I'm glad I have used Raymarine because now I won't worry I've missed a trick when I'm using the B&G kit.
Wish I had watched this video 3 months ago, very informative. I just finished installing evolution 200 pilot on my boat here in Dubai. 2 observations having watched your video. 1. You comments on b&g functionality vs raymarine are spot on. B&g has better sailing and racing functionality. On my boat I already had b&g vulcan chartplotter on nmea2000 network with a bunch of other n2k devices like ais, vhf, transducers etc. When I installed the evo200 pilot I was able to link the existing n2k and new seatalkng networks together with simple devicenet conversion cable. No configuration was necessary the plotter just recognised acu, sensor core and head and vice versa. So it gives you best of both worlds with raymarine pilot and b&g plotter/navigation.
2. I went for type 1 hydraulic pump + ram rather than mechanical linear drive like you. While I'm happy with end result I had to do a lot more work as had to buy ram and pump separately and get it all to work together from hydraulics standpoint. Would have been alot easier to go with mechanical linear drive.
Cool to hear the device can fit so easliy into a mixed system also, that is promising for the future :). Looking forward to finish my install in about 3 days. Will do another update on it in next videos.
Florian - nice work on the hull, excellent outcome from the good preparation well done 👍🏼
Florian, please complete the install video when you get a chance. My Jeanneau 37 Gin Fizz is waiting to install the Raymarine EV-200.
Havent seen the episode yet and I'm already liking it.
Good analysis...I have B&G suite, it is happy on my 40’ catamaran. But they all work well if installed well. I completed mine and am still learning the nuances.
Thanks, Andrew
Why don't owners put restrictors around mast lines to keep them from making all that racket from hitting the mast. It would shaff them in the long run & sail boats supposed to be silent.. Carry-on
Excellent! I can see why you’ve gone with the Ray Marine system. I can agree with you B&G is a great system though they are not service centers everywhere. Bottom is looking great!
Was there any financial incentive offered by Ray marine to induce your choice? What about relative reliability as well as other specific sailing advantages besides predict wind? Relative integration to ships computer system, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc, camera/ security systems, boats system monitoring (Engine, Solar, bilge, charging, etc)? Essentially, does either system make a compelling case for an overall reliable, comprehensive management system?
No, I bought this completely by myself. As I mentioned in the video also.
Set mine up last spring along with axiom 9 chartplotter. Great product way better than previous raymarine wheel pilot st4000
Strange and somewhat questionable connection to the quadrant. Also, the steering computer is not located in the ACU, but in the EV-1.
BTW you can just call Raymarine tech support, they really help you out in my and others experience.
I like the star citizen music in the beginning.
We need to have discussion about the bust on the shelf!
:)
Cool video thanks! Subbed!❤
Wow! Your boat is looking good, dude.
Which Pilot do you use? Curious to hear your reasons for choosing your system? :)
I would be more concerned about the ease of UX (user interface). I have a B&G/Simrad fully integrated system ( Zeus Touch MDF, 4G radar, 2-Tritons, and a B&G Simrad/Robertson hydraulic ram autopilot-
and it is all a bit “non-intuitive.” While it all works, it is a bit complicated for me to operate.
I have the same Autopilot as you have (EV-200) on a Dufour 385 and I am really happy with it. I have connected the pilot to the Seatalk network that gives the pilot wind data so that it can maintain a set wind angle. Excellent feature :-)
My impressions:
1. Easy to configure and do calibrations. There are only two steps needed. Do initial configuration, type of vessel & sail drive etc. Take the boat out on the sea and that will automatically calibrate the pilot for you. (If you do a 360 turn with the boat it will speed up the process)
2. The Dufour is really well balances so I have the pilot on the "slowest" setting and it keeps the boat on course without any problems :-)
3. I initially had the Gyro / Compass mounted to close to the engine / alternator, the pilot worked but it gave high magnetic deviation on the pilots compass. Since the pilot is on the Seatalk network the pilot's compass will be used as compass in my plotter, with a high deviation on the compass it will look like you are sailing sideways in the plotter... Not good... I moved the gyro / compass to the center of the boat and that solved that problem.
I selected this system because of that the existing system used Seatalk, that gave me additional possibilities with all instruments on the the same network... (Using wind angle as input to the pilot, control the pilot from the plotter...)
Raymarine auto, speed, compass...nothing special but works for my Heritage35. However if I go thru with transatlantic then I will defer to a hydrovane. Came with the boat so no choice
Joe M. please add a small tiller pilot to your Hydrovane - uses little power and will steer you if your main autopilot - goes pear shaped.. I had a Hydrovane that steered me everywhere - only when I sold the boat did I learn about putting a tiller pilot on to ..Enjoy
I would have expected thicker power supply cables to ACU and lineair drive?
Actually the cable to the drive is the one provided by Raymarine and it seems perfectly fine for the job. The power cable form the battery to the control unit is fairy big actually.
Hey Florian,
you did a epoxy barrier coat on your hull..
Which product are you using, i'm little bit unsure because of the low tempereture we got, especially at night?
So what are you using, and at wich temperature are you working right now?
Thx,
Lars
I used, HB coating from the IJssel 4 layers
Just a note from 50 years of sales and servicing marine electronics. Raymarine is notoriously unreliable with horrid support after a few years of service. You get what you pay for. If a customer demands Raymarine, I make them promise to not hate me later.
I appreciate that :) I promise not to hate if it comes true, but I so far I'm happy with the service (though it is not Great service by any standard for sure). I guess it is a bit a choice between getting bit by a cat or a dog :)
@@SeawolvesTV when folks ask me what to buy, I tell them to go look at any commercial fisherman’t gear. They have to get what is most reliable and cost effective for their business where down time is equal to lost income. Furuno is what you’ll see there on the bridge. Most ME manufacturers rush product to market before beta testing is accomplished. Furuno puts the gear on the Japanese fishing fleet for a year before market. I hope it works out for you. For autopilots, you can’t do much better than Simrad.
@@Elexmage Still happy with it, and now made it better with Orca Pilot (Doing a review on it saturday)
Questionable attachment to the Quadrant.The linear drive unit is not hydraulic, it’s belt driven. Nice try though.
works great so far :)
Crazy how Garmin completely fell out of the game. They used to be on top for many decades and now they're nonexistent.
Cheers wolf man 🥃☕🐺
It's good... but is spiffy? XD