Carver Owners Forum

I just purchased 1988 32' Carver aft cabin and has all original electronics, screens do not have a display any mor on depth finder the navigation is all lat an long. any recommendations on navigation gps and depth finders? I know we can download a lot of charts on tablets now but any thoughts would help.?!

I upgraded some of my electronics last year. The old GPS died and the VHF was not working so I replaced both of them.

I ended up with this GPS unit:

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/529894

This was the old early 90's or late 80's GPS unit.



This is a pic of the new unit:



I ordered mine without the transducer. I wanted a dedicated GPS. The 9" screen is really nice and the detailing of the charts is very good IMO.

I also installed a new VHF with DSC. The DSC is a good safety feature. If you are in trouble you push the red button and it will transmit your location.



I would recommend both units as I am very happy with both of them. I also bought and installed a new VHF antenna. Prior to the new antenna I could pick up 3 of the 10 weather channels in my area. Now I get 7 of 10. Last season out on Lake Erie I was able to listen in to radio conversations 40 miles away quite clearly. Get a good VHF and get a good antenna so the radio can function at its best level.

I was contemplating replacing the depth sounder. The one that came with the boat is ancient tech but it still works. All I want out of a depth sounder is how much water is under the hull. So, as long as it keeps working I will continue to use it.

Here is a pic:



It has an in hull transducer and comparing readings to the chartplotter depth readings it is accurate.

There is basically Raymarine and Garmin out there who offer pretty much the same thing and when one offers something more, the other follows suit shortly there after. You cannot go wrong with either however I dislike the fact that Garmin has proprietary maps whereas you have a choice with Raymarine. I went Raymarine but like I said, both are pretty much the same in terms of tech. The only thing to keep in mind is when you choose a brand, you are kind of stuck with them as they will not interface with each other.

One problem with the older boats is a lack of space for an MFD (multi-function display) that is very big. You want something 7" or more, but it's hard to find a place to mount it. It seems like a 7" display works well - big enough to see, but not a mounting headache. The Garmin 741xs is popular now - it's a nice unit and not overly-expensive. You can also update it with radar that is plug and play if you want. It has Wifi and network capabilities too. Worst Marine has it on sale now for under $900. You may be able to use the existing transducer for depth - it depends on what frequency the old one is. Or you can add a shoot-through transducer or cut a hole and use a through-hull transducer. Running the transducer cable from the bridge down to the hull can be a challenge...

There is a lot of good electronic stuff out there today - look carefully, get some advice, and you can find something that will suit you well.

I installed a Raymarine A97 last year and am happy with it. I do think the Garmin units are a bit easier to use out of the box. A bit more intuitive and less reading required.

I use a IPAD with Navionics. The IPad is connected bluetooth to a Garmin GLO. Navionics uses the sonar chart data that all the fishermen use. They map the bottom when fishing then upload the data, so I know it is the latest data available for navigation. It's crowdsourcing charts. I also use my Iphone as a backup with the NAvionics app with the Government charts.

Here is a link to a post I just made on this:

http://www.carveryachtowners.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2187

RGrew176 wrote:I was contemplating replacing the depth sounder. The one that came with the boat is ancient tech but it still works. All I want out of a depth sounder is how much water is under the hull. So, as long as it keeps working I will continue to use it.

Here is a pic:



It has an in hull transducer and comparing readings to the chartplotter depth readings it is accurate.

Wow - a nixie bulb depth finder! Those nixie tube readouts were state-of-the-art in their time! The originals were in vacuum tubes back in the late 50s and early 60s - then they evolved to the version you have in the 1970s-1980s. They disappeared and were replaced by LEDs and LCDs in the 1980s, but were still used in Russian-made electronics into the 1990s. But it's still cool to see them! BTW- they work similar to a neon tube and have a long life - they can last 30-40 years under the right conditions!