We are in a similar but a few steps behind you. We live in Langley, just down the road. There are very few boats that fit your ( and our) criteria completely.
You will make mistakes out there and the boat has to be able to overcome. Good to see you are looking in the right area. If Jeff is your guy, he can help a lot.
We decided against metal as a first choice as they tend to be one off in the range we looked at. I was concerned they were not fully ocean tested. You buy a Selene, Nordhavn or the like, you know they will go the distance safely and take way more abuse than you can.
My 2¢ is to make lists as had been said before, got to have, nice to have, deal breakers. Once you get the boat you want and get some miles in it, the electronics piece will fall into place. You will be astounded at how much a simple iPad and a few apps can do compared to “marine electronics” only a few years old.
You should have a look at the Nordhavn Dreamers site. There is a lot of knowledge there and not just dreamers but a lot of expirenced owners as well.
Good luck
Thanks, neighbour. We'd prefer all-metal construction, and since we'll be buying used, any boat we buy will have been fully ocean tested. As long as it passes a thorough and complete survey (which it will, or we'll walk away), I don't think custom or semi-custom is a worry.
You're right, I probably will be astounded at the capabilities of an iPad or similar. It's on our tentative wish list. Latest and greatest isn't.
I'd stay away from plotter systems that require proprietary charts. USA charts are free to download. Maybe start with OpenCPN, a free to download, computer based charting system.
I use a laptop for portability, but have a main computer with a large monitor for overall navigation. The nice thing about a computer based system is you can work at home, plan your routes and later transfer them to the onboard system or carry your laptop.
Boat shows are pushy salespeople trying to sell you things you may not need. They'll sell you a lake boat for ocean use if they can. And the salespeople will load you up with bells and whistles you'll never use. Last week they might have been selling used cars.
Local electronics dealers are salespeople or technicians first, not experienced captains or navigators. Generally, I've found dealers that service commercial boats more reliable and knowledgeable than those that primarily service yachts.
I find it incredible that proprietary charts—and charts that can't be backed up at will & as necessary—aren't outlawed. People's lives are at stake! If national governments won't put a stop to this dangerous (but profitable) idiocy, I wish some international body like SOLAS would. You'd think it would be well within their power...but I'm not holding my breath.
As far as possible, we intend to avoid closed, proprietary systems. I've already downloaded Open CPN and played with it a bit, and several forum members have said nice things about Coastal Explorer. A laptop/desktop/iPad combination is probably in our future, all right.
After fighting with the vagaries of different software systems, I use a simple navionics on an iPad platform. It is simple, intuitive, portable. The only caution is that the system is power hungry at least compared with a simple iPad. So you need a way to recharge at the helm station.
PS: My son, who is a pilot and flies fires uses an iPad with ForeFlight software. It is easier than the high priced Garmin systems.
My 2 cents: Go with what is in there, learn the boat, meanwhile use an iPad with Navionics
Intuitive and portable is good! I'll definitely check it out, but as you say, the first thing to do is to go with what's in there and learn the boat.
The Garmin was $11,500 US dollars to install in the helicopter, ForeFlight on the iPad was 10x better, faster and had more information at 10% of the cost, but It was not certified
At least certification isn't a concern with pleasure craft nav systems, though it probably should be.
Wifey B: We print our own paper charts if desired but never desire. Last time we did print some was on our cruise to Montreal and back and we printed them so our niece could mark on them, with assistance, where we'd been each day. She just did that at the end of the day to show kids in day care when she got back home. During the day though she loved to look at the plotter as it and radar fascinated her. She was 4 years old at the time. She's already boating crazy.
Ah, but I really enjoy looking at maps, charts, atlases etc. Besides, Canadian law requires paper charts for any area we'll be cruising in.
Fwiw, I spent most of my working years as a surveyor, which involves a great deal of poring over 'charts' (survey plans) that don't always agree, along with a great deal of angle and distance measurement, usually to tolerances of millimetres rather than fathoms...though never, I admit, from a moving platform. Guess I'll find out whether my survey background gives me a head start or not (gulp).
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