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Finally finished the AP, the last upgrade this year. It was interesting. I had 2 different techs out here. One to install the pump and the other tech to install the components. These guys are very busy and working 7 days a week!!!
Running the cables was a challenge as the boat manufacture didn't leave any raceways for me the owner. So getting from the cockpit to the bridge was not fun. Had the aft cabin all tore apart, the bed in the salon, then through the engine room, through the lower helm, up through the eyebrow panel, then finally into the bridge! All this just to run the rudder position reference wires.
A big hole was drilled into the bridge dash for the AP head and the main computer mounted inside under the helm. Its surprising that the head controller is all that is visible. Everything is hidden.
The pump tech had a heck of a time with the copper tubing. It was thick and had a plastic coating on it to protect it from the elements. I hope you can see it in the pic.
I hooked up the remote. The tech gave me the cable that went from the RF station to the NEMA 200 (SeaTalkng). But I ran into an issue. An email to Raymarine and they got me going again. It seems the remote communicates with an older version of Sea Talk. So off to town I go to get a "converter". This allows the older Sea Talk network to talk to the newer Sea Talkng network. Well that was another $100... Raymarine is proud of their cables.
Turned everything one. Ran down the "At Dock" set up, then the commissioning run. This is a cool system. I have seen others boaters doing circle after circle after circle to alien their electronic compass. Not with this Raymarine system. I left the dock, turned 180 degrees and I got a message "Compass check complete." Drive a straight line above 3kts. Message comes up: "GPS alignment complete." WOW! That is cool.
I then realized I had not performed a bearing check on the radar since I installed the new MFD. Good thing I did. I was 7.5 degrees off!
As of now, I don't have anymore upgrades. Maybe by next winter I will find something I want, but don't need.
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