Raymarine or simrad

[Nick14]

Simrad replaced all of your components THREE times!? How likely is it that you got junk three times in a row and so many others have had a positive experience?

FWIW, Simrad sent a technician and replaced components 3 times, but not all of the components. It's been several years and the few remaining brain cells left aren't working that well, I don't remember which parts were replaced and which ones weren't. I seem to recall that over the visits the radar emitter was replaced twice, and one of the 4 display screens was replaced, along with software upgrades. I don't remember what other parts were replaced.

Simrad and the dealer who originally installed the setup worked together the first time, and then Simrad's tech was on their own on subsequent visits. Yes, the support for the first few months was excellent. What burned me was that after a year without being able to find solutions, they threw up their hands and stopped returning my calls, and refused to let me return the system for a refund. I was stuck with it.

As with most things in life, YMMV.

 

[DrissZougari]

Simrad is chipper than Raymarine because you have to buy 3 or 4 Rays modules to perform what one Simrad will do. Garmins are much intuitive to use, easy to install and the service is great.

 

[Iggy]

Simrad is chipper than Raymarine because you have to buy 3 or 4 Rays modules to perform what one Simrad will do. Garmins are much intuitive to use, easy to install and the service is great.

I just went from Garmin to Simrad. Not by choice but my new boat is all Simrad. I am upgrading the older G3 to Holo+. A small god send is that the make a cable adapter! So I can use the same cable on the the new radar.

The 12" MFD I have has 2 sonar ports. With Garmin, I would need there black box for two transducers. The past owner put in one downward and one forward transducer. This cuts down on the wiring too for a cleaner install.

Maybe I am missing something but having the two ports is a good thing. I think on the radar, the G3 came out before the where using network cables. Not sure, but not having to replace the cable makes this upgrade so easy.

 

[DECAPTN]

DeCaptn

Avoid Simrad like the Covid. Furuno is at the top and all others below. I have no personnel experience with Raymarine.

 

[mdstrum]

I have Simran NSO EVO 2 with 2 displays, plus NSSEVO3 on fly bridge, G4 radar, side scan, forward scan, auto pilot. There support is awesome, there warranty repair wonderful. I have taken our boat from Long beach to La Paz and back and there many other boats that had AP and radar issues along the way, our system was rock solid. after 5 years my upper screen delaminate, and they replaced it under the extend warranty and upgraded me to the current model, I am huge Simrad fan! They also have lots of software updates, that if you do them give 90% of the features of the newer units, only time you do not get a feature is if requires hardware upgrade.

I have had Garmin and Ray marine, personal did not like the UI on Raymarine, and at the time Garmin did have board band radar which is one the coolest things being able to have one radar unit that gives you to different range displays...very cool night time use or high traffic areas like long beach, ca

 

[Rick Hudson]

Last year I replaced my aged Cetrek autopilot system with a Raymarine one. While I very much liked the ease and connectability of the SeaTalk system that Raymarine uses, I was disappointed to discover their lack of a 'dodge' option on the autopilot. The system allowed me to program loops, zigzags, clover leafs and who knows what other tracks, but the simple ability to alter course sharply to port or starboard to avoid an obstacle like a log (common in the PNW) and then return to the previous heading, was not available. For that reason alone, I would not have bought the system if I'd known about it ahead of time, as it's the only function I use regularly.

Further, pushing the port or starboard button for more than 3 seconds is supposed to make the vessel swing 10 degrees, so it would be logical to assume that I should just push and hold to go, say, 10 degrees to port, and then push and hold to swing back 10 degrees onto course, but the 10 degree course change is not reliable. It can be anything from 6 - 12 degrees change, so to get back on course requires care. I now find it quicker to disconnect the autopilot, use the wheel to port/stbd, back again, and then re-engage - a big step back from the old Cetrek simplicity.

Caveat emptor.

 

[Nepidae]

I'm surprised you excluded Garmin, unless you didn't want to consider the best.

The bottom line, best cartography is Navionics. Since Garmin owns Navionics you will only get the best charts for the Garmin.

I'd also find it hard to believe that Raymarine or any other manufacturer could offer better service than Garmin. Call Ray or any other manufacturer like you would with a support call. IF they don't offer the ability for a callback or answer right away, you'll see they aren't the best in support.

Also, if a certified installer does the installation, 3yrs of warranty support when necessary, 2 if you do it.

Good luck.

 

[rslifkin]

I'm surprised you excluded Garmin, unless you didn't want to consider the best.

The bottom line, best cartography is Navionics. Since Garmin owns Navionics you will only get the best charts for the Garmin.

Navionics charts are not Garmin exclusive. I have them in my Lowrance plotter right now, and they're available for most other brands as well.

 

[RickyD]

My brother updated his Offshore with all new Simrad system including forward scan sonar and broadband radar. It was done by a high end repair firm and they recommended the system. He has had to replace a couple monitors and has had to go through some software issues in the last 3 years. I have the same old Raymarine that he took off. Mine still works. He has had problems with Simrad. I know I have only had a brush or two on his boat but I didn't think the software was very intuitive. My electronics are Mid 90's so I know I' be going through this same exercise soon enough. For a while I was thinking about Garmin. I may just stick with Ray when I upgrade.

 

[Capt Ray]

+1 for Raymarine... as a new owner of a boat that came with Axiom 12 and dual transducers and Navionics subscription. First thing I added their AutoPilot. Very happy with it all after one season. Somehow Santa fit a Quantum2 down the chimney, not sure how he did that. That's going up next.

Sorry to say I have no Simrad experience to compare the two.

Sometimes there are no "BAD" investment directions when you go with market leaders like these, and arguably a few others.

 

[mjoplin]

I install electronics for a living. My take on the major brands...

Raymarine - "old Raymarine" horrible, bad user interface, hard to learn.... NEW Raymarine - OUTSTANDING Since Flir bought them, they have put serious investment into the user interface. If you can operate an iPhone, you'll be very happy with the Raymarine Axiom +. I have them on my personal boat.

Simrad - they operate well, are stable, but have THE WORST user interface on the market. Steep learning curve to get them set up, but ok to operate

Garmin - solid devices, good for the DIY'er, user interface is light years behind Raymarine.

Raymarine also offers a 3 year warranty if you register your devices. Hands down, for me it is Raymarine.

 

[AKDoug]

Got to love a good opinion salad Guaranteed that's what you get here on most issues, my experience installing my own Simrad is the complete opposite. Everything meshed and worked perfectly, and has for the past 7 years. My boat is prone to ocean motion, so touch screens aren't something I was or would be interested in. Electronics operate an average of 600 hours a season, my only failure has been a corrupted chart chip.

 

[tom hudson]

Raymarine or Simrad

We are on our second Simrad electronics package. On our old-but-new-to-us boat, we replaced obsolete and non-functioning electronics with Simrad in summer of 2016, keeping only the perfectly good Standard Horizon VHF-DSC radio, adding: NSS09 Evo2 MFD-chartplotter, AIS receiver, depth sounder and forward-looking sonar; the installation was done by the shop at our local marina, who were a dealer for Lowrance, Simrad's sister brand. The forward-looking sonar we found to be useful only when entering shallow anchorages at slow speed. A year later we decided to add Simrad autopilot when we reached Mobile; on the way south, we had intermittent power outages to the electronics. I called Turner Marine in Mobile, who would install the autopilot when we got there, and they guessed by phone that the problem was the ground circuit. Two days later Turner had his electronics tech troubleshooting the issue, which he said was the power used by all the electronics was too much for the old ground wire, which had not been replaced by the original installer; for the price of installing a new ground bus and heavier ground wire back to the 12v panel, no more power outages. Their installation of the Simrad autopilot, including calibration out on the Bay, was flawless. So the quality of installation can make a big difference.

On our next boat, which we ordered new, we again went with Simrad. With much shallower draft, I thought the forward-looking sonar was not a cost-effective investment. Our equipment list includes: NSS12 Evo3 MFD-chartplotter, Halo 20+ radar, autopilot, VHF-DSC radio, V3100 Class B+ AIS transceiver, and depth sounder; we also connected a backup camera to the MFD. So far I've only called Simrad customer support once, on a setup question that could have been easily answered had I read the manual; nevertheless, the CSR was courteous and helpful.

 

[Senojev]

Pay the extra for Furuno, particularly if you are doing your own install. Their technical support is excellent as is their product and long term parts support is great. Now ten years with no failures and they are still willing help with annual questions. Try that with Raymarine, Simrad, or Garmin.

 

[Always Late]

Neither to the original question of Simrad or Raymarine! Garmin all in. I've had all of them on personal boats and commercial tugs that I've owned or worked on. None of the Garmin products that I have owned have ever failed. Every Simrad product I've ever owned has failed and never made it to old age. Raymarine- some failures and the new products are not very intuitive. Furuno commercial radars are the best there is. Garmin are very intuitive and they last forever. I have a GPS 12 handheld that has got to be 22-23 years old and still going strong. I like Garmin so much I bought their stock!

Gary

 

[FWT]

A year later we decided to add Simrad autopilot when we reached Mobile; on the way south, we had intermittent power outages to the electronics. I called Turner Marine in Mobile, who would install the autopilot when we got there, and they guessed by phone that the problem was the ground circuit. Two days later Turner had his electronics tech troubleshooting the issue, which he said was the power used by all the electronics was too much for the old ground wire, which had not been replaced by the original installer; for the price of installing a new ground bus and heavier ground wire back to the 12v panel, no more power outages. Their installation of the Simrad autopilot, including calibration out on the Bay, was flawless. So the quality of installation can make a big difference.

^^^^ THIS

Its all but impossible to tell from the testimonials we all like to read whether issues are because Brand X is awful, or because that "great" installer wasn't that great.

There is one brand of boats that installs Garmin. Owners very often have bugs in the system and complain about the Garmin reliability. The problem is the boat builder installs them in a non-standard way that under-powers the network causing periodic issues.

I guess one takeaway is that if your "great" installer can't fix a recurring problem, find someone new to diagnose it.

 

[mjoplin]

AKDoug brought up a great point. This is one big opinion salad, kind of like Coke vs. Pepsi, Ford vs. GM, etc. Find a West Marine or other dealer near you that has a wall of different brands. Spend a lot of time time playing with each brand, looking not only at chart plotter screens, but setup and configuration menus, etc. Find what looks the best and easiest for you. At the end of the day, your opinion is the only one that counts.

 

[Dani-lu]

I work part time at a retail store that sells, Simrad, Raymarine and Garmin.
Personally I like Garmin, but go Raymarine, do not go Simrad. I can’t tell you how many customers are so upset with their Simrad product, especially their lack of support support. Go with the companies that 100% support their products!

 

[caltexflanc]

I found that the major boat shows are the ideal place to research electronics and get your questions answered in person, both for new and legacy gear you might have on board. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale in particular had every brand under the sun represented.

It's been said before, but the thing that most impressed me about Furuno was the incredible support for two, three, four generation old equipment, with factory service and support both in Baltimore and Camas, Washington.

As for network vs stand alone, I found that our old VX2 system provided the benefits of each. If one unit went out, switching everything to the other was swapping an ethernet cable or two, perhaps switching an SD card from one to the other, at most a 5 minute endeavor. Having a Black Box system, we could use large off the shelf monitors and have visibility to each unit at either helm.

Which brings up another issue regardless of what your pet brand is. The bigger the screen the better. On most all boats, you do not need a direct daylight visible, waterproof monitor. You need something with anti-glare properties like a matte screen. Up on the flying bridge, for instance, we had a 19" Acer monitor on a RAM mount that was infinitely adjustable, so for that 0.5% of the time the sun was shining right on it, a slight adjustment solved the issue. Really wonderful. The big monitor folded flat into a protected cabinet when not in use.

 

[Hippocampus]

Garmin’s model to maximize income in my view is to
Not support legacy models. Support for models currently in production is a different matter.
With each generation Garmin tends to play less well with others. In many ways you’re incentivized to stay within the Garmin universe.
I use multiple chart data sources. Often have two up at once. Find it easier to do with other brands.
Similarly think at present NKE has the best autopilots, furuno for radar, and for user interface its personal preference.
Would not I see a lot of furuno on serious boats but it’s pricey. So if you flip boats frequently perhaps RM makes the best sense. But if it’s one and done until it breaks Garmin makes little sense and Furuno makes more sense than RM. View simrad as the Buick of the crowd.

 

[rslifkin]

Price-wise, I've done some searching for an eventual upgrade of my stuff. Looking at what I'd want for radar, autopilot, MFDs, etc. Furuno and Simrad come out very close in price. I ruled out Raymarine and Garmin just based on what I'd want for radar, and the Furuno stuff edges out the Simrad in that department.



Basically, the components are priced differently between the brands. The high end 12" MFD is cheaper from Simrad, but the equivalent radar is cheaper from Furuno. Furuno's autopilot comes out a hair cheaper as well.

 

[twistedtree]

A couple of things....


I agree that if you look at a whole system, pricing will be very close among them all, including Furuno. Where Furuno gets expensive is with the commercial stuff, but their consumer products I think are in line with others.


Hands on at a retail store is great, but keep in mind that most retail outlets display what they are paid to display. You won't find Furuno in West Marine, for example. Boat shows are a good place to see them all, as would be larger, broader based dealers.


Also keep in mind that dealers will have a certain motivation to sell what's best for them as opposed to what's best for you. How much margin they make on a given brand, dealer incentives, and how quickly and easily they can do the installation will all impact which they recommend. So listen to their suggestions, but keep in mind they have biases too, just like all of us.

 

[Jon H]

FWIW based on 14 years merchant marine and 20+ years piloting ships -


Radar - Furuno + JRC have about 90% of the market.
Atlas, Kelvin Hughes, Raymarine, Simrad, etc have the rest.


ECDIS / Plotters - Transas is the best but commercial only AFAIK.
All others are common names with the usual suspects for chart software.
FWIW - I hate ECDIS....


Autopilots - Almost all are Robertson/Simrad, rest of the brands
make up the balance except when the ship has a full integrated
system from a specific manufacturer.


As TT pointed out there are big price differences between pleasure and commercial gear.

However for equipment that is run hundreds if not thousands of hours per year this is what I come across.


Jon

 

[catalinajack]

Yes, Furuno dominates the market. Furuno is also comparatively much more expensive. When it came time for electronics I seriously considered Furuno. I moved on to other brands based on price. Five years later (Simrad) I have had no problems. How much longer? Who knows?

FWIW based on 14 years merchant marine and 20+ years piloting ships -


Radar - Furuno + JRC have about 90% of the market.
Atlas, Kelvin Hughes, Raymarine, Simrad, etc have the rest.


ECDIS / Plotters - Transas is the best but commercial only AFAIK.
All others are common names with the usual suspects for chart software.
FWIW - I hate ECDIS....


Autopilots - Almost all are Robertson/Simrad, rest of the brands
make up the balance except when the ship has a full integrated
system from a specific manufacturer.


As TT pointed out there are big price differences between pleasure and commercial gear.

However for equipment that is run hundreds if not thousands of hours per year this is what I come across.


Jon

 

[Hippocampus]

Excuse my ignorance. Other than compliance to IMO regulations is there any actual difference in effectiveness in use between a commercial and recreational product that justifies the jump in cost?

 

[Portage_Bay]

Excuse my ignorance. Other than compliance to IMO regulations is there any actual difference in effectiveness in use between a commercial and recreational product that justifies the jump in cost?

Assuming you're asking about Furuno?

It's been my experience that the commercial radars are head and shoulders above the recreational radars.

While I can't prove it the commercial gear is apparently better made. It's been my experience that the commercial gear lasts a lot longer than the recreational gear. Commercial gear will get used more in one year than most recreational gear will get used in many years. I've had Furuno commercial gear run 10 yrs or more without issue.

 

[catalinajack]

Then, for recreational users Furuno is, well, just expensive. You say Furuno is "head and shoulders " better than recreational. Is that true today or was that way before advances in technology have occurred? How have you compared functionality? I haven't but I will bet that, today, there is not that much difference and, for the recreational user, would not be worth the extra cost. As for how long they last, I'll also bet that, because they are not used 24-7, recreational equipment will outlast the user.

Assuming you're asking about Furuno?

It's been my experience that the commercial radars are head and shoulders above the recreational radars.

While I can't prove it the commercial gear is apparently better made. It's been my experience that the commercial gear lasts a lot longer than the recreational gear. Commercial gear will get used more in one year than most recreational gear will get used in many years. I've had Furuno commercial gear run 10 yrs or more without issue.

 

[twistedtree]

Then, for recreational users Furuno is, well, just expensive. You say Furuno is "head and shoulders " better than recreational. Is that true today or was that way before advances in technology have occurred? How have you compared functionality? I haven't but I will bet that, today, there is not that much difference and, for the recreational user, would not be worth the extra cost. As for how long they last, I'll also bet that, because they are not used 24-7, recreational equipment will outlast the user.

Sticking with Furuno's recreational product line so things are an even comparison, I think they are better in a couple of ways. Or at least they are preferable to me in a couple of ways.


First is that they don't have software updates every five minutes, and when they do, they seldom break things. Others are just to opposite. I prefer the more measured, deliberate, and thoroughly tested approach that they take.


Second, they support and repair products for much longer than the others. Getting 10 and 15 year old products repaired is commonplace. Other vendors drop support shortly after the last units sold come out of warranty, presumably to encourage you to purchase new product rather than repair old product.


The down side is that you won't get fancy trick features as soon, or even at all. But I see that as a plus, not a minus. If you want to fly your drone or chat with your BFF, us your phone, not your navigation equipment.


YMMV.