Furuno in Australia?

[Serene]

I am part way through a refit on the boat and considering replacing the old Raymarine electronics so I can install AIS, wind instruments and use a navigation PC.

I have a thread going in the electronics forum, but wanted to ask here if anybody has a recommendation for Furuno retailers in Australia?

Lots of information (including pricing) on furunousa.com but other than a very basic JN Taylor website, who I am assuming are the wholesaler, I cannot find equivalent information relevant for Australian buyers.

I hate the secrecy of marine sales in Australia!

Anyway enough of the rant. Recommendations?

 

[Serene]

BTW I can find all of the information I could want for Raymarine and Garmin, but Furuno seems to be a big secret.

Even the large retailers like CH Smith don't show anything but the most basic Furuno equipment.

What am I missing?

 

[BruceK]

Whitworths have Furuno in their Catalogue.

 

[Serene]

Whitworths have Furuno in their Catalogue.

Yeah have seen that, but it only seems to be the less expensive items like the combined chartplotter/sounder standalone units.

I know I can call a retailer and get prices, but am trying to research online so I can educate myself.

Seems Furuno is all secret squirrel stuff!

 

[twistedtree]

If you are just looking for info, the Furuno US site is pretty good, and has all the manuals available for download.

 

[Serene]

If you are just looking for info, the Furuno US site is pretty good, and has all the manuals available for download.

Yes it is very good and I have all of the manuals downloaded that I need. Problem is I cannot find pricing in Australia, except for some components minor.

There is no equivalent .au website, so it is all a mystery over here!

 

[Simi 60]

Since the interwebs, I've bought most of my big ticket items overseas and freighted them in.

Often they get here faster than buying from an Oz store, who likely has to order from overseas themselves as they don't carry stock.
And often 50% or more saving in cost.

 

[Simi 60]

You tried the resellers listed here?

https://www.furuno.com.au/

 

[Serene]

Since the interwebs, I've bought most of my big ticket items overseas and freighted them in.

Often they get here faster than buying from an Oz store, who likely has to order from overseas themselves as they don't carry stock.
And often 50% or more saving in cost.

I have definitely considered this, but discounted it due to current exchange rate.

e.g.

TZT3 12" - USD$3,995 / 0.62c = AUD$6,242.19 even before freight costs and factoring in the loss of warranty, compared to $6,454.00 @ CH Smith.

So not worth it at this time I don't think.

 

[Serene]

You tried the resellers listed here?

https://www.furuno.com.au/

Yeah seen that, but none of them have a decent online presence with prices. Trying to ascertain the cost premium for Furuno vs Raymarine before I go calling and wasting people's time.

 

[BruceK]

Yeah seen that, but none of them have a decent online presence with prices. Trying to ascertain the cost premium for Furuno vs Raymarine before I go calling and wasting people's time.

That makes little sense, you are a potential buyer, choose a dealer and get calling.

 

[Insequent]

I have definitely considered this, but discounted it due to current exchange rate.

e.g.

TZT3 12" - USD$3,995 / 0.62c = AUD$6,242.19 even before freight costs and factoring in the loss of warranty, compared to $6,454.00 @ CH Smith.

So not worth it at this time I don't think.

Exchange rate is the killer here. But in addition to freight you need to add GST, and possibly fees for a Customs agent. The warranty situation is a bit complicated, as I'll explain below.

I had some legacy Furuno stuff on board when I bought my boat. I fitted a bunch of stuff including a full Furuno autopilot system and MFD before bringing the boat back to Australia. A month or two after getting back the MFD hard drive developed a fault that prevented it from updating charts. I had JN Taylor repair it, which was a new hard drive. They regarded it as a 'grey import' and declined to do it under warranty. But an email to the US supplier got Furuno involved and JN Taylor were told to refund me, which they did.

About this time my Furuno CRT 1930 radar (4' open array) stopped rotating, and service guy said that although parts were available he could not be certain which board was the issue, and that too much mucking around in the repair shop and the bill would mount quickly. And I'd still have an old radar. So I used the same supplier in the US that I had used while the boat was there to send me a new Furuno radar. By the time all the costs of doing that were tallied it came out pretty much the same as buying from someone such as CH Smith who did have it in their online offerings at the time. This was all done back when the A$ was near parity with the US$. These days with the FX rate I would only import items that I'd located "on special" and that were accompanying me when flying home.

Furuno is virtually priced out of the market here IMO given the FX rate, as well as JN Taylor's exclusive importer status and lack of incentive to trim their (fat?) margins. But it is very good equipment. In 12 years I have had no issues other than the one I noted above.

 

[twistedtree]

It sounds like the local pricing is marked up very little, and that the pricing is all driven by exchange rate. For all the reasons you mention, buying local seems to make the most sense.

Are the AU prices for Raymarine much cheaper than the exchange rate would suggest? If so, someone is eating to cost somewhere.

 

[Serene]

[SNIP]

Furuno is virtually priced out of the market here IMO given the FX rate, as well as JN Taylor's exclusive importer status and lack of incentive to trim their (fat?) margins. But it is very good equipment. In 12 years I have had no issues other than the one I noted above.

This is exactly what I am finding and makes me think that the hiding of prices (or not making them easily visible online) is part of their unwillingness for people to see their margins.

I am close to giving up on Furuno and just getting the Raymarine equipment.

 

[Serene]

It sounds like the local pricing is marked up very little, and that the pricing is all driven by exchange rate. For all the reasons you mention, buying local seems to make the most sense.

Are the AU prices for Raymarine much cheaper than the exchange rate would suggest? If so, someone is eating to cost somewhere.

Furuno TZT3 12" - AUD$6,454
Raymarine Axiom+ 12" - AUD$4,289

Furuno DRS4DNXT - AUD$5,299 (including the $209 cable which does not come with the unit as standard )
Raymarine Quantum Q24D Doppler - AUD$3,626.50

Now I know there is an argument that both of these Furuno units are superior to the Raymarine items, but they are largely in the same category and just with those two items Raymarine is AUD$3,827.50 cheaper.

This is before we also add wind instruments, AIS, etc.

 

[Serene]

That makes little sense, you are a potential buyer, choose a dealer and get calling.

Yeah I know, but as always it is better to be educated before picking up the phone and it seems Furuno (JN Taylor) doesn't want to readily provide the education materials.

IMHO there is probably enough of the high-end market where price is no object. i.e. if you have to ask the price you can't afford it!

 

[ranger58sb]

Furuno TZT3 12" - AUD$6,454
Raymarine Axiom+ 12" - AUD$4,289

Furuno DRS4DNXT - AUD$5,299 (including the $209 cable which does not come with the unit as standard )
Raymarine Quantum Q24D Doppler - AUD$3,626.50

Now I know there is an argument that both of these Furuno units are superior to the Raymarine items, but they are largely in the same category and just with those two items Raymarine is AUD$3,827.50 cheaper.

Have you done a similar comparison of Furuno/Ray at U.S. prices? Proportional differences, or not?

-Chris

 

[twistedtree]

Furuno TZT3 12" - AUD$6,454
Raymarine Axiom+ 12" - AUD$4,289

Furuno DRS4DNXT - AUD$5,299 (including the $209 cable which does not come with the unit as standard )
Raymarine Quantum Q24D Doppler - AUD$3,626.50

Now I know there is an argument that both of these Furuno units are superior to the Raymarine items, but they are largely in the same category and just with those two items Raymarine is AUD$3,827.50 cheaper.

This is before we also add wind instruments, AIS, etc.

Interesting. Those products are $300 different in the US. It looks like Raymarine is eating a chunk of the exchange rate

 

[Serene]

Interesting. Those products are $300 different in the US. It looks like Raymarine is eating a chunk of the exchange rate

Yes and thus the point Insequent made about Furuno being priced out of the market in Australia. Except I guess for the 'price is no object' crowd.

If the price differential wasn't so great I would have definitely gone with Furuno, but I just can't justify such a large cost premium.

 

[Simi 60]

I have the money but can't justify the price premium for any of them
Not when OpenCPN on a 24 inch monitor does a better job in my opinion for $300
And a Matsutec ha102 AIS has worked flawlessly for 5 years for $400

 

[rslifkin]

I have the money but can't justify the price premium for any of them
Not when OpenCPN on a 24 inch monitor does a better job in my opinion for $300
And a Matsutec ha102 AIS has worked flawlessly for 5 years for $400

It all depends on what other components you want connected to the chartplotter. You can do a lot with PC based solutions, but it gets a bit more complicated to get everything working when you want radar, communication with an autopilot, etc. The big thing with commercial MFDs isn't the basic functionality, it's in ease of systems integration (especially when you want middle multiple displays). That, and if you need a sunlight readable display for a PC, they aren't cheap, so the cost starts getting closer.

 

[BruceK]

Did you explore the Humminbird/Lowrance product range, perhaps it doesn`t meet requirements?

 

[Serene]

IMHO OpenCPN is fine for most navigation tasks, but problematic for radar and autopilot integration.

I have decided to leave my AP alone and hopefully send NMEA0183 signals to it, but radar would be a problem. I know Open CPN supports some radar units, but I think there still may be some issues.

Now, TimeZero was very interesting as a PC navigation option, but the cost of Furuno in Australia has pretty much ruled it our for me.

And BTW I am not planning on installing one of the big name AIS transceivers. They do seem to be overpriced compared to some competitors.

Have also been looking closely at Digital Yacht and Yacht Devices components to use those where I can substitute.

But I still think I need at least one MFD to integrate everything nicely.

 

[Simi 60]

It all depends on what other components you want connected to the chartplotter. You can do a lot with PC based solutions, but it gets a bit more complicated to get everything working when you want radar, communication with an autopilot, etc.

True
But I refuse to have networked or integrated systems on my ship.
Stand alone everything

And Autopilot is just for holding a course for me.
To many boats have been lost due to owners allowing autopilot/plotter integration to control the boat

The big thing with commercial MFDs isn't the basic functionality, it's in ease of systems integration (especially when you want middle multiple displays). .

And the downside is driving the bloody things
On any I have used it's a pull the manual out and multiple button pressing for just about anything.

Far simpler to use a mouse to click on an icon and you're done.

That, and if you need a sunlight readable display for a PC, they aren't cheap, so the cost starts getting closer

So I keep hearing but in seven years of full time use in the tropics I have yet to have an issue with visibility from a 24 inch 300nit screen costing $125.
Downstairs OpenCPN is displayed on the 42 inch tv screen

Could never go back to small screen anything

But, each to their own

 

[Simi 60]

but radar would be a problem. I know Open CPN supports some radar units, but I think there still may be some issues.
.

Yeah, I got all excited for it a few years back and was going to upgrade our JRC radar to an OpenCPN Halo comparable unit - but then there's the GPS compass needed for that so more coin again and the excitement diminished.

Reality is, in 7 years of full time cruising the radar has been used but a handfull of times.
Never had one at all for our 30 years prior, so for us very low on our priority list.

Only one of those times was it actually needed, only because I decided to test our skills in very heavy fog navigating the Sandy Straights with great results.
Or, I could have simply anchored and waited for it to burn off.

 

[Serene]

[SNIP]

Never had one at all for our 30 years prior, so for us very low on our priority list.

Only one of those times was it actually needed, only because I decided to test our skills in very heavy fog navigating the Sandy Straights with great results.
Or, I could have simply anchored and waited for it to burn off.

Same. Last radar I had was when I was a kid and my old man bought an ex-prawn trawler to refit. It had a 72Nm Furuno 6' open array. One of the old CRT type ones with the hood. Was before the days of GPS so I often had the job of taking fixes via radar to plot vessel position on a paper chart.

But my boat now has radar and I have become accustomed to using it as an aid, not a replacement for the Mark 1 eyeball.

 

[auskiwi]

Have you tried a dealer in New Zealand, when I lived there a few years back they were in quite prominent in the marketplace, a lot of commercial vessels had their gear. At least the exchange rate and freight rates will be in your Favour.

 

[BruceK]

Have you tried a dealer in New Zealand, when I lived there a few years back they were in quite prominent in the marketplace, a lot of commercial vessels had their gear. At least the exchange rate and freight rates will be in your favour.

Good idea! My mechanic found the best deal for new turbos for my Cummins 210s in NZ. Has to apply to other things too.

 

[Serene]

Have you tried a dealer in New Zealand, when I lived there a few years back they were in quite prominent in the marketplace, a lot of commercial vessels had their gear. At least the exchange rate and freight rates will be in your Favour.

I hadn't even thought about NZ. Good tip. Thank you!

 

[Reef Wanderer]

Furuno in Western Australia

The company that come highly recommended for Furuno gear in Perth, WA is Mic Macs Electronic Services. No connection with me but only hear good things . On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089098377342&mibextid=ZbWKwL