Adding Instrument Readout at Helm, 411

Hi all -

I'm sure this is not very difficult or challenging, but I'd rather start here than go shopping and check here later.  I am adding radar to my boat (411 #41) for the main safety reason to be able to 'see' in crowded shipping lanes in the fog or other poor weather/at night.   I don't think I will need to use the system very often.  I have no instruments on my pedestal now, only the binnacle.  I have output for wind, speed, depth and boat speed in the cockpit, at the fwd part, where lots of us have those.

I've selected a low power Furuno, 1824C NT, and will upgrade my GPS to integrate with the Furuno for simultaneous output on a chartplotter or PC.  I figured I'd keep it all in the nav station; I can run the boat with someone feeding me what I need at the helm from time to time.  BUT - I could have a PC down in the nav station where it can give me nice output, and then I can run the lines up to the pedestal and have the Furuno readout at the helm, maybe without even having to buy a second display at all.

So - my question is for anyone who has added radar and other screens at the helm.  I don't want to change my pedestal, and I want to add the bare minimum in terms of frames, brackets, etc. to hold the screen.  I am looking for examples of nice, least material installations, or other ideas about where to put the radar output - I might even be able to put it up by the other instruments by closing up the spacing or other creative rearrangement.

Any advice, pictures, etc. will be appreciated.

Thanks, and Fair Winds,

Geoff, Corazon, 411 #41

p.s. I was going to add self-steering and a watermaker also this winter for a planned Atlantic crossing, but decided to put a good battery charging system on the boat, which will let me run my autopilot for some good portion without having to run the engine.  Asfor fresh water, I think the tanks I have, with jugs of extra water aboard, should support a 4 man crew on a crossing of that length (assuming we otherwise manage the use of the fresh water tightly, use salt water for wash up etc).  I welcome any feedback on these points and decisions, too.  I backed off the watermaker more to keep my total boat gear costs down this winter (I would like to have it, but not this winter).  On the self steering, I really like the products and all they give you (Hydrovane in particular) but don't want to hang all that on my transom unless I must, and for a crewed crossing, I am not sure I have to have it, especially after reading Anthony Fawcett's excellent book about his experiences on Wotan (thanks Anthony).

Hi Geoff,
on our 38/Carissima we added a small frame to the original horizontal steel grip around the stearing pedestal by welding. We use it for a chartplotter since three years.
Best regards from Hamburg
Klaus

Hi Klaus,
it is a very nice and handy setup indeed and it invites us to replicate it but I have a question. The distance from the compass to the instruments is pretty small: did you happen to check if there is any magnetic deviation when you turn on the instruments?

Daniel, 411/004

Hi Geoff,

if you have not seen that yet - see the Pippo Lionni blog about crossing the Atlantic with a 411.

Regards,
Christian

Hi Daniel,
indeed, the position of the chartplotter is really close to the compass because we tried to keep as much space as possible of the cockpit. Before we started building we checked very carefully any influence of the electric to the compass, but we found nothing. Our chartplotter is a NAVIONICS GEONAV 7wide net. Other electronic devices may cause more effects.

Best regards, Klaus

Hi Geoff,
Indeed, it is pleasant to have some sort of navigation equipment handy at the wheel. I added a Lowrance with Navionics charts and radar. very handy. I had a special made rack that fits quite well whilst the box for the Lowrance is from NavPod. The cables are nicely routed inside the tubes and no interference os noticed with the compass. Here some pics.
Cheers//Philippe
(47/50 farouche)

Geoff
An elegant solution appears to be products offered by a Norveige company Navslide - http://www.navslide.no

don

Thank you to everyone: Klaus, Philipe, Daniel, Don - I hope I did not forget anyone. I really appreciate the help.

Geoff, Corazon, 411 #41