Hi, I've just purchased a yacht. After a re rig and some electronics installation, I'll be sailing her back to Hobart from Pittwater. Just wondering what Cruising guide/s you guys recommend for the journey south?
I am about to pickup my Swarbrick S80 after a total rig replacement from Sydney Rigging. Who are you using?
I am using BandG electricals after some good advice from Two Dogs.
That'll be great bundeenaboy, bet you're looking forward to getting her back? Mario Ruel up on Pittwater is doing our rigging.
My first inclination was to go B&G for the electronics, I like that they're predominantly a sail focused brand and I liked the look of their products. However as I was initially going for a Ray wheel pilot as an easier and cheaper autopilot solution, I wanted to keep all the rest of the components within the same "ecosystem" in order to; a. avoid any conflicts and time consuming troubleshooting and b. ensure that I fully benefit from additional features that may be shared between components within the Raytalk code. While all the new gear seems to be based on nmea 2000, raymarine uses additional/ proprietory code within their system I believe?
Having said all that, and after speaking with the Raymarine rep recently, the boats displacement is getting up towards the upper working limit for the wheel pilot. It'll work, but in difficult conditions it'll be working really hard. So I'm pretty certain that I'll pony up the extra and get the internally mounted linear drive pilot now, it'll still cost less than going the Simrad pilot/ B&G route. So given my time constraints, budget, and what seems like more extensive Raymarine support here, I feel like I'm better off and safer sticking with Raymarine.
Depending on where you're leaving the mainland coast, also have a look at 'Cruising Victoria' 2011 produced by VCruising Yacht Club of Victoria. It has info on the Vic coast, Islands, and Northern Tas. But if you're jumping off from Gabo Is.bor north and heading to southern Tas, not really relevant.
