Modernizing the bridge electronics

[timhenn1]

I love my 1988 37 Silverton convertible. Its been a great boat for many years and will likely continue to be for years to come. This year my original radar (1987 Raytheon) never powered on and my Garmin chartplotter shows early signs of failure.

I will get new electronics (looking at the Garmin 4210 MFD and Garmin Radar, either 404 or the GMR 18) so thats not in question.

My quesion is, would it be worthwhile modernizing the bridge console by removing many of the old analog gauges (oil pressure, temp, depth, RPM, etc.) and flush mounting the MFD to show all the information? This would obviously cost more than just replacing the radar and chartplotter (not sure how much). It would be worth it if I thought I could recoup most of this cost on resale. Resale or trade-in is possible if not likely in the next 1-5 years depending on....well, alot.

Being this is the surveyor forum, how often do you see this type of modernization and is it fair to assume that some or all of the cost can be realized when sold?

 

[petesl]

At best "Some". The rule of thumb was 50 cents on the dollar. In this market I'm not even sure that is true.

 

[b_arrington]

I would guess that it depends greatly on if the buyer is looking at the same make of boat of similar vintage. They they can see the added value.

Although some might like to keep the analog gauges as "backup" and see them as a plus. If you have room and want the instrumentation on your MFD screen, see if you can redo your dash by moving the gauges to accommodate one or more flush mounted screens.

There are also an increasing number of smaller data displays that allow you to see much data without having to see it via your main MFD. Since you are looking at Garmin, a couple of GMI 10 units might do the trick.

There were recently several writeups on some of these small units on the Panbo blog:
http://www.panbo.com/archives/2008/05/n2k_instruments_the_big_display_leagues_next.html
http://www.panbo.com/archives/2008/06/n2k_instruments_in_direct_sun.html

Here's one view of what a Garmin system could look like, also from the Panbo blog.

 

[Billylll]

I converted my 1993 Mainship 40 Sedan Bridge to an all glass dash, meaning no gauges other than a high quality compass. I used Garmin 4200 series chartplotters, their GMR24HD radar, fish/depth finder, XM weather and the new NEMA 2000 GPS and both 0183 & 2000 NEMA networks are running. The engines were easy I had 2 Mercury system view 5000 displays because I had repowered with new 8.1L HO inboards. I even got the digital Bennett trim tab controls. If you are going to keep the boat and enjoy it I would highly recommend doing something similar to what I did. Remember as soon as something new coomes out there is always something better, make sure your chartplotters are NEMA2000 ready. As far as resale I doubt I will ever be able to sell this large gasser! But I intend to keep her for many years. Regards Bill

 

[About Time]

I have a similar problem with my 87 Chris Craft.
I have decided to do a piece at a time.
First was installing a NMEA 2000 basic system.
I then added flow meters.
Study what you want carefully there are many good systems out there.
Check back with with Boatfix they have great pricing.
Abouttime