WTF is going on with Raymarine?

[occams_razor]

Anyone have any insight to what is going on with Raymarine and/or their customer support? They've closed the (IMO) very helpful forum, but don't seem to be responding on the replacement "Ask a Question" page. I had a comically bad experience trying to get a question answered where I asked the question, they closed it with no response, and then proceeded to re-ask and have it re-closed with no response 3 times (see screenshot below).

We need a decent chunk of new electronics. Boat is all Raymarine currently and would be cheaper and more importantly easier to stay with Raymarine, but if Teledyne/FLIR is running Raymarine into the ground then I'll bite the bullet and go with B&G, which I'd prefer anyway.

 

[dfw_sailor]

Anyone have any insight to what is going on with Raymarine and/or their customer support? They've closed the (IMO) very helpful forum, but don't seem to be responding on the replacement "Ask a Question" page. I had a comically bad experience trying to get a question answered where I asked the question, they closed it with no response, and then proceeded to re-ask and have it re-closed with no response 3 times (see screenshot below).

We need a decent chunk of new electronics. Boat is all Raymarine currently and would be cheaper and more importantly easier to stay with Raymarine, but if Teledyne/FLIR is running Raymarine into the ground then I'll bite the bullet and go with B&G, which I'd prefer anyway.

View attachment 580902

Email Jim. [email protected]

He is responsive if you are having problems getting a response, and very knowledgeable.

Jim is the guy who presents the raymarine live YouTube videos.

I've also called support when I had an issue after an upgrade and they were very helpful.

 

[DDW]

The ask a question is a mixed bag. Sometimes you get a knowledgable response, sometimes crickets, sometimes a NOP response. Try again wording it differently. It may depend on the day of the week or who happened to click on it that week.

 

[Quickstep192]

I just got responses from inquiries I made last summer. I had forgotten why I was asking. I wonder why they did away with the forum. I think more often than not, forums are a better source of expertise.

 

[Sailabout]

B & G looking better all the time since Navico took it over

 

[Quickstep192]

B&G Sailsteer looks cool as hell and based on what I’ve read, their ChartPlotter/AutoPilot is better than Ray.

It would require a whole$ale changeout for me though.

 

[Sailabout]

B&G Sailsteer looks cool as hell and based on what I’ve read, their ChartPlotter/AutoPilot is better than Ray.

It would require a whole$ale changeout for me though.

B&G is all nmea 2000 now so happy to talk to just about anything

 

[occams_razor]

B&G is all nmea 2000 now so happy to talk to just about anything

Just replaced all the instruments (8 displays) with new Raymarine last year. Any tips/pointers/reference sources on whether and how well these could coexist with B&G chartplotters/radar/autopilot? Raymarine's network is basically NMEA2000, no?

 

[mowgli]

Just replaced all the instruments (8 displays) with new Raymarine last year. Any tips/pointers/reference sources on whether and how well these could coexist with B&G chartplotters/radar/autopilot? Raymarine's network is basically NMEA2000, no?

Ray marine NG is nmea2000 only the connectors are different, the cables are the same even the colors.
I have a mix of actisense QNB1 connection box, Ramarine (displays, autopilot, plotter), Garmin logs, Vesper AIS, Icom VHF, LCJ Capteur wind, A+T change over switch for the logs.
+ Yacht device display.
And this al works together

 

[Quickstep192]

Looking at the installation guide for the B&G Zeus 3, it looks like the B&G ChartPlotter can do Ethernet or NMEA 2000. Can the two be co-mingled such that Ethernet is used for connection to other B&G devices and NMEA 2000 can be used for my legacy Raymarine devices until I save up to replace them?

Is it realistic to think that the B&G will do the cool SailSteer stuff using input from my old TackTick anemometer? My Tactick stuff is on the SeaTalkNG network.

 

[Flimsy Tender]

I recently got a response to my query to Raymarine, they solved the problem but it took 5months to respond.

I too have a Raymarine boat, but need a new under deck autopilot, B&G, Pelargic or Raymarine. The 5 month turn around to answer my query on my existing MFD has made my decision process easier. B&G for me.

 

[MiddayGun]

Looking at the installation guide for the B&G Zeus 3, it looks like the B&G ChartPlotter can do Ethernet or NMEA 2000. Can the two be co-mingled such that Ethernet is used for connection to other B&G devices and NMEA 2000 can be used for my legacy Raymarine devices until I save up to replace them?

Is it realistic to think that the B&G will do the cool SailSteer stuff using input from my old TackTick anemometer? My Tactick stuff is on the SeaTalkNG network.

In theory yes, as long as the wind and water speed data is available on the NMEA2K network and you also have a compass attached to the network as well.

B&G ZG100 GPS & Compass | B&G Sailing USA

Highly accurate 10Hz GPS antenna with integrated compass that provides chart stabilisation, accurate COG at low speed and smooth, precise location information

www.bandg.com

Well that's the theory, I'm actually curious if anyone has any experience of this, because my new boat has Raymarine ST60 instruments that put the data onto the N2K network with a Seatalk to NG bridge. I want to update the old ST4000 autohelm to a modern B&G NAC system, but I'm not sure if the data will be responsive enough for steering to true or apparent wind.

 

[[email protected]]

I have an old NexusNX2 server with speed, wind, compass etc trough a GND10 box to a n2k network with B&G mfd and autopilot. No isdues

 

[solosailor]

I put in an inquiry Monday regarding a problem and got a response the same day. Then got several more responses to my on-going questions multiple times a day. Not sure what happened before but the support I got was unexpectedly impressive.

 

[Alex W]

I want to update the old ST4000 autohelm to a modern B&G NAC system, but I'm not sure if the data will be responsive enough for steering to true or apparent wind.

You can use a Raymarine iTC5 instead of the ST/NG gateway to interface your existing transducers. This gives you the performance of what they are selling today and will give you responsive steering to wind. Any ST60 displays won’t work anymore, but you might be happier replacing them with i70s anyway, those are much more flexible and useful.

I did the same upgrade on my boat 7 years ago and sold the ST60 displays on eBay. Ones in good condition fetched decent money back then from people who needed to repair damaged ones.

 

[MiddayGun]

You can use a Raymarine iTC5 instead of the ST/NG gateway to interface your existing transducers. This gives you the performance of what they are selling today and will give you responsive steering to wind. Any ST60 displays won’t work anymore, but you might be happier replacing them with i70s anyway, those are much more flexible and useful.

I did the same upgrade on my boat 7 years ago and sold the ST60 displays on eBay. Ones in good condition fetched decent money back then from people who needed to repair damaged ones.

Does this work any better than the existing Seatalk to NG bridge?
I get that it receives the inputs directly, but does this translate to any real world difference?

 

[Alex W]

I think the update rate is higher on the itc5, but could be wrong. It is also likely lower latency because there are fewer hops from masthead wand to the autopilot.

 

[toddster]

PrePandemic, Raymarine was sold to Flir. They made a lot of excuses for poor customer service as operations were transitioning from the Wrong Coast to the West Coast. Then Flir was offering itself for sale. Cash flow problems? Downsizing? Who knows?
IDK what’s happened since then.

Ah… acquired by Teledyne. Who knows if they even care about consumer marine gadgets.

 

[cpt_757]

Sent email a week ago, did not hear from them, yet.

 

[solosailor]

This is what I've been using to talk with them.....

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