228 Electronics and dash upgrade

[mkslug]

I know many of you on this forum have Seafarers, so I thought I would post this to give you some ideas of what is possible. We bought our 228 new in 2006 and we had a Furuno Navnet system installed that same year (MFD with Nav/GPS, Radar, Sounder). Decided after 14 years it was time for some new stuff. Never became a big fan of that Furuno interface as it was just not user friendly (although reliable). I hear the new Furuno stuff is much easier to use, but we went with Garmin based on our local electronics shop recommendation and support level. Kicked around the idea of installing (2) 10" screens side by side like a few of you who have posted your builds earlier this year. Ultimately got mesmerized by going with as large a screen as we could somehow fit, in this case a Garmin 8616xsv. No it's not cost effective compared to the smaller screens, but my boat partner is my father with 77 year old eyes, and he wanted a giant screen to look at. We had to have a fiberglass guy build us a new dash to accommodate the screen, as it was too big to fit into the old opening. Johnson Hicks here in Santa Cruz did the install. They aren't cheap but they do things right. We did radar, autopilot, new transducers also of course. But I can post more details on that stuff later. Here's some pics of the dash for you guys with the old and new layout. Moved the trim indicator to the right side and put the Simrad autopilot display between the two Yamaha gauges to make the layout more aesthetic. In my opinion Grady should really be building their dashes like this on the new Seafarers, rather than the stupid flip up door that I think (??) they are still putting in them. Could be wrong.

 

[Ky Grady]

Wow!!! That is super clean looking!!
Very nice work!!

 

[leeccoll]

Agree it is so sweet!

 

[Pighunter]

I think think that is the best job I've seen! Great job.

 

[Blaugrana]

That’s awesome, super clean....think someone else here did the same but with black.

That would have been my preference if I had repowered and have new gauges.

Definitely saving your pic to my collection in case I do repower.

 

[Blaugrana]

Looking at your pics, any idea how they did that? Did that section of your dash come off and they used that as a form?

 

[mkslug]

Looking at your pics, any idea how they did that? Did that section of your dash come off and they used that as a form?

The dash has a divide/top cap. The fiberglass guy created a new piece to replace the top cap after measuring that piece. He did pull it off eventually but I’m not sure if he actually used it as a mold or form. I think he just measured it and created a new replacement based on the measurements. If you look at the side profile of an original dash the angle changes about 2/3 of the way up. They had to change that angle to accommodate the new screen, so it stays flat higher up before bending, if that makes sense.

 

[Ryhlick]

I wonder if your fiberglass person still has the mold? I’m sure he could sell several, I would love to get one. Looks great

 

[Hookup1]

The good guys free-hand the glass work. That is a very nice installation.

 

[Blaugrana]

I agree, pretty amazing workmanship by whoever did it

 

[JJMag]

I have to agree with every buddy else that looks extremely clean and probably the best set up I’ve seen on a Seafarer!

Will be doing my electronics upgrade late spring I wish I could do it sooner but I also will be going with Garmin !

 

[luckydude]

In my opinion Grady should really be building their dashes like this on the new Seafarers, rather than the stupid flip up door that I think (??) they are still putting in them. Could be wrong.

Hey Mike, I've been in your boat, poked at it to see what they have changed. They still do the stupid flip up door as of 2020.
That's a great install! Nice work by Mark and team at Johnson Hicks. They did mine as well, spendy, but they do it right.
I talked to Mark and he twigged to the fact that I have the know how to do my own install, just too old and tired. He lit up
like a Christmas tree and started walking me through what he had done and why. I'm super happy with his work.

Congrats, now lets find flat(ish) ocean and do a 2 (or more) boat launch!

 

[mkslug]

Hey Mike, I've been in your boat, poked at it to see what they have changed. They still do the stupid flip up door as of 2020.
That's a great install! Nice work by Mark and team at Johnson Hicks. They did mine as well, spendy, but they do it right.
I talked to Mark and he twigged to the fact that I have the know how to do my own install, just too old and tired. He lit up
like a Christmas tree and started walking me through what he had done and why. I'm super happy with his work.

Congrats, now lets find flat(ish) ocean and do a 2 (or more) boat launch!

Yes Mark did good. Hopefully we get a good salmon season this Spring and can find some together. Going from our old transducer to this new one (TM275 LHW) I expect to see salmon pretty easily. This thing is the size of a melon!

 

[JJMag]

Curious which Simrad auto pilot did Johnson Hicks install ?

 

[mkslug]

Curious which Simrad auto pilot did Johnson Hicks install ?

AP 44 VRF medium capacity. Only had it out for an hour for sea trial but it worked good. I foresee this being a "how the hell did we ever get by without it" type of item. For what its worth they strongly advised for the Simrad AP, even though everything else is Garmin. Said they have had too many problems with the Garmin pumps.

 

[JJMag]

I agree Garmin has to step up their game with their auto pilot heard a lot of bad reviews with Garmin auto pilot thank you for the Information!

 

[nuclear]

As already stated, super clean and looks great.

 

[luckydude]

AP 44 VRF medium capacity. Only had it out for an hour for sea trial but it worked good. I foresee this being a "how the hell did we ever get by without it" type of item. For what its worth they strongly advised for the Simrad AP, even though everything else is Garmin. Said they have had too many problems with the Garmin pumps.

I've heard the same thing, Garmin for most stuff, Airmar (spelling?) for transducer, not Garmin for AP.

 

[benny13]

The dash has a divide/top cap. The fiberglass guy created a new piece to replace the top cap after measuring that piece. He did pull it off eventually but I’m not sure if he actually used it as a mold or form. I think he just measured it and created a new replacement based on the measurements. If you look at the side profile of an original dash the angle changes about 2/3 of the way up. They had to change that angle to accommodate the new screen, so it stays flat higher up before bending, if that makes sense.

Do you have contact information for the guy that did the dash? Thank you

 

[GWstriper228]

Does anyone know if someone has a mold for this?