Hi y'all,
So, I just bought a troller from an old timer who didn't need any electronics in the pit. He has only a steering wheel and a throttle. I don't know any drags by heart. In a month, I need to begin assembling the rookie cockpit with all the necessary electronics. I have deckhanded for years and have seen recently that some folks are integrating all their displays onto one computer screen. What do I need to do to make this happen, i.e. will I need to buy all new electronics or do the old ones in-situ just need to have a cable connection/port of somekind? I am obviously not a computer guru (currently a stevedore in Norway...we don't need to use too many electronics to schlepp frozen blocks of cod and haddock), so excuse the apparent ignorance. I would like to receive some advice from folks who have done this and what they have learned, what they have done, tips, cost-savings, etc.
Thanks in advance.
Salty
2010-03-28 16:01:56
Tim,
I don't know what others have all done but here is what I have done. Assuming you will have a computer in the wheel house with your input from your fathometer, GPS, water temp, radar, video camera's, etc. then all you need is to connect another video monitor for viewing from the cockpit. Most of us have some kind of plastic or aluminum box to house the monitor.
Throttle, autopilot remote, and computer monitor are all I have left in the cockpit. Used to have a GPS, fathometer, throttle, clutch, radar, loran, color sounder, vhf radio and mike, light bulb, and it seems like some other things over the years. Really nice to have just one monitor.
I have a friend working on a strike-o-meter which will record the strikes by line and intensity and display them on the computer by line. So you can glance up at your monitor after running a line or cleaning fish and see which line had how many strikes of what size fish. I imagine it will be kind of depressing for me, kind of like my google calendar which tells me that "You have no activities scheduled for today." "You have one humpie size strike on the port bow." Might be a nice feature. When he gets it perfected and I test it out I will let you know.
Good luck.
John Murray
2010-03-29 02:26:55
Ha Tim I suggest a centralized box that is adjustable,on a hinge or some such.Doesn't need to be large but it should contain your minimum selection of electronics.With some sort of bombshelter over top to protect you from the elements and your electronics or if you know Hans protection from his rocket arsenal.Just look around the harbors you get to see lots of inventive ideas.
What's the new vessel?See in the spring .
kalitan97828
2010-03-29 04:54:25
Tim
To avoid having to run a 110 volt wire to run your monitor I run 12 volts back then less than a foot from the monitor have a 300 watt inverter into which I put the plug for the monitor. Other advise on box good, cuts sun glare which can be a problem.
Carl
saltyfish
2010-03-29 17:11:05
What kind of monitors are you guys using? Are you using special waterproof monitors?
kalitan97828
2010-03-30 02:34:41
I just bought a 15 inch at the computor store If it lasts a few seasons it is not that expensive.
Carl
Salty
2010-03-30 05:14:57
I am not running waterproof monitors. The box shields a regular monitor well enough and they are so much cheaper.
Hi y'all and thanks for all your responses,
It helps a lot. Along the same lines, my boat is a true old-timer's ride and has no shelter or even a boom, "so the longline crew didn't have to monkey with anything when they were setting and hauling." Thus, what advice have you all got for mounting a weatherproof box with the monitor? I have seen lots of fella mounting boxes from the boom, but that is even out of the question. Maybe mount a post from the deck on one side, near the gurdies? I plan to get a baitshed/hayrack built at some point, but that is of course a big ticket item so it will have to wait.
Salty
2010-03-30 12:51:28
I have my color sounder set up so I can see it from the cockpit, but at 30 feet it doesn't help much. Need some way to mount monitor for modern trolling.
Tim,
Can't help but to weigh in. I talked to one troller who used an ice chest/cooler for an electronics box. He said that it was the best box he'd ever used as it was insulated and didn't have any condensation or leaking issues. He had it bolted to a pipe that was welded to his freeman hatch lid over the lazarette. The wires came up through the pipe. When it was time to have a flush deck he put the whole thing in the laz. and used a different freeman hatch lid. I'll attach a sketch of what I mean.
Also, people across the water just think that you like to keep cold beers close at hand while working in the cockpit.
Of course, an ice chest in kind of big for the flat screen monitors that we use.... I guess you
Salty
2010-04-01 01:07:06
Tim,
Have you looked at the diagram by Sven? Really cool idea.
He does have some of the details wrong though which is amazing since he has a degree in something like marine mechanical engineering and works on multi-million dollar yachts troubleshooting problems before delivery to sometimes picky owners.
The schematic should show kelp and
Salty
Hi,
Yes, that does look like a good idea. I will check it out. Thanks for all the ideas y'all.
Tim