Let’s face it, there are so many choices in electronics and trying to keep up with new technology can be daunting. Thank goodness for our electronics editor Chuck Husick, who is tapped into this field and does a great job of keeping us, and you, up to date.

So when it came time to outfitting Boat Digest’s Edgewater 24, Gone Coastal, we were actually suffering from information overload. I’m a classic case of a boater with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, fighting for my differing views on the sport.

On the one hand, I’m a fan of the K.I.S.S. method: Keep it Simple Stupid. I was delivering a boat recently to New York that had so many remotes and different systems, that it took me a few hours to get everything humming. I counted 15 remotes on board, including ones for the GPS and chart plotters. On several occasions, I was tempted to just ignore this system, take my paper chart and $150 handheld GPS and shove off. Keep it simple!

On the other hand, after I figured everything out, it was fantastic, especially having redundant systems while getting tossed in the cold Atlantic while crossing major shipping lanes. I was sold. Go with the technology!

My views of electronics, and how we would outfit our Edgewater began to evolve. I decided it’s time to shed this stick in the mud mentality, while maintaining a firm belief that we all need to know and practice navigation fundamentals. A paper chart, accurate compass, parallel rules and dividers, and the knowledge of how to use them are a must-have in any boater’s kit.

When outfitting your electronics, I think it’s key to do what the O’Learys and I first did when considering the equipment for Gone Coastal: think about how and where the boat is going to be used. Where will you cruise? Is the area prone to fog? How far will you run? Are there long non-stop legs? Do you fish? How much display space do you have at your helm?

Answers to these questions may make you realize you only need a single unit chart plotter and fish finder, and that will be sufficient. We determined that since we were going to be pushing this compact center console hard, with several offshore trips planned, we needed to go beyond the scope of a normal 24 footer.

First of all, radar was a must have. One of our favorite destinations, Block Island, Rhode Island, is shrouded in fog a fair amount of time. I’ve been stuck there before on boats without radar, or socked in the middle of the Block Island Sound when a fog bank rolled through.

We also decided to go with an autopilot, since we were planning a few long trips. Some great ideas for where to cruise came out of our discussions and O’Leary kept hounding about fishing the canyons of Montauk. Steering the boat non-stop for several hours was not an option if it could be avoided.

Then the other issue was navigation. A good chart plotter is a must have in my opinion and it just makes navigating and planning your trip so much easier. I usually boat with a paper chart beside me, but on a center console, this is next to impossible, creating the need for a large display. But O’Leary and I agreed that the scale of a split screen radar and chart was too small even on the 10-inch display we were considering. If we’re cruising at 10 knots, a smaller scale would be fine, However, when you’re cruising in the 30-knot range, things happen much quicker and you want to see as far in front of you as you can.

Therefore we decided to go with two 10–inch Northstar 6000i displays, which can split up to four ways on each screen. When we’re fishing, we could display the fish finder on one display, and the chart on the other. Or when we’re running offshore, we could show the radar and a full chart between the two displays. There are a host of options such as fuel flow and video that we could tap into as well.

The next step is to head down to the boat and begin measuring, determining space where the display will go, any antennas, autopilot pumps, etc. I recommend you do this with the person who will be installing your electronics.

We wanted a crisp, flush mounted installation and would not accept brackets or a messy install. The local Edgewater dealer, Brewer Yacht Sales, benefits from having a first-class yard and service facility. We met with their electronics specialist, Todd, and reviewed all of the items we already ordered. In hindsight, we should have met with him before we ordered the electronics! We had measured the front helm panel correctly, determining that it could accommodate two 10-inch displays, but we didn’t properly account for the depth and the rear access. Thankfully, the units will fit, but I had a few deep gulps while Todd measured the displays.

We did have to exchange our radar array after realizing the open array would interfere with the outriggers. We didn’t measure this either. The factory installed plate was too far aft for the installation. We wanted the power of the 6 kW, but it would require a custom plate far forward on the T-Top and as Todd said, “it’s going to look weird.” We’ve since exchanged this unit for a 4 kW closed array, which will more than handle the job. As a side note, there is an aesthetic component to installing electronics and if done improperly, aerials and appendages create an unsightly sight. Make sure you see samples of other installations done by your yard and ensure they meet your level of standards. In our case, Todd had a keen sense of how things should look and took pride in creating a neat, slick package.

Like anything on board a boat, proper planning ensures the best possible outcome. And part of the process is asking key questions. I think we’ve got the planning done correctly, and next month I’ll let you kanow how the execution goes after we hit the water and sea trial the new package.

If you have any questions e-mail meat george.sass@boatdigest.com.