What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

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onlybillhere
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What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#1 Post by onlybillhere » Wed May 22, 2019 7:12 am

I will have a tach but I started thinking if there was some other gauges that would help me. I'm not 100% sure if I'm sticking with the removable fuel tank or putting in a fuel cell but I was thinking a fuel gauge would be nice (if possible). I think at one point I will add a fish/depth finder too.
So do you all have any recommendations? I don't want to clutter up the console but I would like to have gauges that actually are useful.
1995 Sun Tracker 21 Party Barge
60HP Mercury 2 stroke
It's new! to me
Loving the life here in Deland, Fla.

BobL
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#2 Post by BobL » Wed May 22, 2019 7:48 am

I think it all depends on your use and situation. Do you go places you have never been (the need for GPS, Depth finder). Are you ever in remote places where you could get stranded (the need for more gauges that monitor the health of your engine and batteries). Do you fish (the need for fish/depth finder).

My boat came with Tach, Fuel (which is fairly accurate), and Trim and that is all I need based upon my situation. I have a speedo on my phone but only used it a couple of times to see how fast the boat would go under certain loads (just out of curiosity). I don't need a GPS because my lake is landlocked and I don't trailer to other places. I don't need a depth finder because I know the lake depths like the back of my hand. I don't need a fish finder because we don't fish that much. Some have added a water pressure gauge and voltmeter but I am never more than 30 minutes from my pier and am always around other camps so not worried about getting stranded.
SOLD - 2009 20' Bentley w/4 Stroke 90hp Mercury
SOLD - 2011 SouthBay 522CR w/115 4 Stroke Mercury
2014 Xcursion 23RF XS package w/150 4 Stroke Mercury

onlybillhere
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#3 Post by onlybillhere » Wed May 22, 2019 8:48 am

I was thinking of a Trim gauge but reading other posts about it I decided it wasn't a big deal for me. Since I'll be out in the river more than anything and I'm not as familiar a depth finder would be good investment. Gotta have a fish finder too otherwise my son will give me crap about that.
I do like the voltmeter suggestion, I'll add that to the list. I plan on adding a stereo so the voltmeter will come in handy.
1995 Sun Tracker 21 Party Barge
60HP Mercury 2 stroke
It's new! to me
Loving the life here in Deland, Fla.

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Marc K
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#4 Post by Marc K » Wed May 22, 2019 9:22 am

If I try hard, I could get 20+ miles from home, but virtually all of my boating is within 12-13 miles from home. My boat is old, so my dashboard set up is simple, and I have no need to change it. Remember that what works for me won't work for the next guy!

- Digital tach and trim indicator in a combination unit
- Volt meter

No temperature or oil pressure gauges. They are audible alarms if a failure occurs.

No fuel gauge because I use portable tanks - which I actually prefer for fuel management. (A 12 gallon tank and two 6 gallon) I know my burn rate and I always have more fuel in my boat house.

I added a low end ($125.00) Hummingbird PiranhaMax 4Di fish finder/depth/water temperature unit. I am new to our lake and it can swing 4' in depth, so the depth finder is important to me.

My phones provide GPS & speed/Weather radar. Yes, I carry a spare phone and a VHF marine radio.

Marc
Big and ugly but we love our 1999/2000 Crest II DL with a Yamaha F115

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steve1313
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#5 Post by steve1313 » Wed May 22, 2019 9:32 am

If you've got a newer outboard that can interface with a NEMA 2000 network, just add a GPS/chartplotter, create a NEMA network and you'll get everything mentioned here and more! And the best part is it's a clean look,.
Steve
"Serendipity" - 2017 Sweetwater 2286 WB Tritoon w/ 150HP Yamaha
Slipped at Lake Anna, Virginia
Primary Residence: Richmond, Virgina
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onlybillhere
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#6 Post by onlybillhere » Wed May 22, 2019 9:37 am

steve1313 wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 9:32 am
If you've got a newer outboard that can interface with a NEMA 2000 network, just add a GPS/chartplotter, create a NEMA network and you'll get everything mentioned here and more! And the best part is it's a clean look,.
The Merc 2 stroke is a little older so no NEMA connection however a new or newer motor is something I might look into in a few months.
1995 Sun Tracker 21 Party Barge
60HP Mercury 2 stroke
It's new! to me
Loving the life here in Deland, Fla.

boocat
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#7 Post by boocat » Wed May 22, 2019 3:24 pm

so for a newer merc motor,, vessel view mobile or smartcraft gauge?? I need to do this myself.. keep up with true hours, fault codes, engine temp and so on.

willy13
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#8 Post by willy13 » Wed May 22, 2019 6:28 pm

My new mercury will have just the mercmonitor gauge. It should do everything.

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rbtnt
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#9 Post by rbtnt » Wed May 22, 2019 11:35 pm

I would add the volt meter so you know that status of your battery and charging system.

I would add a water pressure gauge so you know the condition of your water pump or blockages on your water intake.

Gauges can help you troubleshoot issues better than alarms.
2020 Bennington 23 SSRXP Mercury 250 Pro XS
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ROLAND
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#10 Post by ROLAND » Thu May 23, 2019 1:02 am

My boat doesn't have too many gauges... it has:

Fuel Gauge..... in my opinion pretty important, but get a decent one.. some of the fuel gauges out there are like the temperature gauge on a barbcue pit... not worth a damn.

Tach: no speedometer on my boat, so I reference the tach quite a bit..

Trim Gauge: Not really "necessary"... but since I have one I find myself referring to it all the time, especially when I am in getting into really shallow water.

my boat does not have a water pressure gauge. I had my boat serviced a little over a week ago and the mechanic suggested adding a water pressure gauge.. he's actually mentioned it to me several times over the last few years but I always say maybe next year... probably a good thing to have, but normally when he brings it up to me it's right after I just paid a 3 or 4 hundred dollar bill for work done and not really wanting to spend more..
Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

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joe20toon
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#11 Post by joe20toon » Thu May 23, 2019 3:24 am

> Fuel gauge
> Trim indicator
> Tachometer
> Voltage
> Hour meter

________
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onlybillhere
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#12 Post by onlybillhere » Thu May 23, 2019 9:56 am

joe20toon wrote:
Thu May 23, 2019 3:24 am
> Hour meter
Would an hour meter be of any use with a used motor if you don't know how many hours are on it already? Or would it just be useful to know how many hours you yourself have put on it?
1995 Sun Tracker 21 Party Barge
60HP Mercury 2 stroke
It's new! to me
Loving the life here in Deland, Fla.

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Marc K
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#13 Post by Marc K » Thu May 23, 2019 10:41 am

Handy for service intervals based on hours - lower unit gear oil changes for example. But many people don't run a whole lot of hours, so seasonal service intervals work for them.
Big and ugly but we love our 1999/2000 Crest II DL with a Yamaha F115

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zoom650
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#14 Post by zoom650 » Thu May 23, 2019 12:55 pm

Boats with smaller horsepower requirements probably get by with less information. Same for lakes you know by heart and if you don't trailer many new places. But, start running more horsepower, twins, go further, expand your range to the intercoastal, off-shore, or great lake and your need for information goes up.

What I found most helpful was the meter that gave gallons of fuel per hour burned. Between that and knowing how to read my fuel gauge, the speedometer and tach really didn't matter. Chart plotter/GPS? Oh yeah, I like finding my way back to port.

I don't want to leave out the humble compass either. When all else fails, know the reciprocal of your heading.
Michael and Laura
'12 Ford F150 Lariat SuperCrew Ecoboost
'14 Harris Solstice 220, P3 tritoon, Mercury Verado 150, Enertia 14p.
prior boat: '02 Century 2600CC, twin Yamaha EFI 200's, full instruments.

onlybillhere
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Re: What gauges do you find a necessity to have?

#15 Post by onlybillhere » Thu May 23, 2019 2:00 pm

zoom650 wrote:
Thu May 23, 2019 12:55 pm
I don't want to leave out the humble compass either. When all else fails, know the reciprocal of your heading.
I hate to say it but I don't think there are many people nowadays that can read a compass let alone know how to use it
1995 Sun Tracker 21 Party Barge
60HP Mercury 2 stroke
It's new! to me
Loving the life here in Deland, Fla.

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