Installing AIS

[Brian John]

2022, R31, CB, Has anyone added an AIS transponder? if so how did you get the cable from the V-Bert storage cabinets to the storage area above the main helm? I have removed and opened up all possible access points, and there is one location where you go from the overhead storage at the helm to the V-bert, that almost seems impossible without cutting some trim.

I was an electrician for 52 years and an pretty much expert at fishing cables.

 

[Almanac]

I've installed AIS on my C-28, but not the R-31. What wires are you running? GPS, power, NMEA? Where is it being mounted? I think I would need to see pictures, but someone with the R-31 may be able to help point out something.

 

[Gin]

On my R31, I removed the “post” on the far right hand side of the helm windows, just to the left of the helm door. The post is hollow, and although there isn’t a ton of room behind it, there’s enough. There are some gaps at the top and bottom both that let me thread the cable out of the upper helm storage cabinet, down behind the post, and into the area behind the helm, where I had mounted the AIS (Cortex) hub. No fishing required, but you might be able to fish the cable through without removing the post if you could hit the small gaps just right. Removing the post isn’t difficult, though, just a bit fiddly. Depending on how everything goes together on your boat, you may need to drop a few screws out of the upholstered trim piece that forms the “ceiling” above the posts. The top of the posts are slightly recessed into that trim piece. Over time, I’ve figured out the angles involved and how to slip the right-most post out and off with the trim piece in place.

Hope that helps!

Gini

 

[Brian John]

I removed the top vinyl trim but the wood chase would not budge I tried prying it by the door and would not budge.

is the wood chase just wedged in place?

 

[Gin]

The posts on my R31 were secured by by thin brad nails (18 gauge?), likely installed with a pneumatic nail gun. The posts are cosmetic, not functional. They are hollow. Behind the posts are wooden blocks glued to the fiberglass -- the brads went into those blocks. It took a bit of pulling and twisting (I'm not all that strong, so for some, it might not take much effort). Plus an equal amount of mustered-up courage, since I wasn't sure how it would go. But they came off, really without any drama. The brads were bent up from it and I threw them away. I've pulled both the far left and far right posts with success. To reinstall them, I used actual screws and dark brown screw covers, much like the covers that the factory uses on the upholstered materials throughout the boat (most well-stocked hardware stores have them). The posts hold in place fine with only a one or two screws each. The screws with the caps blend in well and are reasonably inconspicuous. I started to pull the center post once to explore a possible route for some wiring. But it proved particularly stubborn. I left it in place and decided to leave well enough alone until I have more reason to remove it, if I ever do.

If you look carefully, you may be able to spot the small holes where the brads enter the posts, assuming yours are secured the same way. That should give you a clue as to where and how to apply some force to remove the posts.

Gini

 

[RWHenhouse]

I recently installed a Vesper Cortex in a twin to Brian's boat. Wasn't a lot of room left for it in the cabinet accessing the back of the VHF radio, fuse blocks, etc. so I removed the shelving and starboard walls on the two shelves below it . I mounted the Cortex on the bulkhead (probably just forward and above of where your right foot would be if you were sitting at the helm). Disconnected the VHF antenna from the Garmin VHF and ran it down to the Cortex. Ran the included antenna cable from the integral splitter back to the Garmin VHF. The NMEA "backbone" is on the starboard, connected it to the Cortex with a 1m cable. Connected the power cable to an open slot on the fuse block behind the helm. Haven't bothered with a cell antenna or external speaker yet. That was the easy part.

Tough part was routing the GPS antenna cable from the exterior pole, into the roof cavity, over to the starboard post/pillar and down. Lots of room in the post/pillar, no problem pushing the cable down with a fish tape. I had to remove the refrigerator to get ahold of the end of it and feed it forward to the Cortex. Many have indicated that it isn't necessary to mount the GPS on the exterior, but I had lots of time and wanted to do the best I could.

Cheers!

Rory

 

[Brian John]

I ended up mounting the antenna in the Port overhead cubby hole as far away from the wiper motor as possible.

 

[Gin]

I ended up mounting the antenna in the Port overhead cubby hole as far away from the wiper motor as possible.

That spot for the GPS has worked well for me too. Brian John, how did it go running the cable down to the Cortex? Did you fish it or remove the posts? Just wondering so that others can benefit from your experience.

Also, other R31 owners may not need to remove shelves, etc as Rory did to mount an AIS hub. In my case, I had a good spot in the cabinet on the starboard wall. The factory had mounted a piece of Starboard HDPE there for a Garmin 800. Ultimately, we agreed to remove that AIS (an early iteration of the 800 that was buggy). There was plenty of room for the Cortex hub in the same place, so that's where mine is now. I like the location -- I can easily access it, plus it provides good line of sight to check the lights on the unit as needed.

Interestingly, before I removed the Garmin 800 entirely, a local marine electronics installer tried finding a different location in case the problem related to interference (turned out that wasn't the problem). They moved the 800 to the ceiling of the cabinet by mounting stainless steel flat-backed studs (like these: https://www.fisheriessupply.com/weld-mount-systems-10-24-threaded-stainless-steel-stud-mounts) using a quick setting, non sagging methyl methacrylate adhesive (like Devcon plastic welder or Weld Mount). I couldn't reuse those studs for the Cortex because the mounting locations didn't match. But it, too, was a good spot in the R31 for an AIS hub.

Gini

 

[Haifisch]

I located my Vesper AIS in the same place as Gini where the AIS 300 was removed. To get to the top connections, I bought a right angle adapters otherwise it would have been tight.

Regarding the GPS antenna for the AIS (not the VHF antenna) while testing it out, I found I had a good signal while the it was lying on its side in the helm access cabinet. I ended up buying a shorter coax (3 feet) and just mounting it behind the helm inside the access cabinet. The GPS reception is just fine and no need to fish coax up to the roof.