Problem Models/Years to stay away from?

[charlesml3]

So you're premise is that there will be no bad displays as these boats age and no one has had a failure outside warranty?

No. I'm asking about these "horror stories" you brought up. Where are they? Or were you just speculating that there will be some?

[UFG8RMIKE]

Curious why you listed the Excalibur as something to stay away from, if lack of HP for a larger boat, that makes sense however I have 700hrs on an 05' that has been very reliable outside of fuel pumps and the distributor cap both having short life spans

This is good to know , I may be confusing Excalibur 330 with the 5.3, which is kinda why I’m asking on here. It’s tough to keep it all straight.


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[Quinner]

Excalibur is a 5.7 350ci chevy, old tried and true motor, thru 06 or 07 it was 330hp, then was re-tuned slightly to 343hp after that. Not sure if PCM ever used the 5.3 unless the DI motors are a version of it.

[NautiqueJeff]

Yeah, the H5 is the 5.3 DI.

[MTRBTR]

On the gauge issue I think if people really want the screen someone ought to market to the boat companies an app with the ability to make your tablet (ipad or whatever ) the screen. Just plug your ipad in and have a quick mount system on the dash and run your boat from the ipad. When your ipad craps out, you get a new one and download the app and keep on boating.
I am still in favor of the analog gauges too. I hope Nautique goes back to them or at least gives you the option.
If I ever can afford to get a Sport 200 I will look for one with the analog gauges because it seemed like you could get them with analog until they stopped making them in 2016.

[UFG8RMIKE]

On the gauge issue I think if people really want the screen someone ought to market to the boat companies an app with the ability to make your tablet (ipad or whatever ) the screen. Just plug your ipad in and have a quick mount system on the dash and run your boat from the ipad. When your ipad craps out, you get a new one and download the app and keep on boating.
I am still in favor of the analog gauges too. I hope Nautique goes back to them or at least gives you the option.
If I ever can afford to get a Sport 200 I will look for one with the analog gauges because it seemed like you could get them with analog until they stopped making them in 2016.

The ipad display truly would be the best way to go. I'd go for something like this in a heartbeat. A 4k screen vs a few hundred bucks is a no brainer. Just have a LINC app on ipad, or phone.

[Skidave]

Who here is still running a 10 year old laptop? I can't seem to get one to last longer than about 6 before it's a throw away.

What! I'm responding to this on my Gateway2000 running Windows 95 and Netscape Navigator.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

[hal2814]

The horror stories haven't begin because we are still within a reasonable 10 year period of 1st manufacture. Service and replacement parts are still available, but what happens when they aren't? Its beyond that where the issues will arise. I have close to 50k worth of electronics in my offshore boat but that doesn't bother me as much as the custom LINC setup in these boats. Installing an entire new updated system on an offshore boat is relatively easy, but that's not possible here with custom screen sizing and the level of integration with the rest of the boat.

Who here is still running a 10 year old laptop? I can't seem to get one to last longer than about 6 before it's a throw away.

I’m not telling anyone what to buy or not buy but I wonder what level of integration you’re referring to? I can’t speak for all boats but my EX343 has the same wiring harness as its non-LINC counterparts. I can wire the same gauges anyone else can. I’d just have to fabricate something to fit them in. So that just leaves ballast and NSS. Ballast can be run with 12v DPDT switches and there are even pretty reasonably priced timers available for them. As far as NSS, someone one here has a homegrown version that includes a controller. You could probably use that controller as a good starting point for LINC replacement. Anything in that LINC 1 to early LINC 2 era is pretty replaceable. The G-series will be harder due to some of it’s more useful settings but hopefully by then some people have practice replacing a LINC setup.

And for the record I’m not running a 10 year old laptop but my Sega Game Gear from the early 90s works just fine and saw way more abuse than my boat ever has.