ELECTRONICS
Peter Swanson
After a general rewiring that included the Maretron backbone
and drop cables, in blue, the boat’s electrical system was better
than it had been new.
welcome me was Rick Bedard in the role of project
manager. Bedard has a huge advantage over many
electronics installers because no one knows what his
customer has in mind better. As it happens, Bedard
is also the boat owner, applying his years of project
management experience to the refit rather than hiring
someone else for the job. A machine designer by trade,
Bedard describes himself as an “electronics guru.”
“Like many boaters today we faced a question: Do we
upgrade to a new boat or refit what we have? It’s hard
to trade and hard to sell right now just like the housing
market. After we shopped around, what we wanted to
do was refit the boat we have,” Bedard says. “It fits our
needs and fits our style as owner operators. We really
can’t go much bigger.”
At the time of my visit, Bedard’s tradesmen were just
about finished with Phase One of the project, which
included a cosmetic makeover of the lower decks, 800
man-hours of rewiring and system upgrades, including
installation of a Maretron NMEA 2000 backbone, and
a full array of engine and tank sensors attached to that
cable through multi-port connectors and smaller cables,
called drops. Retail pricing for the Maretron cables and
data displays alone was more than $20,000. Labor for
installation was difficult to isolate since it was part of
the overall electrical makeover by a Hatteras-certified
electrician.
Bedard chose Maretron because he believed the ability
to add new hardware in the future using the existing
NMEA 2000 backbone, instead of rewiring for new
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September 2011
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