Upgrading to NEMA 2000

[S/v PELICAN]

A less expensive solution - Garmin NEMA 2000 adapter kit
>
> Many of our boats are still operating with NEMA 183 electronics which generally work well enough tho as I like some of the modern electronic stuff I upgraded both my N30 and my current N33 to NEMA 2000 equipment and have never looked back, that is until last month when my 4 year old Airmar Triducer stopped doing its job.
> After all my trouble shooting left me believing that the problem was not gauge or wiring related I began searching for another expensive transducer to replace the 5 failed one.
> As it turns out my Airmar transducer lives in a hole/sleeve right next to the original depth transducer (DataMarine) installed in St Catherines back in 1989 along with its 20’ feet of old connection cable so I decided to try a solution based on a Garmin NEMA 2000 Transducer Adapter Kit.
> Snaking the original cable aft to my modern NEMA 2000 backbone meant pulling up cabin sole which was less than a pleasant job in 90F+ heat. Subsequently I was rewarded with a working depth transducer, not a Triducer, just the old depth reading we all like but then water temp and speed are not vital to the kind of sailing I do anyway.

[Rob Cohen "Soave" NS33 Westport, CT]

Thanks for this post Ed..... I'm also seeing reliability issues with Soave's Airmar tri-function transducer.  Folks I've talked to are not surprised that the tri-function transducer is having reliability issues in 3-5 seasons.

Like Pelican, Soave has a second ( unused ) transducer thru-hull. With her tri-function transducer, depth it pretty reliable but speed hasn't worked this season except on rare brief intervals.  

Having speed through the water is important to me because I enjoy tinkering for performance and my B&G chart-plotter relies on speed input for many of it's coolest features .  ( mostly to remove the impact of boat speed and current from calculations for TWS and TWA ) 

Replacing the tri-function transducer is expensive, but easy.

I'm pondering .... would moving to less sophisticated transducers (  one for speed and one for depth ) be more reliable than the tri-function transducer? 

Anyone tried this ?  How did it work ?

Nice to know how to use older transducers on NEMA 2000 networks.

Rob Cohen

s/v SOAVE

NS33 #009

Cedar Point YC

Westport, CT

[Ward Woodruff]

Here are two photos of my cockpit located nav instruments. The three on the bulkhead are 0183. The two at the helm are 2000. There is a Raymarine 0183 to 2000 converted in the cubicle behind the bulkhead instruments.  

A paddle wheel transducer sends speed through the water to the bulkhead speed display. An Airmar depth/temp sends that info to the depth display. The pilot head at the helm repeates those signals if selected. 

I display SOG, depth, TWS, sea temp, time of day and water temp at the helm. I display wind speed/direction, speed through the water and depth on the bulkhead. 

Ward Woodruff

413-847-0620 cell

On Jul 26, 2025, at 7:10 AM, Rob Cohen "Soave" NS33 Westport, CT <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for this post Ed..... I'm also seeing reliability issues with Soave's Airmar tri-function transducer.  Folks I've talked to are not surprised that the tri-function transducer is having reliability issues in 3-5 seasons.

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[Rob Cohen "Soave" NS33 Westport, CT]

Hi Ward, 

From the photos, I see your AWS is 13.6 at 35º AWA,  boat speed is 6.4 and SOG is 5.2 so you have a stiff opposing current.  Is this a typical upwind setup for best VMG with Margery ?  I think this is a little faster than I see on Soave... but maybe I'm pointing higher than I should ?  

Do you experience much weather helm with this setup ?  On Soave after the mast rake adjustment on a starboard tack in similar conditions my wheel would be at about 2 o'clock.  Before the rake adjustment I'd be at 3 - 3:30.  The thing that was killing me before the adjustment is that a gust of 16 with this setup would require the wheel beyond 4 o'clock.  

Do you happen to know what the connector on your speed transducer looks like ?  I'm guessing the wire from the paddle wheel is analog driven by a magnet running to the speed display that counts the pulses and calculates speed.  

Output from the speed dipay ( NMEA183 )  probably runs from the speed display to the your converter which outputs NMEA2000 for your instruments at the helm ? 

I think my system is all NMEA 2000 so if I wanted to use a old school ( reliable ) paddle wheel, I think I'll need something to count pulses and convert them directly to NMEA2000.

Wind looks good today.... so I'm going to sail. I'll do some more research next time I'm land bound.

The tri-function transducer seems like a $400  plug & play..... that may turn into my best option.  If I get 4 years that's $100/season for speed... ouch.  

The unused transducer hole is mounted on a wood backing plate that is starting to ooze salty tasting water... next winter I'll either glass it over or install a new transducer dedicated for speed.  

Sorry for the long note... lots going on inside my head.

Rob

s/v SOAVE

NS33 #009

Cedar Point YC

Westport, CT

On Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 8:20:45 AM UTC-4 Ward Woodruff wrote:

Here are two photos of my cockpit located nav instruments. The three on the bulkhead are 0183. The two at the helm are 2000. There is a Raymarine 0183 to 2000 converted in the cubicle behind the bulkhead instruments.  

A paddle wheel transducer sends speed through the water to the bulkhead speed display. An Airmar depth/temp sends that info to the depth display. The pilot head at the helm repeates those signals if selected. 

I display SOG, depth, TWS, sea temp, time of day and water temp at the helm. I display wind speed/direction, speed through the water and depth on the bulkhead. 

Ward Woodruff

413-847-0620 cell

[Ward Woodruff]

Rob,

We are on the first day of a two week cruise. The instrument photo is indicative of motor sailing against current so, not a good indicator of sailing performance.  Our destination is directly up wind and up current. We went back to straight motor after two hours with the sail up. 

5 wires from speed transducer to instrument. 

I’ll see about wheel position upwind in the next days. 

Ward Woodruff

413-847-0620 cell

On Jul 26, 2025, at 9:37 AM, Rob Cohen "Soave" NS33 Westport, CT <rob....@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Ward, 

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[Rob Cohen "Soave" NS33 Westport, CT]

Hi Ward,

Sure would be nice if a Nonsuch could sail at that speed and angle against current, honestly I'm relieved to hear you were motor sailing.

Enjoy your cruise.  

Be well,

Rob

s/v SOAVE

NS33 #009

Cedar Point YC

Westport, CT