CHAPTER
13
cElectronic Equipment
Installation Guidelines
M
y goal in this chapter is to provide an overview of the issues addressed in the
NMEA installation standards as well as in the ABYC standards referenced by
the NMEA, and to discuss some general material that is not specifically
addressed by either organization, including some installation guidelines.
From our point of view as equipment installers and installation troubleshooters, we’ll
encounter more commonalities than differences between the various makes and models of
equipment. For example, installing and troubleshooting a Northstar GPS isn’t much dif-
ferent from installing and troubleshooting a Furuno GPS unit.Ergonomics
Although not specifically mentioned in the NMEA or ABYC standards, one of the issues
to be considered as part of any equipment installation is the human interface. In the case
of marine electronic equipment, such as radars, chartplotters, VHF radios, and fishfind-
ers, the ability to see the display and work the controls easily, especially while the boat is
underway, is important. The general term I’ll use to describe all of this is ergonomics.
Ergonomicsis defined in my Funk & Wagnall’s dictionary as “the study of the relation-
ship between man and his working environment, with special reference to anatomical,
physiological, and psychological factors; human engineering.” So, when considering the
installation location for electronic equipment on board a boat, you have to be part techni-
cian, part physiologist, and part psychologist to get the job done right.
This multi-view perspective is important because much of the equipment we’ll be cov-
ering in the following chapters provides essential input to the boat operator. He or she
must be able to easily acquire this data, sort it out mentally, absorb it, and analyze it in a
timely manner (this is especially true in high-stress situations such as bad weather). It is
not my intent to overstate the importance of this subject, but over the years I’ve seen too
much equipment installed that was seriously handicapped in its basic functions because
the installer didn’t think about the operator’s needs when underway. And that is the key
point: Installers should position equipment so that it is usable while the boat is underway.
So let’s put on our physiologist’s hat for a minute and see what we need to consider.
First, think of the senses we use when operating electronic equipment—sight, hearing,
and touch—and ask yourself some basic questions:Copyright © 2007 by Edwin R. Sherman. Click here for terms of use.