A new Panbo test boat, more space for more stuff

A lot has changed since early 2020 when I took delivery of my first, outboard powered, small test boat. Since then, the world experienced a global pandemic, Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers and surrounding areas, and we lost Have Another Day. Also, though less dramatic, I found my testing shifted towards the small boat and away from testing on a 57-footer. At the same time, after four years of installing equipment on her, Panbo(at) was beginning to look like the proverbial five pound bag stuffed with ten (or more) pounds of… stuff. So, I did the only logical thing and bought a bigger bag!

Since losing Have Another Day in Ian, my family and I have considered many different plans for our boating future. Now, two years removed from the storm we have a good idea of the realities we face for the foreseeable future. Post Ian, dockage is (and likely will continue to be) very limited and expensive. Rack storage facilities proved more resilient to the hurricane and are in greater supply. Most racks in the area accomodate boats up to somewhere between 35 and 40 foot maximum lengths. The relatively few marinas that are operating offer varying levels of protection but none offer enough protection for us to be comfortable leaving a boat in water during hurricane season.

Finding a new “little” boat

In my family, the outboard powered day boat has always been the little boat, in contrast to our 57-foot liveaboard. I sometimes cringe when I hear it come out of our mouths. As we shopped for larger day boats, the term becomes a bit more cringe-worthy. So, it’s probably time we retire the term, especially as we no longer have that 57 footer. Faced with the reality that liveaboard marinas essentially no longer exist in our area, paired with two teenage daughters one of whom will leave for college in a year, we decided to prioritize finding a new smaller boat. Like all my boat searches, I had a fairly specific set of criteria including twin engines, ample hardtop and dash real estate, comfortable seating, fully plumbed head, high quality construction, adequate mechanical spaces, and more. Initially, our search focused on center console boats but during those searches I kept coming back to Pursuit Offshores and Edgewater CXs.

The Pursuit offshore line was very tempting as we looked for a boat that could potentially meet many different needs including some weekend travel with overnight accomodations for four. Ultimately, we realized we would have to get the far side of 30 feet in order to find adequate overnight capabilities. We decided adding the additional size would take away from the boat’s primary goal of being a simple boat small enough to get off the dock quickly and economically.

Edgewater 280CX for the win

After many hours pouring through listings and looking at quite a few boats, we settled on the Edgewater 280CX. The boat checked nearly all of our boxes, although my wife and younger daughter would really have preferred a dive door in the cockpit to avoid climbing out of the water by the engines. The 280CX is a dual console boat, but unlike nearly every dual console I’ve ever seen, the consoles are connected under the walkway to the bow. The result is a surprisingly spacious cabin, especially for a 28 foot boat. Even better, that cabin is air conditioned by a 12-volt DC air conditioner.

Plenty of projects

As should come as no surprise, the boat came with a few projects. I was aware of most prior to purchase, though I do find the use of wire nuts on critical systems like the boat’s bilge pumps a bit frightening. One surprise I’ve found as I’ve dug further into bilges and other hidden spots is a surprising use of non-stainless steel fasteners. I can’t imagine Edgewater would have used anything but stainless. But, I also can’t figure out why the previous owner would have replaced random hardware like battery straps with non-stainless. So, although I knew I had some quality time ahead of me cleaning up connections, wiring runs, and more, I’ve also added a few projects to the list.

The boat came with a Garmin 8612xsv, GT51-M transducer, and an 18-inch xHD radar unit. More importantly, look at all that space on the dash begging for more! I think I can probably squeeze 9-inch displays from all four major manufacturers on the helm.

While we’re talking about real estate, let’s talk about that hardtop. The 22-foot Cobia’s T-top proved a challenging surface on which to mount multiple radars, thermal cameras, GPS units and more. In contrast the Edgewater hardtop has quite a bit of room, so much in fact that the 18-inch xHD looks a little lonely up there. I’m confident I can fix that in short order. In fact, it’s already been joined by the Calypso Wind sensor and a Garmin MSC-10 satellite compass.

Let the installs begin!

My most recent Getting Technical column for Soundings Trade Only focused on AI assistance products and the ways they can aid boaters with greater awareness on the water. My new boat arrived at a perfect time to start testing the current crop of AI awareness options. Tocaro Blue provided a Proteus evaluation unit as I took delivery of the boat. Because Proteus uses existing sensors on the boat, installation was a snap with just four wires to connect: NMEA 2000, Radar via Ethernet, HDMI out to the MFD, and USB to the MFD for touch control. Impressively, Proteus is powered from the NMEA 2000 network, an accomplishment for a full blown computer.

Please forgive the rather poor snap of Proteus’ display on the Garmin 8612. I have some work to do capturing Proteus’ HDMI output. The screen you see above is rendered using the output of the Garmin xHD radar, MSC-10 for position data, and Proteus’ built-in charting. I’ll do a bit of experimenting with Proteus using the xHD radar before swapping that out for a Fantom and likely also trying Proteus with other radar units from Raymarine, Simrad, and Furuno.

I have many more products to test and will have more to tell in the near future. In the meantime, I can tell you the next install on my list is the relatively new Icom IC-M510 Evo. This radio is an update the M510 introduced a few years ago. The M510 Evo bundles the features of the M510 and CT-M500 into a single housing. For my needs, the M510 Evo makes a bit more sense as I will have all the connections in one spot. However, if NMEA 2000 weren’t in the same location as the radio, the separated approach of the M510 and CT-M500 might be a better fit.

See you on the water

As I write this entry, the new Panboat is tucked into a shed a few miles from the marina where she is stored. She is there for some wet sanding, buffing, polishing, and ceramic coating as well as a bit of gel coat work to clean up a few small areas. She should be back by the end of the week and ready to get back on the water. I’m also working with my designer on a new logo for the boat. So, if you find yourself in the waters of Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, or the surrounding areas, keep your eyes pealed for a (hopefully) shiny boat with way too many electronics onboard.