New VHF/AIS Radio Install

Hey guys I'm the owner of a 2018 Yamaha 212X and I plan on bringing the boat out to San Diego and Newport occasionally and doing in trips to Catalina Island. I normally go to Lake Powell or flaming gorge. with that being said I felt like a VHF radio was kind of a no-brainer and since AIS is just a little bit more and price I figured I do that as well. I purchased a Garmin VHF 210 AIS radio, 4 ft Digital antenna VHF/AIS antenna and in the NMEA2000 starter kit. I'm also installing a Garmin GPS map 741 chart plotter connected via NMEA2000. I do have a couple questions about the install since I've never installed a NMEA2000 network before.

If I hook up the NMEA2000 power cable do I need to run the additional power to both the chart plotter and the VHF radio?

I ran into another issue I found the perfect spot to put the VHF radio. I remove the small storage tray near the throttle however it's slightly too big of an opening for the radio to flush mount. does anybody have any ideas on things to fill in that As far as a plate that you can mount the radio to?

You could black silicone it in?
Is it mounted securely in there?

I would think a piece of black starboard would work well. Just make sure you get the cutout for the VHF precise, and do a nice roundover or bezel on the outside edges with a router.

cbpagent72 said:

I ran into another issue I found the perfect spot to put the VHF radio. I remove the small storage tray near the throttle however it's slightly too big of an opening for the radio to flush mount. does anybody have any ideas on things to fill in that As far as a plate that you can mount the radio to?

Click to expand...

Radio flush mount kit?
Just as an example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIO-FLUSH-MOUNTING-KIT-E46001-GRAY-6-1-2-X-3-1-4-MARINE-BOAT-/231616919798

Are the 2018s models now NMEA2000 network compatible?
That would be new...

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seanmclean said:

I would think a piece of black starboard would work well. Just make sure you get the cutout for the VHF precise, and do a nice roundover or bezel on the outside edges with a router.

Click to expand...

Yeah...agree with Sean...buy a piece of black starboard and cut it. When you roundover the edges just remember that starboard will melt if the router tip gets to hot, or sits in one spot, so dont go too fast.

swatski said:

Radio flush mount kit?
Just as an example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIO-FLUSH-MOUNTING-KIT-E46001-GRAY-6-1-2-X-3-1-4-MARINE-BOAT-/231616919798

Are the 2018s models now NMEA2000 network compatible?
That would be new...

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Click to expand...

That's a great find, exactly what I was looking for. As for NMEA 2000, I'm going to create my own system in between the chart plotter and the VHF.

Yes, you need power to all 3...VHF, Chart plotter and the NEMA 2000 backbone.

Do you have any pictures of the finished product? I am looking to flush mount a VHF in the same spot on my 2007 AR230. I am running a Simrad Go5 XSE but I dont think I am going to pursue the NMEA2K setup. Just need more broadcast power than my handheld on lake Michigan.

I havent dug into it but i believe the 2019 boats are nema compatible, a per a diagram from my fusion head unit, again i havent dug into it.

I have also read they are NMEA 2K compatible, BUT they dont say how compatible it really is. From what I have read the data coming off of the engines is very limited do to some proprietary Connext data. Technically if I sent just water temp and depth out on the network they could claim "NMEA Compatible".

Finally finished with the Garmin 210 AIS install and NMEA2000 backbone. Just need to connect the GPS and finish hooking up fuse block.

Good idea with creating a mounting board behind the helm. Yesterday, I was looking at mounting my distribution terminal and ended up glueing it next to the stereo amp.

AJack said:

Good idea with creating a mounting board behind the helm. Yesterday, I was looking at mounting my distribution terminal and ended up glueing it next to the stereo amp.

Click to expand...

It honestly wasn't my idea I saw that somebody else did that to mount their tachs on in this forum.

Finished installing the chartplotter, NMEA2000 network, and breaker box. Now the Garmin Chartplotter and 210 are talking to each other.

On my boat I changed the radio to a fusion unit, added a garmin's chart plotter and vhf radio and a swim platform control for the radio all connected by a nmea 2000 back bone. The fusion radio will provide power to the entire system without having to install a dedicated power source to the back Bone.

bronze_10 said:

On my boat I changed the radio to a fusion unit, added a garmin's chart plotter and vhf radio and a swim platform control for the radio all connected by a nmea 2000 back bone. The fusion radio will provide power to the entire system without having to install a dedicated power source to the back Bone.

Click to expand...

@bronze_10 ever thought of doing some consulting (for Yamaha), lol?

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I think they may need us both! Lol

What did you end up mounting your radio with? That face plate is a bigger than 6 1/2" X 3 1/4" I was going to mount my radio the same way.

Looks great! I have the same VHF and love it so far. I thought about mounting it exactly where you did, but ended up putting it somewhere else. It's neat to see how it turned out, though. I'm sure you already know this, but I'm going to put it out there anyway; that radio is an AIS receiver, but it's not a transmitter so while you can see other boats with AIS transmitters, your boat won't show up on anybody's AIS displays.