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LuauLounge
11-08-2009, 09:32 PM
I am ready to replace all of my guages. I purchased the boat in June and added the Merc Smarcraft System Monitor. Now I am looking at replacing the original guages. I have been looking at Livorsi......
Pluses, minuses, opinions.

1998 Zx 496 HO

Last Tango
11-09-2009, 06:39 AM
Lu,
The Livorsi II gauges were what were installed by the factory on my boat. They are...uh... OK. I think the best that can be said is that once you have Livorsi gauges, you then have access to a whole host of color rings and custom backgrounds. They also make gauges that are compatible with SmartCraft if you order that series.
Since I installed my SmartCraft System Monitor a few years ago, I have never really paid all that much attention to the gauges, anymore. The accurate digital readouts of the SmartCraft far exceed the "generalizations" of the gauges.
There is an entire section of my "blog" listed in the link below in my signature, devoted to my SmartCraft experience and some other ideas from fellow 22ZX'ers.

VetteLT193
11-09-2009, 08:19 AM
I think when the day comes to re-do the dash I'm buying a GPS with smartcraft capability and probably 2 smartcraft gauges and that will be it. Set the whole thing into the dash and call it a day.

I just bought a Northstar GPS that has smartcraft capability, but I'm not re-doing the dash yet....

Last Tango
11-09-2009, 11:04 AM
Vette,
I agree completely: One SmartCraft display with all the bells and whistles, and one good GPS that matches.

When I was thinking about new boats a few years ago, I was still an 18C owner and was thinking 22C. I wanted to go with a simple dash instead of all the gauges. Close to me would be the large SmartCraft display. To the left of that would be a similar size/shape/color GPS. To the left of that would be stacked a stereo on top and a VHF below, again with surrounds to match.

That idea doesn't work as neatly with the 22ZX's 3 irregular dash shapes, but it still lingers in the back of my mind. I thought about replacing the dash module in front of the 22ZX steering wheel with just the matching GPS and the large SmartCraft displays, and putting the VHF in the center dash face.
Since I already have the small SmartCraft gauge now, I really don't need the tach or any of the gauges I have in the middle dash faces, I don't even look at those anymore. I just page through the small gauge. The large face SmartCraft display would allow me to see everything at once, and just get the GPS module that hooks directly to the SmartCraft since I don't really need to have any charting in front of me.

I am gonna play with some of those ideas when I'm at the Miami Boat Show this year.

VetteLT193
11-09-2009, 02:20 PM
To clarify, I was thinking 2 smartcraft gauges thinking twin engines so we are definitely on the same page.

And if you throw in a GPS with smartcraft capability right in the middle... you get everything you need.

This is the one I just got. this is one of the 'views' where you get the map and the gauges in one. There are other screens that have just gauges, etc. basically, whatever the heck you want to see you can see.

http://www.northstarnav.com/upload/Northstar/Images/Products/EXPLORER_550i_left.jpg