Navigating the Secondhand Marine Electronics Market

When electronics fail, upgrading isn't always necessary—or affordable. Here's how to navigate consignment shops, refurbished dealers and online marketplaces to get quality gear without breaking the bank.

By
Todd Vorenkamp
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The author's 13-year-old Garmin GMR 18 HD radar served faithfully before failing early in the New England boating season, prompting a search through the secondhand marine electronics market for a compatible replacement. These are the stocked aisles at Marine Consignment of Wickford, Rhode Island. (Photo/ Todd Vorenkamp)
The author's 13-year-old Garmin GMR 18 HD radar served faithfully before failing early in the New England boating season, prompting a search through the secondhand marine electronics market for a compatible replacement. These are the stocked aisles at Marine Consignment of Wickford, Rhode Island. (Photo/ Todd Vorenkamp)

Electronics, unfortunately, don’t last forever. When an electronic component decides to fail on your boat, you will likely want to have it replaced. While sailors with deep pockets may love the excuse to replace the gizmo with the latest and greatest unit, for many of us cost and compatibility with existing systems makes upgrading prohibitively expensive and complex. Luckily for us frugal mariners, there is a vibrant secondhand marine electronics market to help us save money and get back out on the water with a fully-functioning electronics suite.

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Todd Vorenkamp
http://www.trvphoto.com
Todd Vorenkamp is a proposal writer and editor for Valiant Integrated Systems. He is a former Senior Creative Content Writer for the B&H Photo blog, Explora, where he wrote educational articles about photography and optics as well as product reviews, Op-ed pieces, and feature articles. Since 2017, Todd has worked as an Adjunct Instructor of Photography at Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota teaching the full curriculum of photography classes. He engages in freelance work as a photography workshop instructor, professional photographer specializing in commercial architectural assignments and environmental portraiture, writer for aviation and maritime magazines, and has worked as a sailing instructor for both adults and children. Todd has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the Academy of Art University and his photographs have appeared in books and magazines. Todd is also a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and is a former naval aviator who has served as an aircraft commander in the Boeing H-46, Sikorsky H-3 and H-60, and Eurocopter H-65 helicopters. He has raced sailboats and sailed across the globe on commercial containerships as a licensed merchant marine officer—holding a 3rd mate unlimited tonnage ocean license. Todd is the author of “A Is for Aperture: The ABC’s of Photography.” He is the former editor-in-chief of Rotor Review, the Naval Helicopter Association’s quarterly publication and "Hear This," the USMMA midshipman newspaper. His writing was featured in the anthology “Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families,” published by Random House and the National Endowment for the Arts. Todd has written over 100 print-published articles and hundreds more for online publications.
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Well thought out article Todd. The dilemma of new vs refurbished comes up often with my clients. The same goes for rebuild or replace the diesel. I’ll be sending undecided skippers to this article and save myself a lot of e-mails and text messages.