Orca Boat Electronics Report

May 16, 2024 • 3 min read

Learn which sensors, autopilots, and gateways boaters have onboard.

Many Orca owners and prospective owners reach out to ask which sensors, autopilots, and other devices they should get on their boat – and the Sailing Electronics Guide is among the most-read posts on the Orca website.

This blog post goes one step beyond the Electronics Guide to reveal precisely which types of devices Orca owners have on their boats. If you are considering an electronics upgrade this season and want to know what is popular amongst modern boaters, look no further.

An overview

Most Orca boats have less than 15 electronic devices onboard. These devices include traditional chartplotters, small displays, autopilots, and other sensors. That said, there are plenty of outliers, and the boat with the most electronics onboard has 79 devices connected to its Orca Core.

A common question among prospective Orca owners is if Orca works with devices from a specific brand. Orca works well with all major brands in the industry. This is evident from the wide variety of device manufacturers that have been connected to Orca Cores around the world. From a brand perspective, these are the most popular device manufacturers.

Percentage of devices per manufacturer. Raymarine devices are the most commonly found on Orca boats.

Autopilots

Autopilots are fantastic for longer trips or when you are shorthanded and need to delegate your attention among multiple tasks onboard.

Orca supports autopilots from a wide range of manufacturers, and from an autopilot manufacturer's point of view, Raymarine is popular with their Evolution and ST range autopilots.

Percentage of autopilots per manufacturer. Raymarine autopilots are the most popular among Orca boaters.

For a complete list of supported autopilots, see the Orca Autopilot Guide. If you are looking for a reliable and modern autopilot with full Orca compatibility, then the Raymarine Evolution series is a good option.

The Raymarine Evolution autopilot kit is popular among powerboats and sailboats, and can be fully controlled by Orca.

Wind Sensors

Wind Sensors help you sail better, and are important for both cruisers and racers. Most wind sensors are mechanical, which means they will wear over time and need maintenance and replacements – and picking a reliable model can save you from many trips up the mast. Among Orca owners, these are the three most popular* wind sensors:

Percentage distribution of wind sensor models. The B&G 508 is a reliable and popular workhorse.

If you are looking for a reliable wind sensor, the B&G 508, which is mechanically identical to the B&G608 is a popular option.

The B&G 508 is a wired wind wane. It have been replaced by the B&G 608 which has an identical mechanical design to the 508.

* Note: Raymarine wind sensors does not properly advertise its model and manufacturer data, and is excluded from the list. Estimates show that about 40% of all Orca boaters have a Raymarine wind sensor.

Batteries

Battery monitoring is incredibly useful, particularly for those who have invested in expensive Lithium batteries. For battery monitoring, Victron is dominating. Every single battery gateway connected to a Core is a Victron sensor! Victrons top three models are:

Percentage distribution of battery gateway models. The SmartSolar gateway enables both charging of batteries via solar panels, and battery monitoring via NMEA 2000.

If you are looking for Victron products with NMEA 2000 integration, you'll need a product with the VE.Can port. Victron's VE.Can to NMEA 2000 adapter cable makes the integration with your boat network plug-and-play.

The SmartSolar MPPT with VE.Can makes integration with boat networks effortless.

Engine gateways

Many boat owners want to digitize their engine instruments, both for convenience and to add reliability on top of traditional analog instruments. There are many engine gateway manufacturers in the market, and YachtDevices is by far the most popular choice. Here are the most popular.

Percentage distribution of engine gateway models. YachtDevices is dominating this category, and the versatile YDEG-04 is incredibly popular.

Yacht Devices offers a wide variety of gateways and smart NMEA 2000 devices at a cost effective price. The YDEG 04 is an incredibly versatile and flexible gateway that gives you engine revolutions, motor hours, coolant temperature, battery voltage, fuel rate and other data in Orca.

The YDEG 04 gateway works with Volvo Penta, BRP Rotax, Mercury, Mercruiser and J1939 engines.

Water and fuel tanks

Digitizing water and fuel tank data is a luxury that not many boaters have. Only 11% of Orca boats have digital tank data. Here are the most popular manufacturers:

Percentage distribution of tank sensor manufacturers. Wema U.S.A's easy-to-install sensors are a popular choice among Orca boaters.

Yacht Device's YDTA 04 allows you to connect up to four of your existing resistive or voltage type fluid level sensors and display the fluid level in Orca.

YDTA 04 allows you to connect up to 4 tank sensors.

Getting more out of your boat’s data

The statistics in this post are collected by Orca Cores that have activated Remote Access and represent more than 30% of all Orca owners.

Orca Display 2 along with an iPhone and an Apple Watch – connected to your boat network via the Orca Core.

If you want to upgrade your boat this season, you should check out the Orca Core. It turns your mobile devices into fully functional chartplotters, is a Sailing Processor, allows you to monitor your boat remotely, and much more. The Orca Core is delivered with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and free express shipping from the Orca Web Store.