Difference Between ST60 & ST60+ Instruments by Raymarine

Raytheon spinoff Raymarine Electronics manufactures and sells various series of boating equipment that assists in navigation, depth finding and hazard avoidance on rivers, lakes and the open sea. Raymarine's ST60 and ST60+ series of wind direction displays, speed gauges and other devices have similar functions and many common design features, but they also have significant differences.

  1. Raymarine Electronics

    • Founded in 1923, the company was originally named Raytheon Marine and began operations when it produced the first electronic devices to measure water depths. After a series of levered buyouts and reorganization within Raytheon in the U.S. and Britain, the company emerged in 2001 as Raymarine Marine Electronics. Since the release of its DSM250 HD Digital Sounder Module in 2003, Raymarine has expanded its product line to include high-definition digital gear to aid navigation, steering, hazard avoidance and fish-finding in recreational watercraft and light-industrial fishing vessels

    ST60 Series

    • The now-discontinued Raymarine ST60 series of boating instruments includes such items as the ST60 Wind System Rotavecta, wind vanes, stand-alone display units and more complex systems with remote control units, various options for mounting and smart repeaters. The ST 60 series featured analog electronics with some mechanical parts and push-button functionality built in. The ST60 product line also had enhanced displays which provided boaters with good visibility in day and night conditions.

    ST60+ Series

    • The Raymarine ST60+ series is, as the name implies, an improved family of boating instruments based on the older but discontinued ST60 production line. The ST60+ array of navigation and informational display products includes depth gauges, compasses, wind direction indicators, speed displays and tridata units which show the user speed, depth and log information derived from other ST60+ instruments aboard the vessel. As in the ST60 series, the Raymarine ST60+ line features push-button functionality and displays which can be read in both day and night sailing conditions. However, instead of using a mix of mechanical and electronic components as in the preceding product line, the Raymarine ST60+ series is made with all digital parts.

    Wind Display Units

    • Though Raymarine's nomenclature implies that the ST60+ series is merely an upgrade to an existing line, the newer products have been designed with the "glass bridges" of modern boats in mind. For example, the ST60 House Wind Display has a compass-like display with the cardinal directions of north, south, east and west on a clock-like face, along with a small digital wind speed readout pane below the compass needle mounting. In contrast, the newer ST60+ Wind Display has a stylized boat-shaped graphic oriented on the bow which divides the display into port and starboard sides, with bearings marked as either true or approximate. As on the older model, there's a small digital readout pane that provides wind speed data, but the new design eschews the old-style compass readout.