New instruments and location

After taking a direct lightning strike on our 1999 IP 380, we have to replace most of the electronics and electrical systems . The good news is that we will have all new equipment . I'm rethinking some of our systems and would welcome guidance on the following -

1. Our old Raymarine ST60 Wind, Speed, and Depth instruments were all located with the autopilot control head and chartplotter on a NavPod at the helm but I would now like to mount some instruments at the forward end of the cockpit, to be also visible when not at the helm. One location might be on the forward starboard bulkhead, were there is rear access to the upper few inches through the small locker down below in the galley area, but it's not clear how to route any cables into that area. I've also seen, on an IP 440, instruments mounted in a pod over the forward end of the companionway hatch, but I don't know where I would obtain such a pod, which appeared to be factory original or custom-made, or how to route cable to that area. Anyone have any thoughts on these locations for instruments?

2. The current Raymarine similar replacements for ST60's are the i50 speed and i50 depth and i60 wind, which appear fine on paper. Does anyone have experience with using these instruments and/or how do they compare with using the newer and more versatile i70, which has an LCD screen and can be switched to display speed, depth, wind, or other parameters on the network? I'm aware of the implications for transducers and network interfaces, and am more interested in the user experience.

3. Anyone have experience with using the I-60 Close-Hauled display, as an adjunct to the regular I-60 wind display?

4. Our old autopilot has a Raymarine Type 1 linear mechanical drive, with spec for boats up to 24,000 pounds. Since nominal displacement of the 380 is 21,000 pounds we are perhaps pushing that limit when fully loaded. Any comments on whether it is worth upgrading to a Type 2 drive, with spec up to 33,000 pounds displacement? We are not crossing oceans, but even on the Chesapeake wind and waves can be quite challenging on occasions.

5. Our old chart plotter is a Lowrance HD-8 Gen 2, which worked fine but I will probably replace with the same brand as the new instruments, but with a larger screen to reduce the amount of panning and zooming on charts. As well as Raymarine mentioned above, we could of course also consider B&G, Simrad, or Garmin for the chartplotter, instruments and autopilot. Too many choices!

All comments welcome, thanks.
Graham
____________________
Graham Jones
IP380-01 Indigo
West River, MD