Paul I. wrote:
In some ways you are right, BUT it can display what I pick. So I "could" have engine temp, RPMs, depth, & oil pressure. I can set it up the way I want it. Providing I have the sensors connected to the network.
And I hear ya, really. What happens is that you can't display enough of the data to be actually useful. Certainly not as useful as a gauge dedicated for it. I really, really wanted to get that stuff displayed on the chart plotter, but it turned out not to be useful. So yeah, you 'can' (and mine does) but it ends up being a waste of effort.
I had a similar conversation with an airplane pilot about this sort of stuff, an aerospace engineer too. The consensus was it's better to have separate analog needle gauges (which could be digital screens) for data you need to keep tabs on. Using numbers requires you to 'think' about them instead of just scanning the needles for ones out of their expected position.
That's why if I did redo the helm and I went with digital gauges I'd go with screens that could show a needle. That way I'd get the 'potential advantage' of what LCD screens can offer but still retain the time-tested value of scanning the needles.
So I'm certainly not going to try and talk someone out of the idea. I'm just offering, as someone that's actually gone and done it, that it may not be worth the efforts.