Chartplotters and GPS how do you decide.

[mjsb]

Gotta ask a question as I am so confused with the Chartplotter / GPS deal. I have Raymarine equipment on my boat, mostly installed in 2006 / 2007, that's a guess. I am looking at a Chartplotter / GPS as my new slip is Tampa Bay and all I keep hearing about is shallows. So what units do you have and do you have a thru hull transducer and what else. do I need FANCY or not? Guess asking may get more confusing, but I am tired of hearing at a Marine store that "this is what I use on my boat" and I ask what kind of boat on a I/O or a fishing boat. I got a sailboat I want depth and direction I want to look ahead, know where the wind is and the current. any help, great.

 

[FastOlson]

We have used a Lowrance combo plotter/radar unit at the helm for several years. Also have a shoot-thru-hull depth transducer on the same network. And... it exchanges AIS info with our Simrad VHF. (Same company with products having different name plates, often).
We have a 9" display because that case fits under our SS wheel guard. Better yet, it does NOT influence the ship's compass mounted right below it.
Lots of other brand and model plotters have powerful permanent magnets that hold shut their little chip access door, whereas ours uses a friction catch.

There are so many good brands available nowadays, that the comparisons do get bewildering. First, winnow out all the ones with the magnet, as they were never meant to mount within 36 inches of a compass. (Note that a high number of the "sales droids" at a West Marine store do not know this, or at least fein ignorance. Shop at an authentic marine electronics store.)
Happy shopping and Navigating!

 

[nightowle]

Fast Olsen has helped already by mentioning the magnet issue. Beyond this, read the different features each brand and model has in the size you want. Some are touch screen only, some offer both touch and control buttons. Also, price out the cost of map chips that increase the base unit price. Finally, you'll get closer to the process of elimination.

 

[shemandr]

GPS/Charplotters do not use a transducer or require a thru hull. Depth and speed gauges do. They can be integrated to display on a common display or have separate displays.
If you want to "Look forward" there are forward looking depth electronics but I think they are expensive. I have a general objection to such "Virtual" world instrumentation which is that you end up looking at the instruments instead of the world around you.
A lot of the GPS's you'll see in the Evil Empire have a lot of features you'll not need - like altitude. I think the most important feature is the ease of use and intuitive menus. Few salesmen have the patience to actually guide you in comparison of those. If you can download a manual you may get a sense of how easy it is to use. I seem to get along with Garmin better.

 

[leo310]

First, what type of sailing are you doing? If your just a weekend day sailing the a hand held unit like a Garmin 78s would do but if your into sailing and have some instruments then look at the brand that you instruments are, in most cases Raymarine, the Axiom from Raymarine would fit the bill but the its your call. For me I have Garmin and Raymarine stuff but then its all n2k.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

A lot of it depends on how much money you are willing to spend and whether or not you want your instruments and radio to be integrated with your chartplotter. You have older instruments, but not that old. I'd assume that they could integrate on a NMEA 0183 network if that's what you want. You don't need a chartplotter if you just want to read paper charts.

I had a hard time reading your post ... I don't know what "mt" references and I don't know what "hancy" is. If you have instruments, then I would guess that you already have thru hull transducers. You might have one for depth and another for speed but you aren't specific at all.

If you have a windex, then you know which direction the wind is blowing. If you want more wind information than it would seem that you want a wind instrument, which would have a transducer at the top of the mast. Perhaps you have nothing at the top of your mast, we couldn't know.

It's really impossible for any of us to know exactly what you have, what you may want to keep or replace, and what additional equipment you may want. If I were you, I would probably start from scratch, get rid of anything you may have and purchase a fully integrated set of transducers, instruments, chartplotter and vhf radio with AIS receiver that are integrated on NMEA 2000 as a minimum. Networks seem to always be evolving, so maybe there is something more current being introduced. That would cost at least $3,000 to $4,000 if you were going to install yourself. You would probably need to double the expense if you hire somebody to install. I would choose the models from Raymarine or B&G that feature the sailing options.

If you want just a basic chartplotter, you could go with any Garmin of your choosing. Or you could select the Raymarine or B&G of your choice. I tend to like the Navionics charts the most, which I would put on a B&G chartplotter. The Vulcan series of plotters is a good choice. If you want current information to show up on the chartplotter, be sure that you also purchase the necessary hardware. It may require external GPS sensor. Alternatively, there are apps that can provide tide and current predictions for various locations. It's not clear how important tidal information is to you.

 

[LakeOntario270]

I went to the Annapolis Boat show and talked to all the chart plotter vendors and tried them all out. The sales people will answer and question you might have PLUS give you a discount if you buy a unit within a month of the show. (purchased a Raymarine Axiom 9).

 

[sail sfbay]

....... So what units do you have and do you have a thru hull transducer and what else. do I need hancy or not?..............I got a sailboat I want depth and direction I want to look ahead, know where the wind is and the current. any help, great.

I have all Raymarine: navigation display with GPS, chart, depth and AIS overlay and separate wind, depth and speed and radar. You might consider sonar, which can provide a look ahead of the bottom depth, contour and type and is a powerful defense against running aground and an invaluable tool for locating secure sites to drop anchor. I have it on my powerboat and it is really helpful in the San Francisco Bay and California Delta where you can easily run out of depth when you leave the main channel. For current, I refer to a local tide book.

 

[capta]

Our 2002 Garmin 3210 is at sea now on it's way from Grenada to Newport, hopefully, nonstop.
When I'm looking for electronics, first and foremost I want the most reliable gear out there, so reputation does play a part. If If I can't afford Furuno, the Garmin is a pretty good choice. I could afford it, I'd go with Furuno. Our Furuno radar is still working beautifully at something over 25 years old.
Perhaps you are over thinking things a bit. Lots of people sail Tampa Bay and the west coast of Fla. It's all very shallow, out to 60 miles offshore or more. Unless you want to spend the big bucks on forward looking sonar, your best choice, in this situation, is to keep paying for unlimited towing from Towboat US or Sea Tow, as you are going to run aground, sooner or later, on that side of Fla.

 

[Rick486]

Our 2002 Garmin 3210 is at sea now on it's way from Grenada to Newport, hopefully, nonstop.
When I'm looking for electronics, first and foremost I want the most reliable gear out there, so reputation does play a part. If If I can't afford Furuno, the Garmin is a pretty good choice. I could afford it, I'd go with Furuno. Our Furuno radar is still working beautifully at something over 25 years old.
Perhaps you are over thinking things a bit. Lots of people sail Tampa Bay and the west coast of Fla. It's all very shallow, out to 60 miles offshore or more. Unless you want to spend the big bucks on forward looking sonar, your best choice, in this situation, is to keep paying for unlimited towing from Towboat US or Sea Tow, as you are going to run aground, sooner or later, on that side of Fla.

Agree completely. I have used Garmin alongside Raymarine chart plotter and I would choose the Garmin. Reasons are more intuitive software GUI and much faster response. For radar I have owned both Furuno and Raymarine. I liked them both and either is more than adequate.

 

[mjsb]

A lot of it depends on how much money you are willing to spend and whether or not you want your instruments and radio to be integrated with your chartplotter. You have older instruments, but not that old. I'd assume that they could integrate on a NMEA 0183 network if that's what you want. You don't need a chartplotter if you just want to read paper charts.

I had a hard time reading your post ... I don't know what "mt" references and I don't know what "hancy" is. If you have instruments, then I would guess that you already have thru hull transducers. You might have one for depth and another for speed but you aren't specific at all.

If you have a windex, then you know which direction the wind is blowing. If you want more wind information than it would seem that you want a wind instrument, which would have a transducer at the top of the mast. Perhaps you have nothing at the top of your mast, we couldn't know.

It's really impossible for any of us to know exactly what you have, what you may want to keep or replace, and what additional equipment you may want. If I were you, I would probably start from scratch, get rid of anything you may have and purchase a fully integrated set of transducers, instruments, chartplotter and vhf radio with AIS receiver that are integrated on NMEA 2000 as a minimum. Networks seem to always be evolving, so maybe there is something more current being introduced. That would cost at least $3,000 to $4,000 if you were going to install yourself. You would probably need to double the expense if you hire somebody to install. I would choose the models from Raymarine or B&G that feature the sailing options.

If you want just a basic chartplotter, you could go with any Garmin of your choosing. Or you could select the Raymarine or B&G of your choice. I tend to like the Navionics charts the most, which I would put on a B&G chartplotter. The Vulcan series of plotters is a good choice. If you want current information to show up on the chartplotter, be sure that you also purchase the necessary hardware. It may require external GPS sensor. Alternatively, there are apps that can provide tide and current predictions for various locations. It's not clear how important tidal information is to you.

Lots of questions, lots of statements. First Coastal cruising. Present instruments Raymarine Depth, Speed and wind. Also a nonfunctioning Raymarine auto Pilot. Theboat came with a very hard to read older Garmin Chartplotter/ GPS, and I mean old. Radio has a GPS interface.
I am looking for a base to start with, this is all on a 30+ year old boat.
Most of my sailing will be west coast of Florida, coming out of Tampa Bay.

On the 'verbiage" or new words, I don't have a clue, either fast fingers or missed words, sorry about that, maybe I should proofread.
Looked at B&G, it's definitely top shelf, don't know if I quite ready for the racing environment.

In advance thanks for the help.

 

[mjsb]

We have used a Lowrance combo plotter/radar unit at the helm for several years. Also have a shoot-thru-hull depth transducer on the same network. And... it exchanges AIS info with our Simrad VHF. (Same company with products having different name plates, often).
We have a 9" display because that case fits under our SS wheel guard. Better yet, it does NOT influence the ship's compass mounted right below it.
Lots of other brand and model plotters have powerful permanent magnets that hold shut their little chip access door, whereas ours uses a friction catch.

There are so many good brands available nowadays, that the comparisons do get bewildering. First, winnow out all the ones with the magnet, as they were never meant to mount within 36 inches of a compass. (Note that a high number of the "sales droids" at a West Marine store do not know this, or at least fein ignorance. Shop at an authentic marine electronics store.)
Happy shopping and Navigating!

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ward H]

Go to a West Marine store, tell the salesman to step away. Try each brand by yourself. Can you figure out how to turn it on, go to charts, a zoom in or out, etc.
The one you can figure out the easiest is a good start.
That’s what I did and for me the Raymarine Axiom was the easiest. I found the Axiom 7 big enough and easy to mount. Very east to add functionality when you’re ready.

 

[Ken Cross]

To me the intuitive interface of Garmin sold me. It's also really competitive in price. It has some sailing specific functions that I don't use. It looks like they're set up for racing. I also love having a fish finder integrated with the system. Not only does it do a better job of tracking the bottom but I can actually use it if I want to fish.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

That’s what I did and for me the Raymarine Axiom was the easiest. I found the Axiom 7 big enough and easy to mount. Very east to add functionality when you’re ready.

I've got 2 garmin handhelds and they work fine, but I find them to be essentially useless. The screen is too small and using Navionics on my cell phone is far more useful. I agree that a 7" chartplotter can be the sweet spot in size. If you are going to buy a chartplotter, a 5" screen would be a waste. Anything larger than 7" is luxury. A 7" screen is about right. You can look at the differences and make your own conclusion. Keep in mind that several models will be sold in a range of screen sizes.

 

[RoyS]

I have a Raymarine 12" (C120) plotter at the helm. I suggest that you get whatever brand pleases you but think big screen. I would get at least a 12" but I am spoiled. My unit is 14 years old and has never given me any problems. Consider whether the manufacturer will support the product in the future. You will never regret having a large chartplotter at the helm. Go big.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

You will never regret having a large chartplotter at the helm. Go big.

And that's what you call a rebuttal!