Fair enough. Perhaps it was a bit of an overstatement. I completely agree with your statement to do your research, deide what features you want and get the gear you want.Hey,
I don't agree with "don't buy electronics that attach to your boat" at all. Yes, things are changing, but that doesn't mean you can't get great gear today that will still be working great in 5-10 years. IMHO do your research, decide on what features you want, buy and install the gear, and sail on. Yes, in the near future there will be better gear but so what? You still have great gear that does what you want it to do. I installed a B&G Vulcan 7FS back in 2015, Yes there are newer better plotters today but the Vulcan is still sold by B&G.
Personally I prefer permanently mounted in installed electronics. As mentioned you never have to worry about the battery going flat at an inopportune time, you can read the screen at noon and dim it for midnight, it works when it's 100 degrees, and when it' pouring rain. Since I can 'mirror' the display on my phone and ipad I can sit comfortably in the cabin and plan my trip. Or I can run the Navionics app at home and when I get to the boat I can just transfer the route. All that for a plotter that cost $600 back in 2015.
Barry
But let me clarify a bit. Currently there are many options that are outside the standard "marine" equipment that we are currently accustomed to seeing/buying on/for our current sailboats. Make sure in your search, you include those new resources in your review. Don't just fall into the trap of buying into the current "standard solutions". We also seem to fall into the trap of "wanting" the latest and greatest. Nothing wrong with this, but do bear in mind for the vast majority of sailors most of this is such overkill, do remember much are really toys and not essential equipment. Again, nothing wrong with buying and having toys, they are fun to play with, but if your focus is what you need, you'll find the options are far greater, less complicated, and less $'s than you might think. This is especially true if you are not looking at the standard, physically installed systems.
All of this depends greatly on what kind of sailing you do and where you are sailing. This particular point is something that it seems to me most often poorly assessed. I always hear the statement "oh, but just in case..." The honest assessment of how a specific sailor is going to really use their boat I don't think is done honestly, if I'm to be honest...
An example is a close friend of mine I sail with often. This person has a lovely boat, definitely one that could be used for crossing oceans. However this specific individual, in the past 10 years, has never gone outside of one of the Great Lakes where he sails. He hasn't even gone to different lakes. The biggest trip he's taken, in those years, is with me when we crossed that specific lake into Canada from his port of origin. There are many pieces of electronic equipment on this boat that could be applied to going anywhere. But truly, nothing more than a compass, distance sailed, and water depth would have been all I needed for any and all trips that have ever been made in the decade this boat has sailed from where it is currently located and to where it has gone. Sure GPS is nice, but for all the sailing that's been done in those years, truly not needed...
So why does the owner have SSB, chart plotter and I don't even remember what all else? I attribute it to one simple answer: fear. Of course these are all cool toys, but really, it's fear. It's the whole package of what if's that are talked about. What if this, what if that, I'll "need" this and that. Now of course, the specific are one is sailing will mandate equipment, if you are running in coral reefs, you'll definitely want GPS, if you are sailing in areas with a lot of fog, you may need radar. I'm not going to go on with all of these, but I consistently find that sailors are always saying they "need" far more pieces of equipment than really needed. But I digress I see...
The question brought up is what is the "best" equipment needed. There is not one answer, IMHO. I feel the hardest and more difficult aspect that needs answering is what, where and how is this specific sailor going to sail. Define that honestly, look at what fills the specific type of sailing, for the area that's going to be sailed, and that is your answer. That sailor specific search is the most difficult part of this analysis, and no one can do it for another. Each of us can give insights into what we have found in our own case and that can be helpful. But the answer really lies with the specific sailor to determine for themselves. Look carefully at inexpensive simple solutions. That's my 2 cents worth anyway...
dj