Multi-Function Navigation Units

[Capt. Kermie]

So, I am contemplating an upgrade and have been eyeballing those multi-function units, you know the ones that have ChartPlotter/Depth Sounder/Radar/Sirrius Satelite etc. etc. The main impetus is that my little SeaEagle fishinder unit started malfunctioning on me and I was loathe to just replace it when there are so many other options out there. In the end I just bought some time by replacing the transducer and cable, the female end of the connector was badly deteriorated and caused the problem, but now that it is replaced it works again. It was not too expensive a fix $129.00 so if I use it just this season I am ok with it. It was trying to decide what to do to fix it that got me considering other options. I have a little Garmin handheld GPS Map 76cs (bluecharts) for charting and it is already outdated. I just got my Uniden 540 with extra Wham remote last year and before that I got the RayMarine ST4000 MKII+ wheel pilot. I can save the 76cs for back-up and then plan for the big upgrade. The obvious one that comes to mind is the Raymarine C70 Multifunction unit because it includes Seatalk networking capability to drive my wheel pilot, plus it has Chartplotter (Navionics), Sonar/sounder optional Radome for future radar and Sirrius Satelite weather availability and so on. It is the entry level multifunction unit but seems to have it all at a reasonable price. the display will be a bit humongous sitting on my Macgregor 26M pedestal but at least I have everything available right there at the helm and it does have NMEA compatability for the DSC Uniden 540 MMSI connection so it is starting to look attractive. Does anyone have any experience with this model or any opinions an any brand that is multifunctional and what is the consensus for multifunctionality? Is it the way of the future for boating? I will check out all the systems at next seasons boat shows since it will be next season before I jump in over my head but I would like to hear others experiences with the multifunction units.I provided a link to the RayMarine Unit.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Why do you think your Garmin is

outdated? What changes on the charts. I just don't understand. I'm actualy thinking of getting that same Garmin 76cs. Something I should know?

 

[Capt. Kermie]

OutDated

To add some perspective, I originally paid $649.00 for my GPS Map76cs plus I had to purchase two regions to get the entire Pacific Northwest which was $150.00 per region so I am into it for $1000.00, a fair bit. The 76cs was dis-continued and replaced with the 76csx which featured removeable memory. The csx is now listed at $279.00 less than half what I paid for mine and it is facing possible dis-continued as Garnin is moving away from bluecharts loaded with USB cable to Bluechart g2-charts on SD cards. Technology and competition in the industry are the culprits for outdating equipment. My 76cs can & will continue to serve me well enough but has certainly dropped in value. What you should know is that the screen on the 76cs or csx is very small and has low resolution compared to newer units. It still does the job but requires frequent zooming and paper chart reference for the bigger picture. I bought it for portability but never used it that way, used only on the boat, might as well have bought a fixed mount for the bigger display. Garmin also maintains it's own proprietary bluecharts so by purchasing their product you are locked into their software.I am interested in seeing everything on one screen, albeit a large high res one, the only downside I can forsee right now is a single point of failure, if my multifunction unit fails everything else on it fails and I am left with nothing, whereas with seperate units if one goes it does not impact others. Tough decision.

 

[NautiDuck]

Sounds lie a good approach

I do not have a multi-function unit but they sound very appealing. I do have a larger pedestal-mounted Garmin and can attest that the larger screen is a real benefit over a handheld. If you are going for depth, speed, GPS plotter, radar, etc then putting them all on one screen located at the helm seems smart to me. While it heresey to say it on the forums I believe a good size electronic chart (Garmin, etc) at the helm is the best navigation tool you have. We use paper maps to plan but execute on the Garmin. Our experience in the San Juans proved this be be a good strategy.Now, the key to me is the radar. We have the Garmin chartplotter at the helm and a Raymarine depth/speed mounted on the bulkhead where it is easy to see. So, for now I am just fine. If I was going to get a radar unit then I would seriously consider the multi-function devices. You pay a premium for that multi-functionality. If you want radar then I think it makes sense. If you do not want radar then a simple good-sized GPS chartplotter at the helm should suffice.

 

[Rich (P303)]

I like Garmin...

I have a 4208 with an 18" Garmin Radar. It is basically plug and play. You can add as much as you want and spend to the setup. It is probably obsolete by now!

 

[hfxns]

C70

We just bought a Beneteau 323, and it came with a C70 Multifunction display, and while its very early, it seems very user friendly. it comes with a 200 page manual, but what I liked is that for 90% of the everyday funtionality they provided an 18 page well illustrated quick reference guide which gets you up and running in a hurry. Setting waypoints is really easy, routing appears to be easy, although I haven't tried it yet. We are just using it with the navionics package, but we will consider buying a radome down the road. Its a pretty sweet unit, very user friendly, and quite reasonable. We have a bigger boat, but I don't think it is too huge. Its about 8" by 7". If you want, I can forward you a copy of the quick reference guide if you are interested. I have a soft copy version. I can also give you a further review once I have more experience with it. Also, plenty of third party reviews are out there on the web.

 

[newly anonymous]

consider E series

I had a Raymarine C Series on the last boat and upgraded to the E series on the new boat (E80 down at the nav station, E120 at the helm). The difference is well worth the extra money, especially if there's any chance you'll want a repeater at some point in the future.I had a problem with some of the anti-glare coating flaking off the E120. I mentioned this at the boat show, and the rep told me that they'd had trouble with one batch of screens, so I sent it to Raymarine and they sent the unit back with a new screen a week later. BTW: If people haven't converted to the latest software version (4.29) it's worth the trouble. I can now control my autopilot from the chartplotter. How slick is that?