Radar/GPS/Fishfinder Recommendations?

[Dave B]

I suppose there are a lot of opinions, but what about the best (best quality for least cost) color screen, combination radar/GPS/fishfinder? It would be used on a 26' boat. I'm really quite ignorant about these systems and so I wouldn't mind being pointed to any good education material about them.

[Sailor]

My ship has a bridgemaster radar. GPS is a navtex IIRC and as for fish finding.....There's this great restaurant just down the street from the navy dockyard that does a mean sushi

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Both Raymarine and Garmin make integrated systems with these features. They ain't cheap. Usually, they also include the ability to format engine video, weather overlay, and some other stuff. They have LCD screens, which are generally larger to deal with the amount of information that is being displayed.

While I think that a large vessel could benefit from an integrated system like this, for a smaller boat the size and cost is probably not appropriate... About $4000 bucks plus install in Canada at least..

The other issue is if a failure occurs in one portion, .... it's nice to have redundant systems. I'm still a novice when it comes to electronics like this too, but that's what I know so far.

[Lew Barrett]

I have a Raymarine C Series system on my boat with GPS/chartplotter and a 2kW dome. I have not integrated the sounder module as yet, primarily because I already had a seperate sounder and didn't see the need (to spend the extra cash) to put everything on one screen. I installed everything myself, and although there are a few things to watch out for, it was a piece of cake compared to most of the projects on my boat. An integrated system makes
a great deal of sense in my view because it will reduce the real estate requirement (only one display is required) and the cost for a premium system is lower as well, for much the same reason; you're buying only one display.
To chose between the various systems on offer, consider which of the charting packages you prefer to read. I think on a day to day basis, the chart views are the biggest differences between these units. The Raymarine radar package is excellent; don't know about the Garmin onme way or another. Garmin hadn't yet brought out their radar (only the display and plotter were available) when I popped, but in retrospect I probably would have made the same decision as I wanted a size Garmin doesn't offer, and I back up the plotter with Nobletech (and paper charts) so I can have raster or vector charts as well as the Raymarine display in my setup at will. The Raymarine is a bit less money as well, mostly because they offer a choice of viable screen sizes. However, I do like the look of Garmin's charts better, though conversly, the C Series is brighter (which was a major consideration for me) and I find the user interface intuitive as well. There is a bit of give and take in all the decisions. By the way, if I had to chose between just the chartplotter or the Nobletech, I'd go with the plotter. Nice and sophisticated as the Nav Suite is, it still runs on Windows; occasional burps happen, but not with the C Series, which is rock solid.
I'm not here to peddle one system over another, but I like my package a great deal. If you buy one of the better systems, it's hard to see how you wouldn't find a lot of utility in it. A point to consider: the largest screen you can manage would be preferred, but these instruments can be quite intrusive on a traditional helm. Give some thought to sight lines and where you will mount the gear before you buy one or another. In practice, my Raymarine 8.5 inch display has been perfectly adequate and 100% reliable. Happy to answer any specific questions I can.
Added: I haven't got the photo thing down here yet, or I'd post an image of my helm with the display. It's not near as disturbing as i thought it might be, and you couldn't force us (my wife likes it too) to give it up with a gun in foul weather. It is now possible (though no more enjoyable) to motor at night as well.
Lew

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Garmin have a brand new system now, but the Raymarine does seem very clean and easy to use. Lew is doing the typical thing I've heard about... separate depth sounder.

These guys with the big boats and the big bucks...:D:D

[Gary Bergman]

Hmm. First I had all separate systems, figuring it best to be that way in case of one system failure..Now I use the E series from Raymarine as the hassle of each 'independent' product was more than that of the combined unit. I'm a happy skipper with the quality of the unit. It does inhale power, and that means going thru your electricals to be beefy enuff. (nuthin' wrong there,eh?)

[Lew Barrett]

You know, if the radar fails, it fails, and that doesn't necessarily mean you won't have a GPS. If the display fails that's another story, but do they?

For those who don't follow such things (Luddites that we are) Gary's E System is the networkable, multi-station "version" (that's loose, but close) of my C System. In operation, they are quite similar and use the same radar transceivers, GPS receivers and essentially the same display technology. The C system is networkable through NMEA and Seatalk, but not in the same sense that the E is. For a 26 foot boat, look at the C System. You don't need the E, same as on my single station boat.
These do require power. When I installed mine, it (the radar) wouldn't run through the standard breakers on my (newly upgraded) panel. My boat was completely re-wired to ABYC standards in 2004, no whimp. Anyway, once diagnosed it was a simple matter to create a seperate sub panel for the instruments. That was actually the "issue to be aware of" that I was speaking of.
Lew

[Dave B]

Thank you all, this is great help. Is there any one place you can go that will tell the novice what all the numbers, letters and options are? (Some of this is truly Greek to me.) Have you seen any good written comparisons of the different units?
Dave B

[Lew Barrett]

The most helpful place up here is The Offshore Store in Seattle. Jay Mark is a great guy, very helpful. They sell Raymarine, Nobletek and Simrad as their main lines. I don't know about Oregon (where you might go for straight advice) and you should be forewarned; people tend to recommend what they own or sell. Lunde Marine up here sells Raymarine and Furuno, they recommend Furuno. Fisheries is hot on Garmin. So, it's a bit of a jungle if you talk to the salespeople. I've seen a few "reviews" in some of the big yacht mags, but they tend to be more "advertorial" than pure reviews. You won't get much help from those.
You won't get bitten buying Raymarine, Furuno or Garmin (or JRC for that matter) in the States, so you should make your decision based on your preference for charting software, user interface and display clarity. Forget Nobletek and Simrad. Very expensive and too much stuff for a small boat. When I did the research about 18 months ago, Raymarine (they are as close to the standard as it gets in this business for yachts in my opinion) provided me with the matrix of options I wanted, your choice may vary. Don't buy a networkable (meaning something like the new Furuno or E Series Raymarine) system for a 26 foot boat; waste of money if you don't have 2 stations. Yahoo Groups has a navagation group you can join, but it's not a very active message board and tends towards the obscure. Here's the link. You have to join the group first, then you can poll the group. You'll be no less confused when you're done, but at least you'll feel like you did some homework:D :D
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/comp-aid-navigation/

If you're in Seattle and you want to see my setup, ping me through the PMs.

Lew

[HR]

Practical Sailor did a review of the different electronic charts (C-Map, Navionics and Garmin) in their February 2006 issue. Their conclusion was that the Navionics were the most accurate and easiest to use. I have a Raymarine C-Series (which uses Navionics Gold charts) and am very happy with it.

Howard

[Gary Bergman]

How 'bout the new 'Platinum' charts for Navionics?..3-D,man, really kewl says I!..Spendy tho'..can't hardly afford any yet...

[Lew Barrett]

Raymarine had been using C Map; I think they adopted Navionics a year or two ago. Another point in their favor in my view, though I was unaware of the reviews. I think you can elect to go with either package with Furuno; you have to select up front. If you like the look of "real charts" you can't beat Nobletek, but man, that's one expensive route to take (does the last comment belong in the bad pun department?)