GPS/fishfinder combo advice needed

[ScurvyDawgg]

I'm trying to decide on which GPS/fishfinder combo to purchase. Any comments on the following three units:
Furuno GP-7000F
Raymarine c-80
Garmin 4208
Basically looking for 7-8 inch screen, ease of use, reliable pros and cons.

Also any input on the Furuno LCD radar 1715

Thanks!
Andrew

[thataway]

I own two of the Furuno 1715 Radars--so I would consider that an endorsement. My personal feeling is that Furuno builds the best radars and fish finders (there are some speciality--such as pseudo side scan and foreward looking--in the "consumer" range which are not covered with Furuno--but their commercial rotary scan is superb).

Perhaps you should decied what cartgraphy you want to use--since they are all different--RayMarine; Navionis, The Furuno you choose; C map, and of course Garmin.

My personal preference is separate Fish finder and chart plotter. Once you start splitting up a 7" screen, there is not a lot of real estate. For about the same price, you can get a good chart plotter and separate fish finder. Which are probably as good or better than the combination.

The Garmin has been easiest to use, but you are limited to Garmin's cartography. Their fish finder in the past has not been quite up to the others, but the reports are good on the new series. But you are not comparing apples to apples in these units. The RayMarine is part of a networked system, as is the Garmin. The Garmin is the only one with a hard drive, but if you want all of the "features" you need to buy the chips also (may not be worth the aerial photos etc). The Furuno you choose is not part of the networked series. Furuno is comming out with Nav Net 3 shortly, and it may well be worth waiting for.

Because of the net vs non net, integrated vs non integrated Fish finder, the different units will have different prices.

RayMarine has the problem which is not fixed, two months later, of not picking up WAAS satellites--That may or may not be important--but we become dependant on these things...

Frankly--any of these, plus a bunch of others will do very well. There are no really bad units amoungst the top 5 or 6 brands.

I own Lowrance, Furuno, Garmin, and Standard Horizon. I am happy with all of them--and they all have some very good features.

[Jack in Alaska]

I am beginning to realise that Bob is correct in going with a separate fish finder and then a plotter/gps unit.
He has the uncanny ability to "sort it all out" for us country bumpkins in a way we can understand.
Now if he would send me to a place where I can learn about the different types of cartography I would appreciate it.
Thanks Bob for your very good posts.

[thataway]

Both C map and Navionics would send you representative samples of their charts for your specific area, and you could decide for your self which you liked better. (I say would--because I don't see as many of the reps posting in the forums after the various companies have undergone changes in the last year).

This has been most important in places like the Bahamas--where the NOAA charts were way off. There were several private databases of cartography--eventually the chart companies purchased rights to these private data bases--and now use these in their charts. For example C map uses the Lewis "Explorer" data base.

Another way is to ask other local boaters if you can look at their charts (or look at the local marine dealer's chart chips).

[ScurvyDawgg]

Thanks for the info on the GPS combo.

Right now I think my choice is the Furuno fishfinder FCV-585 and the Raymarine C-80 chartplotter/GPS.

I think you are right on having the 2 separate units. I'm still going to want a radar (Furuno 1715) but space is a factor.

[Sneaks]

With radars, although the Furuno is judged a "top contender" in the recreational boat world, Raymarine is certainly it's equal given the fact that we C-Dory owners are installing it on a relatively low platform and are rarely, if ever, are we interested in anything on the water over a mile or two away. I've owned both Furuno and Raymarine, and both have been operational on the "Jenny B." The decision to sell my standalone Furuno and replace it with a radar that integrated with my C80 and could operate in an overlay mode was easy. With a LOT of radar experience in my past, literally thousands of operating hours and even more in maintenance and testing, I currently prefer the Raymarine for my C-Dory. Actually, Garmin is also an excellent choice, given their background in airborne radars, but for me, an integrated plotter/radar is far more convenient in a cabin where real estate is at a premium.

If I had my 'Druthers, and planned on long cruises, I would have replaced the Furuno with the JRC 1800 series plotter/radar combo unit like that on the "Journey on." There is a lot to be said for plotter redundancy under those conditions. Unfortunately, JRC ceased marketing that fine unit about that time and Boris's unit was one of the last available. As I've said before, JRC was the "Rodney Dangerfield" of radar manufacturers and got "no respect" in the American market. Not so in Japan and Asian areas of the world.

Whatever you choose among the major players will work fine on your new boat. Again, it's better to make your choice given your personal "Boat style" than any other factor.

Don

[rogerbum]

I would suggest that you also go someplace where you can try to navigate through the menus on all of these. I have a furuno 1715 radar - easy to use - didn't really need to read the (relatively simple) manual. I also have a garmin chart plotter. I'm not sure if I ever even looked at the manual and I can do a lot with the plotter. The Raymarine systems I have seen and the one I have played with for a couple of hours have (IMHO) LOUSY user interface design. I could kind of work it without looking at a manual but not easily. Simple things seemed to take 2,3, 4 etc. sub menus and I really don't think you can get 20% of the utility of a Raymarine system without spending a lot of time with the manual or a LOT of time tinkering. The mere fact that there is a thread on this site entitled "Secrets of Raymarine" might be a hint that the user interface (UI) is less that straightforward. On the other hand, a lot of brats have the integrate Raymarine systems and I'm sure the electronics quality is quite good. For me however, I'd spend all of my time being pissed off at the design of the UI and probably couldn't see through that to the underlying quality.

[Sawdust]

I'm sort of like Don - radar has been a constant and very important tool for me since 1944 - up in the blue and on the water. I use Furuno and Raytheon almost daily, and was a Furuno dealer at one time. Even taught radar navigation for a while at a school where ocean masters upgraded their radar endorsments.

IMO they are all about equal in performance. Furuno has the corner on the "big boat" market. I used Furuno on my 85' Burger for several years - good unit. My personal choice for our little guys is RayNav. And each user has his own favorite, so it is a personal thing. I certainly agree with Dr. Bob that separate units have an advantage, but after years of going that way I've settled on a single unit.

Questions about power keep coming in. The 2 KW units are generally fine in most areas. Where I like to fish, with lots of heavy rain, and a clear day is when you can see the anchor windlass, I prefer 4 KW. 8 KW woud be even better! The extra power, longer waveguide (narrower beam) is a definite improvement in heavy weather. When I was boating out of Ketchican I wanted all the power I could afford. Of course only an idiot like me would boat in that kind of stuff!! -- fishing is an incurable disease, I guess.

Recommendation - if possible, play with each unit at the store. Don't be concerned about all the nitty chatter on our site. I've had Simrad, RayNav, and Furuno on my last boats - all are great. And above all, learn how to use radar before you jump into a low vis situation!!

Dusty

[saltspring]

I have a garmin 4208 with the digital sounder and the 18 radar. I chose garmin mainly for the user interface and the quality of the display and gps. The G2 Blue charts are nothing short of amazing, but be aware that although the 4298 come pre-loaded with charts you do not get all the features that the G2 card provides for the area. You do get good basic charts. You do not get detailed bath features, route calculation and some of the whiz bang stuff. If you are using it in an area you know well this is probably not stuff you need.

With the GMR 18 radar on a glassy morning in the Gulf Islands last month I was easily marking birds, crab floats and basically anything on the water or low in the air.


I was very impressed with the ease of installation with the garmin as well, it seemed to be 100% plug and play. One issue with the 4208 is that they are very new and, as with any product, they are working out the bugs. I got one of the first units back in May, by this time they are probably all up to date.

Before I bought I reviewed the web sites of all of them and I got a lot of good information and support from BOE Marine, Jim over there will email you answers very quickly and I found their prices were competitive. I already shared my experience with them sending me a loaner unit free of charge last month no questions asked.