Marine GPS/Chartplotter

[Craigmri]

Guys,

I'm picking up my Utopia 205 this weekend and am in the market for a small-ish Marine GPS/Chartplotter. I have several portable car based models but want something for boating to display navigational markers, water depth etc...Anyone up on the current stuff on the market? Would like to stay under $500.

Craig

 

[robertm]

The wife bought me a Lowrance LMS 522C for Christmas. She got it from Cabelas for ~$500. Its supposedly has 3000 maps of lakes in the US, GPS, depth finder and even a fish finder on it. Oh ya, its color screen too. I haven't set it up yet but am excited to give it a try.

For ~$90 Cabela's will install it too. I'm thinking I'll have them do the install and let them be liable for it.

 

[swill777]

Check this thread: http://seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=10929&highlight=fishfinder

I installed a lower end, near $200 unit on my sportster 1800.. fishfinder, gps, chartplotting combo.. shows nav beacons, wrecks, water depth, temp, etc.... You can find the manual online to see everything it does.

 

[Craigmri]

Looks good

Swill,

This looks perfect! Do the maps show good detail? Do they show wrecks, channel markers, depth contours?

Craig

Check this thread: http://seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=10929&highlight=fishfinder

I installed a lower end, near $200 unit on my sportster 1800.. fishfinder, gps, chartplotting combo.. shows nav beacons, wrecks, water depth, temp, etc.... You can find the manual online to see everything it does.

 

[swill777]

The maps show great detail, wrecks, channel markers, etc... the actual maps don't show depth contours though... you would have to active the depthfinder screen to view that in real time. For $200 it does an AWFUL lot.. Look up the manual online... it goes through EVERYTHING. I am very happy with the unit. It works great.

 

[sporsterjoel]

Im a Garmin guy. I have the colorado 300 handheld that i got for christmas, im going to use in my seadoo but it can also be used in the car and hiking(lots of difrent types of maps that you can get for it) but for the doral going toget the 500series chartplotter, If you have a $500 budget you can get a really nice garmin...

 

[Gunsrunner]

I have a lowrance and like the screens detail and size.
http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Marine/Full-Size-SonarGPS-Chartplotter-Combos/LMS-527C-DF-iGPS/

 

[wingnut1961]

Humminbird Fishfinder/GPS 595c... check on amazon.com. Inexpensive, works well, easy to read in sun, waterproof, upgradable map using Navionics SD cards.

 

[mday02]

I have been using them on a jet ski for months - fishing around islands and reefs off shore. Had a lowrance and the flash card reader failed after 6 months - I suspect from vibration. Very poor service and cannot be fixed. Replaced with a hummingbird 787c2i and it has been excellent and better screen. This application is a bit rougher than a boat and is in the elements getting salt spray a lot of the time.