Electronic Navigation Preferences

L

LuBell

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2008
RO Number
30482
Messages
65
I'm shopping for navigation soft and hardware. I've been steered toward Raymarine products but see that Garmin has an impressive series of system-dedicated "blue charts". Please share with me whatchugot and why. I'm boating the Great Lakes in a 32' Carver.
 
I have use Garmin Blue Charts on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. They were accurate in the areas we traveled. The new versions with satelite view look like they would be cool. I have several Garmin GPS units and have been pleased with most.
 
I have the raymarine RL70C (older unit from early 2000's with new Lake Michigan Cmap) that came with our Carver when we purchased it. The one thing that I do not like about this and friends newer Raymarine units is that I have to plot actual points otherwise it will take me over break waters etc. if I'm not careful. I could set the Garmin that I had in Sweden to take me from point a to b and keep me in at least 4ft of water and it would route me around obstacles and take me to our destination. I am not sure if all Raymarine units are like this or if its just been the ones that I have operated. I'm sure one of the other electronic expert RO's (BillyIII)can weigh in. We don't want to replace the electronics on this boat because we likely will move up in the near future but if I were to upgrade I'd want a unit that would operate like my last Garmin.
 
I have owned and used Garmin stuff ever since they were "Pronav" and built GPSs for aircraft. I think they have stayed ahead of the curve.

For serious cruising, however, my primary has been Maptech Offshore on a laptop backed up by both Raymarine and Garmin. I use separate instruments for separate functions. No switching views or split screen. When things get ugly, you don't want to mess with settings.
 
My primary is a Hummingbird 1155c with navionics Platinum + software.

Love it!

Bob
 
You are going to find all kinds of opinions for all brands. I have Garmin GPS chartplotters on my present 2 boats and on my last boat, I will stick with Garmin. One thing you will find out about Garmin users is that most, like them and would probably buy again.
 
I have a few questions do you want plotters that can be seen in direct sunlight? How about intuative and easy to use? Please consider almost all add on will be NMEA2000 in the future. Would you like a chartplotter you can update from your laptop by simply going to the manufactures website and downlaoding new firmware for free using an SD card? Then you want a Garmin 5200 or 4200 series system. I have as primary plotters the 4212 and 4210 a spare 3205 is on the network. As far as the maps there was a major problem with some chart cards in the Bahamas it has already been fixed by Garmin a highly responsive manufacture. I have only had one major beef I ordered one of the 1st GMR24HD radar units, well they finally replaced it for free. They even now have a great VHF radio the VHF200 it is as simple as a NMEA2000 T and drop to have it communicate with the plotter. I can not really think of anything negative about Garmin. Now if you have money to piss away Furuno makes excellent stuff. I have every NMEA2000 device except the auto pilot Garmin makes and it all runs like a clock. Even the built in maps are every bit as good as any paper chart that I have seen. Since you are in the Great Lakes it is ashame you can not buy a NAVTEX receiver to keep up on the Notice to Mariners and also mark areas the USCG sends out on almost a daily basis. The Great Lakes is the only area NAVTEX is not supported. Even the new Garmin GPS antenna is NMEA2000. Think of 2 seperate networks one is the Garmin proprietary network which hooks up the plotters and GDS22 Sonar and radar. The rest of the equipment is now NMEA2000. There are also 4 NMEA0183 outputs and 2 with inputs. They are easy to install, take a beating and are reliable. It all depends what you want to spend. At a minimum I would recommend a 4210 plotter, GMR18HD radar a NMEA2000 depth finder and if you like knowing what weather is coming the new NMEA2000 XM weather receiver. If you have 2 stations then you need a 2nd plotter. In my situation I have cameras, FLIR unit, engine fuel sensors, a 2nd VHF200 and remote mike (RAM) and the equipment mentioned earlier. These are great products and available on Boatfix. You can PM me if you want pictures or more information or help recommending a complete set up. The radio also has a great remote as well. These guys are only behind right now with broadband radar and that will be coming soon. I use a Navionics AIS Class B transponder but if you want AIS receive only the new Garmin VHF300 radio combines a VHF radio and AIS receiver. Setting up a NMEA2000 network is a piece of cake. I hope this helps.
Bill
 
I have the latest and greatest Raymarine with all the bells and whistles. Radar, 2 E80's, VHF, Sea Talk, Depth, autopilot, intercom... and I would not buy again due to lack of support. I have called many times for help with little help. I finally hired a local guy to come by my boat - he charged me $200 which was a bargain and he got me all fixed up and repaired. When I asked Raymarine for parts, they told me I would have to ship the device to them, that they would not sell me the parts that I knew I needed and could install myself. I bought Garmin on my last boat and they were always great. I have a Garmin on my lower helm station and had an issue with it, and Garmin not only fixed it right on the spot, byt they let me fix it even though it was under warranty.
 
i think i could consider myself an expert in this subject as far as a user, but can confirm i dont know what the hell i am talking about when it comes to knowing what is going on with these systems.

cliff notes: get the garmin 5212s , two screens with teh HD radar

why? awesome

test beds:
had a 45 sea ray with the older raytheon chartplotter. ok, and upgraded to two furuno vx2 with c map nice
got a bigger boat and that had nobeltec. nice, but only one big monitor on the bridge, nobeltec is an awesome nav program but it's clearly for the pros. weekend boaters on teh great lakes--not at all needed.
on my center console, i got 2 e120 raymarines and they are sweet to look at, and can get the job done no doubt, but not the perfect solution.
found that out yesterday, went on my brothers 32 regulator with the two garmin 5212s and those touch screens, the visibility of the monitors, the ease of use...i mean to tell you. i was damn impressed ...he also had the autopilot and forget about it---sawweeeet.

get two monitors, a must and garmin is the way to go. i got a decent boat and am thinking about saying goodbye to the nobeltec, big bay monitors, simrad radar and autopilot and hello to the garmin system for it.
 
I've been a Garmin fan for a long time. I've owned several portables and have built an extensive collection of routes, waypoints and tracks in their MapSource application. This spring, I upgraded the old Raytheon gear to a 5212 with HD radar. It was compatible with all of my personal data, but had I not already invested in Bluecharts for the portables, I wouldn't have had any maps to work with on the computer. Garmin just addressed that issue with the introduction of HomePort plotting software. ($29) HomePort is capable of using legacy Bluechart data, but more importantly, can also access map data on an SD card that's either purchased from Garmin for greater detailed, or copied directly to the SD card from the unit's built-in maps.

I'm still getting used to HomePort - I have to retrain myself to deal with a few of the new features, but it's basically the same outstanding application that I've been using for years. I highly recommend it to all Garmin owners.

I've had varying experiences with Garmin tech and sales support: from outstanding to ridiculous. Overall I'd give them a C+, but my negative experiences have all been licensing issues, which I haven't had to deal with now that I have built-in maps.

I used Unkle Buck's Furunos this summer, and I have to admit that having dual screens is pretty cool. I didn't have as much dash real-estate as his 45 had though, but I've been ok with the single display. I like radar overlay much more than I thought I would. Those Furunos struck me as having crisp screens and a faster refresh than my Garmin, but the interface is nowhere as user-friendly. (but then, NOTHING else is, imo)

Garmin's continual updates and improvements are a big selling point for me. They're constantly improving and support their product line, and the system updates are free and simple to apply. Add to that an inexpensive, powerful and easy to use plotting program and the friendliest units on the market. Their competition has it rough.
 
I really like Garmins, they're easy to use and very intuitive. i've had and used a few over the years.

My only experience with Furunos is a pair of 6 year old displays (radar and GPS) with C-maps... i hate them. i understand they are 6 year old, but same vintage Garmins are 10 times better! the interface is obscure and un practical, the charts are not detailed enough and slow loading. they also freeze once in a while or self reboot.

some settigns are buried deep into 6 or 7 level menus with names that means nothing. The trackballs are very impractical, etc etc etc.
 
I have two Raymarine E120's with radar. If it wasn't for the cost involved in replacing them with Garmins i would have kicked the screens in already...terrible units, slow redraw, jerky and slow while making course changes, screen image gos dark momentarly. radar is good and so is the sounder. Garmin is WAY better...
 
I think the difference between the Garmin 5200 series and the 4200s is the 5200 touch screen. I've talked to a few commercial captains who have said that, when it gets rough, you want buttons to push with your thumb while your hand is hanging onto the side of the unit for stability. The wow factor of the touch screen seems to disappear when it hits the fan.
 
I have to agree with the Garmin being the preferred product. Just which one you get depends upon how fancy you want to go and the price point. I am pretty much a penny pincher and do not have a great need for the most up to date technology. Therefore I end to look for good deals in last years technology.

I think one of the best deals out there right now is a reconditioned Garmin GPSMap 3210 bundle from BoatFix. I purchased a reconditioned Nuvi 760 10 months ago and Garmin has treated it just like new. While the 3210 is 2008 technology I believe it will do a very good at a very good price.

G
 
rbmitchell makes a good point... my new notebook is a convertible touchscreen/tablet which i use as a back up to the POS furunos (openCPN and free NOAA charts). despite the touchscreen capability (scroll the chart, zoom, chart select, etc...) i find myself using the mouse/pointing device much more, especially in choppy conditions. when it gets a little rough, it's hard to point with you finger with enough accuracy.
 
Garmin customer support is second to none. They have a toll free number, and don't care if you are in warranty or not. 1-800-800-7020.
Best service i've found.
 
I've heard some complaints about the usability of the 5208 (8.4" screen) in rough water, but my experience has been the opposite: I've appreciated the large, clear "virtual buttons", and haven't for second wished for keys and pads. I wouldn't complain if the zoom buttons were enlarged, but selecting waypoints, switching screens and panning with a touchscreen couldn't be easier - ESPECIALLY in rough stuff.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

I really like Garmins, they're easy to use and very intuitive. i've had and used a few over the years.

My only experience with Furunos is a pair of 6 year old displays (radar and GPS) with C-maps... i hate them. i understand they are 6 year old, but same vintage Garmins are 10 times better! the interface is obscure and un practical, the charts are not detailed enough and slow loading. they also freeze once in a while or self reboot.

some settigns are buried deep into 6 or 7 level menus with names that means nothing. The trackballs are very impractical, etc etc etc.

Click to expand...


I have exactly the same experience. Love Garmin. Hate the Furuno that's in my trawler. Fortunately, I use a laptop with Nobeltech on it as a nice backup.

-Greg
 
I just bought the Garmin 4212 with HD radar. Have always had Garmin and been happy. Have the 525s on the small boat and you can link them so i can keep a eye on the kids when their out on it. I will be installing next week and hope to be happy. Went with the 4212 intead of the 5212 because people told me if it is on the fly bridge and you get greasy and fishy hands you dont want the touchscreen.
 
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