About to put electronics on my new 27 ft gamefish. Im planning on trolling and bottom nearshore to the ledge. I cant see fishing much in greater than 500 ft and most under 300. Im leaning towards Garmin and like the large 7212 or 8212 display. For those of you who fish SC offshore, any opinions for or against CHIRP? Its pretty pricey and Im not sure there’s great advantage for such shallow fishing.Are there reasons other than price to not get CHIRP? Thanks for your opinion.
I’ve got the slightly older version of the same boat you have. I have the Garmin 4212 on it and I would say that you don’t want to get less than a 12" screen on it. The console is large and anything smaller looks very dated. I don’t have the CHIRP but I do have two dedicated 50 and 200khz through hull transducers and they work well enough. I will upgrade to a CHIRP box if my current system ever breaks but I wouldn’t replace my 4212. I’m sure you will be happy with the 7000 series if you get the big screen ones.
Here are some pictures of my setup.
http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/ZogVDSgH/1/5712003
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream
This may not be the answer you’re looking for, but I’m going to give you an honest opinion.
Garmin’s CHIRP is exceptional for someone wanting to never adjust settings and leave it on full auto all day long. It is the best for the money, in terms of sonar only, if you want to do that. I prefer another brand of CHIRP only due to cost, company support and the menu interface and waypoint management and labeling system being my personal preference.
The reason I would normally tell someone that CHIRP won’t help you that much to be worth it in the 0-300ft depths you say you’ll be fishing in is not quite the case with Garmin. That is because Garmin’s non-CHIRP sonar is incredibly poor in my opinion. It just is, and it is hard to dispute it if you have used various systems over the same areas within the same timespan to literally compare apples to apples. If you haven’t used anything different, then you’ll not appreciate what’s being missed. What’s missed is the fine-tuning and the definition of image. It seems as though on one hand, a system is maxed out and cannot be adjusted to show you all that you want to see. You then have to make assumptions where you normally would have certainty, and that has been very frustrating to me in certain situations.
Anyhow, I rate Garmin’s non-CHIRP as a 3 in value, and their CHIRP as a 9. Yes, I know they have upgraded their sonar boxes significantly over time. Their CHIRP is night and day better, though.
You’re wondering probably, so I will go ahead and say that I prefer Lowrance and Simrad products, and that company now has built in CHIRP processors in some of their models that make the technology significantly cheaper. It is not as fully functional as BSM-2 and BSM-3 boxes, but it is CHIRP nonetheless- without the huge cost hike.
I thought Garmin had, or was going to have, a similar intermediate option, so you may want to do a little research on what has been unveiled but maybe not yet in West Marine, so to speak.
If you said you had a Simrad system going i
Very nice looking boat. You are right, the console is large.Ever wish you had two screens? Running different frequencys at once or radar and sonar running simultaneously? Man electronics can get pricey though!
Any regrets on the boat? I’m adding a few rod holders to the gunwales, adding the king fish rod holders on the top, aft bench seat, bow seat backs. Thanks for the info.
Thank you! Lots of good info there and exactly the ■■■■■■■■ I hoped to get… Main reasons I’m leaning Garmin is because 1. I have a 500 series garmin chart plotter on my current dual console used for mainly sunset cruises and nearshore outings and I’m pretty comfortable with the Garmin interface and 2. I’m new to the offshore game and the easier to work the better for me.
8212 and the GSD 26 I and a shoot thru 1 kW transducer sounds like a great system.
i like my garmin, but if i were getting a new system today i would take a good hard look at Simrad.
this is my experience going from 5212 traditional to 8212 and gsd26 dual transducers. stay away from the 72xx series, as they are the next to be phased out.
dont go the 8212 and gsd 26 route. i did and it is $$$$$. the gsd26 is really only necessary for large 2-3kw transducers. for what you need go with the new 76xx series. dual 1k chirp and side scan built into unit. its basically a 1040x system upgraded for smaller offshore boats. plus there is no need to buy gsd26 or gcv10. they will not be out for a couple months, but you will end up saving 2-3k. spend that money on good transducers and radar. do not go with the single element ones (ex. 75 seies). go with 1xx or 2xx series or your performance will suffer in deeper water.
Yes I’ve been looking at those new 7600 series introduced at the Ft. lauderdale boat show. Seems like it’s more of a complete package for less. I do have concern about getting a new product and having to live through the early kinks. I think they will be available in februaury which would be fine to wait for…
i have the 8212 and 5212 in my dash now. i was going to get another 8212, but i think i will get the 7612 when its available. it has built in wifi as well, so i can use garmin helm app on ipad to load waypoints and routes then transfer them back and forth undeway. plus it eliminates the need for a gcv10 if i ever want to add down / side vu.
i don’t think the 7612 will have too many teething problems, since it is a larger version of the 1040xs with the new gsd25 built in. all are previously existing technologies put in one package.
I am still learning all the new Garmin technology as my last boat had Garmin Chartplotter and Furuno sounder. I am building a 27 Onslow now and I am going to go with 2 Garmin 7612s. I am going to pair with a 1K thru hull but all the new ducer choices are mind boggling!
There is a lot on info on THT now but the best thing to do is talk to the experts I guess.
quote:
Originally posted by tridogsVery nice looking boat. You are right, the console is large.Ever wish you had two screens? Running different frequencys at once or radar and sonar running simultaneously? Man electronics can get pricey though!
Any regrets on the boat? I’m adding a few rod holders to the gunwales, adding the king fish rod holders on the top, aft bench seat, bow seat backs. Thanks for the info.
I stack the boat on shem creek and have to clear the bridge and barely make it at high tide without radar so a 2nd screen isn’t missed right now. When I move it to the marina near my house downtown I may consider adding radar but still won’t go for a 2nd screen. Garmin does a good job with overlay and I have the garmin weather data uplink via satellite so I can see bad weather 500 miles away.
You will have to add rod holders and adding one one each side of the anchor box is very helpful for trolling. You can sling a green fish in the box still hooked up and put the rod in the holder and deal with it later while you fight the next fish.
My main complaint about the boat is a few stupid shortcuts that I have noticed that could have been easily avoided by the mfg. On the first trip, screws (not bolts!) that anchor the t-top to the side of the console backed out and ended up cracking the console. SeaHunt fixed the fiberglass and I put through bolts on everything. Similarly, the gunnel rod holders aren’t anchored with a back plate so any heavy pressure can crack the gel coat. Be sure to add back plates to the two farthest back where you will run your heaviest gear like planers. I did also replace every light with LEDs and am glad I did. I get 2 to 2.5mpg depending on sea state and load.
Let me know if you have anymore questions. I
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream