Got a new boat. 2006 206CC Sea Pro w T-Top and need VHF, GPS and Fishfinder. I plan on doing inshore and nearshore fishing - probably not Gulfstream. Trolling and bottom fishing. Any thoughts on Garmin, Lowrance, Humminbird?
Thanks!
Lowrance HDS 7 or 8 for your boat, is what I would get.
Go for an Icom VHF (304 model) and Garmin 541s. Solid set up.
Just bought/installed a Garmin GPSMAP 441s. Does a lot for a small unit. Fits on my limited console nicely. NMEA 2000 ready. DSC READY. Split view w/ dual zoom chart or dual freq sonar or chart/sonar. Easy to see in bright sun. Have only powered up in drive way. Will report after getting on the water if this thread is still active. 541s has a slightly larger screen.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
I second the Garmin 441s unless you can afford the extra $ for the 551.
Third on the Garmin. Best for the money. Cobra VHFs are kind of new, but have some cool features like Bluetooth (so you can stash your cell phone away), Rewind Say Again playback feature.
Get the Garmin. Think West Marine has the 441s for 439.99 on sale.
Get a Garmin for sure. Any of them will be a good choice and they have the best maps for this area. I would highly/a must buy is the chip that you can put in them. It gives you a lot of info on depths of the intercoastal areas and have been a big help during low tide periods or leaving Reds late at night. Good luck
SeaPro 1900
I hve a ICom M604 which I took off my boat when I sold it. It was used three times and looks brand new. sell it to you for $250. It is the best VHF money can buy
From reds to marlin you got it.
Majek 20 Xtreme
Yamaha HP F150
quote:
Originally posted by FlyingKiteGet a Garmin for sure. Any of them will be a good choice and they have the best maps for this area. I would highly/a must buy is the chip that you can put in them.
SeaPro 1900
Completely unnecessary these days. Charts are built in on most units straight out of the box. And internal antennas. My how things have changed.
I have all Raytheon electronics and a Garmin chart plotter. ICOM hand held. All are great.
Got the newly installed Garmin on the water this afternoon/evening. It does everything it should. The diminutive screen is adequate and is very bright and has good resolution. My middle aged eyes (usually wear reading glasses to read small fonts) could see and read the chart just fine. As the sun went down, just dim the display.
The controls are well weighted so you can work them in a 17 foot boat going across the harbor… no typos, so to speak. GPS worked flawlessly. Depth finder showed good detail and did not trip until we in < 1 ft.
Using the menus to shift from gps to sounder and to split screen was straight forward. The menus make sense. I ended up using the split screen w/ chart and sounder. I had been worried that the screen would be to small for good split screen. But, it did well. Obviously, more screen would be better, but w/ limited dash space, the 441s is a good choice.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
Thanks everyone! I decided on a Garmin 541s but now I’m stuck. Do I get a transom mount or spend the extra $$$ for the through hull transducer or the shoot through transducer? I’m thinking of the shoot through but I’m a little nervous about its sensitivity when bottom fishing offshore in 70-100’. Any thoughts?
Thanks!