petelaing
New member
I am looking to buy a reasonable chart plotter (chart table based) and do not want to spend more than about £1000 including maps for the med -any good ideas or recommendations appreciated. nairn
any recommendations on chartplotters
- Thread starter petelaing
- Start date
robbieg
Active member
Personaly I like the Navman kit. It works well & is intuitive re operation. For a £750 you should be able to get a 5600 (6 inch screen) & and have £250 to spend on CMap charts.
Navman also to seems to have good reviews from Forum members as you should see if you do a search. However need to think about whether you want to intergrate with other kit (ie if your other stuffs Raymarine may want to think about their plotters if you want to link it up to depth etc.)
Navman also to seems to have good reviews from Forum members as you should see if you do a search. However need to think about whether you want to intergrate with other kit (ie if your other stuffs Raymarine may want to think about their plotters if you want to link it up to depth etc.)
capricorn
New member
Very happy with my Navman 5100. Very intuitive and easy to use. I wish I hadn't been so tight in which case I would have bought the colour version (5500).
Navman 5600 apparently similar functionality but bigger screen and should fit well with your budget.
Navman 5600 apparently similar functionality but bigger screen and should fit well with your budget.
pvb
Well-known member
Probably best to look at Navionics Gold units...
You don't say how much of the Med you need charts for, but with C-Map charts you'll probably need 2 or 3 cartridges, even if you go for the £150 superwide format. This reduces the amount left for the plotter. If C-Map charts are feasible for where you want to go, I'd second the Navman recommendation. I had a Navman 5600 for a couple of seasons and it was excellent. You can get them for £650. But the 6.4" screen is only 320x240 resolution, and for chart-table use you'd be better off with higher resolution.
Which brings you to Navionics Gold charts, where just one £220 XL3 cartridge covers most of the Western Med. If this would fit your needs, you could get a Raymarine C70 with a 6.5" 640x480 screen (4 times the resolution!) for £790 and hook it up to an existing GPS. If you don't have an existing GPS, you'd have to add £100 for an aerial, giving you a total of around £1100. For the same money, you could get a Lowrance GMap 6000C, which has the same screen size and resolution. Either way, you'd end up with a far superior plotter.
You don't say how much of the Med you need charts for, but with C-Map charts you'll probably need 2 or 3 cartridges, even if you go for the £150 superwide format. This reduces the amount left for the plotter. If C-Map charts are feasible for where you want to go, I'd second the Navman recommendation. I had a Navman 5600 for a couple of seasons and it was excellent. You can get them for £650. But the 6.4" screen is only 320x240 resolution, and for chart-table use you'd be better off with higher resolution.
Which brings you to Navionics Gold charts, where just one £220 XL3 cartridge covers most of the Western Med. If this would fit your needs, you could get a Raymarine C70 with a 6.5" 640x480 screen (4 times the resolution!) for £790 and hook it up to an existing GPS. If you don't have an existing GPS, you'd have to add £100 for an aerial, giving you a total of around £1100. For the same money, you could get a Lowrance GMap 6000C, which has the same screen size and resolution. Either way, you'd end up with a far superior plotter.
Talulah
Well-known member
Re: Probably best to look at Navionics Gold units...
I have just installed a Raymarine C70 display in the cockpit. I have taken out the Raymarine RC435 as I wanted to overlay radar. Both the RC435 and the C70 take the Navionics XL3 charts which I'm very pleased with. I sourced the Navionics charts in the States as they are about half price there.
Which brand to go for depends upon whether or not you want to interface to other gear although they all tend to have NMEA connectivity.
Anyone interested in a Raymarine RC435 just over a year old. (Offers > £400).
I have just installed a Raymarine C70 display in the cockpit. I have taken out the Raymarine RC435 as I wanted to overlay radar. Both the RC435 and the C70 take the Navionics XL3 charts which I'm very pleased with. I sourced the Navionics charts in the States as they are about half price there.
Which brand to go for depends upon whether or not you want to interface to other gear although they all tend to have NMEA connectivity.
Anyone interested in a Raymarine RC435 just over a year old. (Offers > £400).
Talbot
Active member
My recommendation at that price is the Navman 5600. They will shortly be bringing out a neewer model that can take the new CMap Max, but the plotter and the charts will both be more expensive. C Map NT+ is very good, the superwide coverage for the Med is:
charles_reed
Active member
Lowrance 3300C + the 3 Navionics Gold XL3 cartridges. You should have about £100 left of your budget and have an excellent system.
I've just been through the exercise/comparison.
I've just been through the exercise/comparison.
pvb
Well-known member
3500C would be a much better choice...
If nairn is happy to have only a 5" screen, the Lowrance 3500C would surely be a much better choice. Still under £400, but with 480x480 screen resolution - 3 times better than the 3300C's 320x240 resolution. My preference would still be for a bigger screen and, ideally, higher resolution.
If nairn is happy to have only a 5" screen, the Lowrance 3500C would surely be a much better choice. Still under £400, but with 480x480 screen resolution - 3 times better than the 3300C's 320x240 resolution. My preference would still be for a bigger screen and, ideally, higher resolution.
petelaing
New member
thanks nairn
charles_reed
Active member
Re: 3500C would be a much better choice...
You'll be hard-pressed to get a 3500c delivered for under £400.
Still you have a point, it appeared to be unavailable when I was in the market.
If you are prepared to pay more, carry the power-drain and have the room for the unit, of course everyone would like a larger screen and higher definition.
I am very satisfied with the 3300c, which I've been using for the last 3 months as a supplement to my 1st generation Navico chartplotter.
You'll be hard-pressed to get a 3500c delivered for under £400.
Still you have a point, it appeared to be unavailable when I was in the market.
If you are prepared to pay more, carry the power-drain and have the room for the unit, of course everyone would like a larger screen and higher definition.
I am very satisfied with the 3300c, which I've been using for the last 3 months as a supplement to my 1st generation Navico chartplotter.
