bluechart g2 vision cards

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spycatcher

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Hi all,

i'm new to this forum and fairly new to yachting.

i bought a boat last week and purchased a garmin 551s, i'll be sailing on the west coast of scotland.

i was wondering if it is worth spending more money on these bluchart g2 vision cards

thank you
 
I've got a 551 and I paid for the upgraded vision charts for my area.

Whether it's worth it is very very subjective and will come down to whether or not you value the extra features offered and what your cash flow is like...

I won't be paying to update the Vision charts and will revert to the built in map (because this is cheaper to keep up to date and I don't think the extra features are worth it for me).

On the off chance you haven't seen it, the difference in feature set can be found at http://www.garmin.com/uk/maps/bluechart.
 
spycatcher said:
Hi all,

i'm new to this forum and fairly new to yachting.

i bought a boat last week and purchased a garmin 551s, i'll be sailing on the west coast of scotland.

i was wondering if it is worth spending more money on these bluchart g2 vision cards

thank you
Click to expand...
Divide the cost by the number of years you will have it !
Does the 551 have autoguidance? I cant say I have ever found the sat pictures any use, nor the 3 d perspective, in fact.
The aeriel photos can be of use if you dont know the area and want to get a visual, but you need to spot the icon on the chart to know there is one.
I do like the tidal flow arrows though on the chart itself.
Coastal roads are supposed to be included. Great news of you land a bit further up the beach than you anticipated.
I assume the EU charts have the same differences as the US, so scroll down here to see them
http://www.garmin.com/us/maps/bluechart
 
[QUOTE=jamesjeffrey;3677054


I won't be paying to update the Vision charts and will revert to the built in map (because this is cheaper to keep up to date and I don't think the extra features are worth it for me).

Can you update the built in map? If so how?
 
PabloPicasso said:
Can you update the built in map? If so how?
Click to expand...

Register on the "My Garmin" website, put an SD card in to the plotter, turn the plotter on then off, move the card to your computer (using a card reader if needed).

The device should then show up in My Garmin, and on the "My Maps" page there will be a link to download a map update for £49.99. It downloads the update to the card. The next time you put the card in the plotter, the chart is updated and the latest software update applied.

Alternatively I think you can just buy an update SD card for the same price at https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=62742&pvID=63889 - put the card in the plotter and it updates.
 
Yeah, I'm very impressed with the update process for the 551. One point to mention with Bluechart is that you get one free update of the chart AND a deal when you next update. Both the built in chart and the Bluechart are pretty good value compared with paper
 
I use the built-in charts when cruising the West Coast and have no problems, used in conjunction with up to date pilots of course.
 
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