Chart plotter choice

N

neil1967

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Nov 2007
Messages
1,148
Location
Tavira, Portugal
Visit site
My Raymarine C70 has given up the ghost - screen either displays vertical coloured lines or a very blurred image. Resetting it has not helped. I'm not too dismayed as the physical screen was quite scratched and blurred so I anticipated replacing it at some point - the previous owner had spent some time in the med and I think a combination of sun cream, sand and vigorous cleaning might be to blame. Anyway, I am considering what to replace it with. The new unit will be mounted outside (but must be removable) under the spray hood. I don't need all the bells and whistles or a huge screen but would want the unit to interface to AIS and radar (both yet to be bought) and my recently bought instruments are Garmin NMEA 2000. Our current sailing is solent/south coast, but in the longer term we intend to cruise the med, caribbean and possibly further. The Garmin 750 seems an obvious choice, but are there any other plotters we should consider and any particular features to either seek out or avoid? If we do go for the Garmin 750, what is the base mapping like?

Thanks

Neil
 
neil1967 said:
My Raymarine C70 has given up the ghost - screen either displays vertical coloured lines or a very blurred image. Resetting it has not helped. I'm not too dismayed as the physical screen was quite scratched and blurred so I anticipated replacing it at some point - the previous owner had spent some time in the med and I think a combination of sun cream, sand and vigorous cleaning might be to blame. Anyway, I am considering what to replace it with. The new unit will be mounted outside (but must be removable) under the spray hood. I don't need all the bells and whistles or a huge screen but would want the unit to interface to AIS and radar (both yet to be bought) and my recently bought instruments are Garmin NMEA 2000. Our current sailing is solent/south coast, but in the longer term we intend to cruise the med, caribbean and possibly further. The Garmin 750 seems an obvious choice, but are there any other plotters we should consider and any particular features to either seek out or avoid? If we do go for the Garmin 750, what is the base mapping like?

Thanks

Neil
Click to expand...

I would replace it with the latest raymarine C series. I'm delighted with mine. The ipad integration gives you full functionality from the chart table without the expense of an extra screen.
 
neil1967 said:
The Garmin 750 seems an obvious choice, but are there any other plotters we should consider and any particular features to either seek out or avoid?
Click to expand...

Some things to htink about:
* Your choice of radar will probably be constrained to the same manufacturer as your plotter. If you're undecided on the plotter, look at radar, see which one you like, and choose the plotter to match. AIS is more interchangeable
* Make sure you know how much charts cost and how much they cost to update. This can significantly affect the cost of ownership of a given plotter. When I was looking at plotters, the Garmin BlueCharts made the Garmin plotters rather less attractive when you added things up
* If you use opencpn on a laptop (or are thinking about it) your radar and hence plotter choice might be influenced by the fact that AFAIK radar overlays are implemented only for garmin radar and navico broadband radar
* Just because you're all N2K, don't think that 0183 ports won't come in handy. Those converters aren't free and plenty of stuff (e.g. most VHFs) are still -0183.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top