chartplotter + sonar combo or separate devices?

[Photographer]

Would you use a chartplotter + sonar combo or separate devices for navigation and sonar (fish finder separated from gps)???
What are the pluses and minuses?
Thanks!

 

[the griff]

I have just bought a Simrad GO7 combo after looking at loads of different ones for weeks, even with a 7 inch touch screen it's still big enough to split the screen and see the plotter maps and the 2 different sonar scales. What's good about the GO7 is its touch screen and it's really simple to use. You can customise the screen to how you want it split and alter the size of each part and then save as many different combinations as you want then you can change it at the touch of a button to another preset screen.
I also use my iPad with the navionics app so if I have the GO7 split between the 2 sonar charts trying to find a wreck on the bottom for fishing I can still look where I am on the iPad but to be honest the Simrad GO7 split up 3 ways is still easy to see and with it being zoom touch screen life is much easier rather than using buttons.
I only use it for inland coastal waters for pleasure fishing upto about 8 mile off on my 24 foot cruiser, it doesn't take up loads of room on the dash and it is easy to remove when moored back up, it suits me fine.

 

[raygin9]

Hi
I bought (as a bundle) a Garmin EchoMAP 95sv 9 inch Plotter/Sonar-DVu&SVu.
Along with
Garmin GT40 Series All-In-One Traditional/DownVu/SideVu Transducer
And
Garmin G2 Vision Large - VEU706L - UK & Ireland - Total Sum = £1191-72 From Cactus Navigation.
Have not used it in anger yet, but have had lots of Fun finding my way around it and enjoying all the functions. Hopefully next season it will earn its keep. I bought this mainly for the G2 Vision which is great, but have found the DownVu fascinating. The only downside I can see (if being picky) is you use one function at a time or go with two small screens for split views ... not really a valid criticism :nonchalance:
hope this helps ?

 

[BruceK]

I'd say it boils down to how much space you have or prepared to give at the helm balanced against what extra features dedicated devices will give you over a combo and whether you will use them or not. Personally I prefer a single "glance" point so I can keep my eyes on the water, rather than scanning across too many devices. I think both being applicable for your 18 foot bowrider

 

[jfm]

These days screens are just screens. Can display chartplotter, radar, sonar, camera, or whatever you demand them to display. So the question is how many screens do you want/can you fit? Of course a single screen can be spit into multiple windows as well.

I tend to keep the hardware separate (ie, for sonar I have a separate black box sonar computer that feeds the sonar display to the same screens that also serve as radar or plotter screens) for the simple reason that you can upgrade/fix/etc each black box one by one