GPS Plotter which one...

[paulburton44]

I am thinking of getting a plotter....
If i get a fixed one where do I put it on a 23 foot boat ???

Or would I be better with a handheld...

Used Garmin GPS's for the last 6 years....

Been looking at the Garmin 172c and the 76c...

I mainly sail the Wash and Norfolk coast but we are heading to the south coast for a few weeks in the summer.

 

[oceanfroggie]

If you like Garmin the 276C is easily removeable from its mount, and much easier to see than the 76C. The screen on the 76C is just too small. 276C has to be one of garmins greatest hits.

 

[Guest]

Check out the deals with Lowrance 3500C (external antenna) or the 3600 (internal antenna) .... for about £450 all in incl. Chart card that covers from Greenland to Gibraltar and western North Sea etc. I have one and it has supplied all I need for UK coverage ....

 

[Richard10002]

Seconded for the Lowrance.. 3600i with internal aerial makes fitting easy. When I first got mine, (before creating a permanent fitting), I powered it up by connecting it to a 12v battery pack.

 

[rich]

I have been very happy, with the Geonav 4cxs and 13in telly.
4cxs
you can get cheaper screens.

 

[simonfraser]

i have a garmin 192 plotter, excelent, fitted in the cockpit just next to the hatch, it does draw more current than the gps only of course.
my autohelm/depth and plotter uses less than 1A/h

 

[bendyone]

I use a Navman 5500 which is small and works well using c-map charts

 

[gjgm]

sorry to say, it really is one of the things its good to play with in the shop. Some menus are blindingly obvious, others you keep needing the handbook for the first months. But its also a question of which chartware you prefer, as that will define which plotters you are then restricted too. Dead easy to fix/mount, but if its a Lowrance-and this might have changed-note the antenna needs its own power supply.. just plugging it into the plotter wont power it. (saves you a few frustrating hours!) Lastly, id say dont go less than 5" unless you ve got remarkable eyesight and sail in a millpond.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I have a Raymarine RC400 handheld plotter with Navionics chart & my experiences are nothing but good.I thought the screen might be too small but as you can unplug it( it runs off 12v cig socket or can be hard wired) & hold it in your hand I have not found it a problem.The rechargeable batteries are power hungry though & only last about 3 hrs before a recharge.It works OK inside my boat & inside others.I have taken it on other peoples boats(when I went to holland this year) & they have all been impressed.It is very useful in rough weather as you can have right in front of you.The Navionics charts are excellent & the main reason I went for the Raymarine instead of the Garmin 276.
At present youcan get it for about £300 from Marine Electronic Services Ltd www.mesltd.co.uk
This is of course IMHO.

 

[Whitelighter]

Second the Navman 5500 or 5505 (newer model). Had two of these and only upgraded cos I wanted Radar on a bigger boat.

Very easy to use, good maps and the newer 5505 uses C-MAP Max chips - so only the one card needed.

 

[Guest]

Lowrance 3500 vs 3600

3500 - yes needs separate 12v to antenna ... but 3600 does not as it is internal gps antenna.

This is not a problem as overall power req't is still similar to others and still the price saving overall on the Lowrance compared to others is worth it ... in fact you can go even cheaper with the lower res screen Eagle Plotter - same machine but 1/4VGA screen same size. Personally - the Lowrance 3500 or 3600 is best buy out of budget stuff .... and you get a reasonable detail chart system that covers far greater area than any competitors in one card ...