IS A RAYMARINE A65 CHARTPLOTTER A SENSIBLE PURCHASE?

[PAPOFCARDEN]

Thinking of purchasing Raymarine A65 chart plotter for my 28 foot yacht. Firstly,anyone had any difficulties with the installation and performance.this will be my first venture into electronic charts.
(sailing single handed Scottish west coast)
Secondly, which Navionics would suit? Platinum or Gold?I can purchase both for the same price.

 

[NormanS]

I've had a Raymarine A65 for a couple of years now, and have found it excellent. However it's the first and only plotter I've ever had, so haven't any way to compare with other makes. Go for the biggest screen size that you can accomodate / afford.

Mine came with the Gold chart as part of the package, and apart from a very few glaring mistakes and omissions (such as the causeway to Eriskay, and the Scalpay bridge), the Gold seems very adequate.

 

[Richard10002]

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Go for the biggest screen size that you can accomodate / afford.

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Resolution is as important as screen size. My 5in Lowrance has a much better screen than the old 7in Raymarine it replaced.... all due to resolution.

 

[PAPOFCARDEN]

Thanks for that info.I think I will go ahead and purchase.
Is it easy to connect to an Autohem st 2000+ and will I end up with endless cables to trip over?

 

[rosssavage]

On my 4th Raymarine plotter now - all excellent and reliable. One (an ex demo and cheap) had a screen glitch - Raymarine replaced it FOC (under warranty) so now I have a new un-demo one for ex demo price!

Connection to Autohelm should just be the one NMEA data cable - v.easy.

Not tried Platinum cards as my RC435 doesn't support them, but very happy with Gold.

I also use the free version of Raytech software on my laptop - very handy for planning routes in the warm and dry, and transfer them to plotter on the Gold chart cart... so easy and convenient!!