Which Chart Plotter?

[Refueler]

I forgot to mention ... my Echomap 72sv does not like water .... if any water comes over the cabin and down the cockpit bulkhead - the Echomap throws a huffy and craps out.
I've extracted and refitted the unit to make sure sealed into its mounting .. but it still craps out. It can rain - I can throw water at it ..but if that water runs down the bulkhead and then streams down the screen ... off it goes.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

The Echomap will show AIS targets, it's well worth having. Exactly which Echomap do you have ?

the 95 plus. The issue may be incompatability with the standard horizon gx2200 radio which is also our ais receiver

 

[PaulRainbow]

the 95 plus. The issue may be incompatability with the standard horizon gx2200 radio which is also our ais receiver

The VHF is compatible with the Echomao, they use standard NMEA protocols. Connect them with NMEA 0183, set the VHF out port and plotter NMEA in port to 38,400 and enable AIS overlay on the plotter. If you need any further help, i'd suggest a new thread.

 

[fredrussell]

Alan at Aves can win that one hands down ... old fashioned style Service ...

No snotty kid in a Chandler sending you off to Manufacturer ..

Has your Onwa gone wrong then? That is the test of customer support. When I had a problem with my Raymarine autopilot both the chandlery (Fox’s, Ipswich) and Raymarine couldn’t have been more helpful, new ACU came quick sharp.

 

[Davy_S]

@Davy_S the link does not work for me

Seems odd, it works for me on laptop and phone, sorry about that.

 

[Dellquay13]

I happily used Lowrance kit on a small motor boat for years.
As a standalone unit for Plotter and Sonar the Lowrance Hook 7 looks good value and everything requested in a single box. You might think you don’t need a fishfinder, but they are really useful for the detail they give about the sea bed when you come to drop anchor; weedy, rocky, sand, flat or madly undulating.

It may not be capable of integrating extra data like engine functions or AIS, (true wind speed and angle, speed thru water etc is largely irrelevant on a motor boat with a cruising speed of say 16-20 knots, so you probably don’t need a N2K backbone for ancillaries) or a link to an autopilot, but that wasn’t on the wish list.

A bit more info about the boat might help, is it something modest like a Hardy pilot or a Quiksilver 6.5m fast fisher, or something big and complicated with a flybridge like a Fairline or Broom?

 

[Alicatt]

@Davy_S the link does not work for me

Seems odd, it works for me on laptop and phone, sorry about that.

I got a blank screen and it said Blocked on the address bar
However it is working now

 

[Refueler]

Has your Onwa gone wrong then? That is the test of customer support. When I had a problem with my Raymarine autopilot both the chandlery (Fox’s, Ipswich) and Raymarine couldn’t have been more helpful, new ACU came quick sharp.

Why would I want to buy something that goes wrong ??

No it has not gone wrong - but because of the particular use and setup I had envisioned. Along with not actually using ONWA before - I had long conversations and support from Alan ... nothing was too much trouble to answer.

It went further as I wanted to setup split antenna use ... Alan again nothing too much trouble in information and consideration of my thoughts / ideas ... providing analysis data and even offering equipment. The data collected was then passed to the Onwa F-B site for others ...

Customer Support is not just when / if it goes wrong ... its the sales support and discussion to arrive at best solution - Alan will not try sell you the most expensive ... its also being able to call and get answers during installation / use etc.

I have absolutely no commercial connection with Alan and Aves Marine ... as I said before - I am a hugely satisfied customer of his.

Finally - having had experience of Raymarine when I wanted a Tillerpilot checked out ... they wanted a Pre Inspection fee paid which I considered higher than the repair would probably cost ! In the end an electronics pal of mine fixed it for pennies. I do not accept paying a fee just to have an item lodged for checking / repair. It was first time I had ever seen such practice. I hope its the last.

If they have stopped that - good ... but it killed any respect I had for them.

 

[oldgit]

On a budget ?
Prepared to endure the stigma not having the latest gear ?
There is always somebody upgrading kit and due to the old equipment having nil trade in value there is usually some decent S/H kit out there.
Need to make sure that updated charts are still available for that plotter.
Something that has spent its life in the warm comfort of MoBo saloon is more likely to be in better condition than anything exposed to the elements at the helm of yacht.
Size is important.
The ability not to have to peer at some tiny little screen in your brand new chartplotter due to price limitations should not be underestimated.
When push comes to shove give me a decent sized screen everytime even if it is secondhand.

 

[Refueler]

On a budget ?
Prepared to endure the stigma not having the latest gear ?
There is always somebody upgrading kit and due to the old equipment having nil trade in value there is usually some decent S/H kit out there.
Need to make sure that updated charts are still available for that plotter.
Something that has spent its life in the warm comfort of MoBo saloon is more likely to be in better condition than anything exposed to the elements at the helm of yacht.
Size is important.
The ability not to have to peer at some tiny little screen in your brand new chartplotter due to price limitations should not be underestimated.
When push comes to shove give me a decent sized screen everytime even if it is secondhand.

Have to agree .... there must be some good 2nd hand units out there ...

I have a Garmin GPSMap 2006C laying unused - but its charting is dated .. Bluechart and Mapsource ... so not really sensible unless user is not so concerned about age of the charting. Shame really as the unit is in pristine condition ..

 

[KREW2]

Marine superstore have some plotters on discount just now
Fixed GPS/plotters Archives

That Raymarine element 7 at £395 with a lighthouse chart included is very good value.

 

[Alicatt]

That Raymarine element 7 at £395 with a lighthouse chart included is very good value.

I got the Garmin Echomap 95SV in one of their sales, also a HX890E and GX2400E VHF radios at a good discount and much cheaper than I could buy one here in Belgium, even after paying import and VAT duties.

 

[Refueler]

A post earlier mentions Fish Finder ... and I agree ... even if you are not into fishing - the extra detail afforded by FF instead of just a numerical depth display is worth it IMHO.

There's one aspect that I have never read in any post or online comment ... but I have noted on my own boat.

I have a B&G Network system with Airmar Sonar giving depth to a numerical display. The mooring I used up till lift out has a very soft bottom and the depth display was literally all over the place ... true depth of about 5m .. but it would bounce around from 5m to over 90m !! Once I left mooring and to more solid bottom - it would read correct.
I have a cheap (50 euro) hand held Fish Finder ... I use it for fishing on the river ... This out of interest was put overside at the mooring and the display indicated soft bottom and ~5m depth ... correct.
I was shocked I have to admit.

Oh - before I forget ... I don't know why I keep saying I have a 72sv Echomap .. its the 92sv Echomap UHD .... one day I will remember !! And my phone says I have an update for it ... mmmm temp outside is -11C, wind chill taking it nearer -20C ... think the update can wait !!

 

[Alicatt]

A post earlier mentions Fish Finder ... and I agree ... even if you are not into fishing - the extra detail afforded by FF instead of just a numerical depth display is worth it IMHO.

There's one aspect that I have never read in any post or online comment ... but I have noted on my own boat.

I have a B&G Network system with Airmar Sonar giving depth to a numerical display. The mooring I used up till lift out has a very soft bottom and the depth display was literally all over the place ... true depth of about 5m .. but it would bounce around from 5m to over 90m !! Once I left mooring and to more solid bottom - it would read correct.
I have a cheap (50 euro) hand held Fish Finder ... I use it for fishing on the river ... This out of interest was put overside at the mooring and the display indicated soft bottom and ~5m depth ... correct.
I was shocked I have to admit.

Oh - before I forget ... I don't know why I keep saying I have a 72sv Echomap .. its the 92sv Echomap UHD .... one day I will remember !! And my phone says I have an update for it ... mmmm temp outside is -11C, wind chill taking it nearer -20C ... think the update can wait !!

When I first started installing fish/depth sounders from Simrad in 1972 it was with an electrostatic paper and a flying pen that went round in a circle marking the paper, a light would show on the semi circular scale to indicate the depth and the pen would make a mark on the paper, the fishermen were totally enthused by them and after the first one that we installed we took the boat, which was a long liner to "The Grounds" which is a sea mount in Thurso Bay and plotted it out on the plotter paper the tell tale hump of a fish showed up so the skipper stopped over it and dropped a lure over the side and a few minutes later we had a rather nice 3ft cod on deck, the engineer and I shared the cod which was delicious, and the the skipper sang the praises of the Simrad, we got quite a few orders for them after that.

You could see the surface of the bottom and if the sand/silt was not too deep it would also give a return off of the bedrock below.

One of the bigger boats in Wick went for a scanning sonar so he could monitor what was going into his net, that boat was the top earner in Wick for many years.

 

[Refueler]

When I first started installing fish/depth sounders from Simrad in 1972 it was with an electrostatic paper and a flying pen that went round in a circle marking the paper, a light would show on the semi circular scale to indicate the depth and the pen would make a mark on the paper, the fishermen were totally enthused by them and after the first one that we installed we took the boat, which was a long liner to "The Grounds" which is a sea mount in Thurso Bay and plotted it out on the plotter paper the tell tale hump of a fish showed up so the skipper stopped over it and dropped a lure over the side and a few minutes later we had a rather nice 3ft cod on deck, the engineer and I shared the cod which was delicious, and the the skipper sang the praises of the Simrad, we got quite a few orders for them after that.

You could see the surface of the bottom and if the sand/silt was not too deep it would also give a return off of the bedrock below.

One of the bigger boats in Wick went for a scanning sonar so he could monitor what was going into his net, that boat was the top earner in Wick for many years.

When I was working with CGG (seismic company) - one of the boats was a converted stern trawler ... we still had the side and stern scan sonars from its fishing days ... when we weren't shooting - we would often play with it ...

 

[afterpegassus]

"One of the bigger boats in Wick went for a scanning sonar so he could monitor what was going into his net, that boat was the top earner in Wick for many years."

Was that the "Boy Andrew " by any chance?

 

[Alicatt]

Yes, the Boy Andrew, not the one that was renamed Opertune, the one after that.

 

[oldgit]

Have to agree .... there must be some good 2nd hand units out there ...

I have a Garmin GPSMap 2006C laying unused - but its charting is dated .. Bluechart and Mapsource ... so not really sensible unless user is not so concerned about age of the charting. Shame really as the unit is in pristine condition ..

For many ?
If your boat is mainly going to be in KAVOK and local waters a chart that is a few years out to date is not that critical .
If you are venturing into unknown foreign parts a different story ?
Must confess that not that long ago an RL80 with a chart last up dated in 2007 was used as main navigation help around south east coast, backed up with Navionics on a Ipad.
However a close eye was always kept on this website. Book Updates | ECP

Helping to install a used Garmin 4010 on a boat at the mo , it certainly appears to be superior piece of kit to my much later all singing all dancing touch screen Raymarine .
Got the hang of using the Garmin within a few moments of firing up, the less said about my attempts to master the Raymarine the better.
The only downside, older kit is nearly always a pretty substantial lump of metal to hang on any handy fibreglass.

 

[Refueler]

I delivered a Match 35 from Travemunde to Ventspils ... less said about that PoS the better ... but anyway .... we arrived on the Ferry and made way to the boat ... Charter Company was selling it and we were to sail it up the Baltic to Ventspils ...
Boat was poorly rigged - obviously Charter Company had just thrown gear on .. rigged quickly and didn't bother to sort out.
Andrey (new Owner) had bought a Northern Baltic Chart card for the Raymarine Plotter at the wheel station ... having been told that Southern Baltic card was with the plotter ... no it wasn't and seller couldn't find it and refused to hand over a card from one of the other boats.
Luckily I had my old trusty Lowrance with me and I plugged in .. fired up and we were sorted.

That boat was a disaster ... the Raymarine Plotter was just illogical .. once we got to coverage of Andreys card .. we spent ages with it .. but Andreys decision was he would replace it later with something more friendly !! He actually asked me to sell him the Lowrance !! No way !! In the event he never did replace it - as he sold the boat within a year ..

Mainsail reefing was arsed ... black water holding tank was full and blocked ...

But there was one item that really made me look forward to arriving and saying bye bye to that boat .. the mast being keel stepped - once we had any wind - it drummed constantly .. you'd think Napoleons Army was coming for you ..

But main point here ... the Raymarine gear on it ... Plotter and Wheel Pilot ... sorry not a good example at all ...

Oh .. and I advised Andrey to get her lifted as soon after arrival - to check underneath and keel ... which of course he didn't. He just had her lifted for a power wash and scrub .. and went off racing her. Kolka (irbe Peninsular) was resting place of his keel after it fell off ... till salvaged and bolted back on.

He sold her shortly after ....

 

[Tamar]

I bought a Standard Horizon CP 180 around 15 years ago. It's been ok, It has a depth sounder mode but you need a transducer.
It's never let me down. I noticed that you can get used ones on eBay for not a lot of money.
It needs an up-to-date chip for charts, I got the whole of the UK charts for £80 a few years ago.