Chart plotter recommendations

[loneranger339]

Hi folks,
I'm looking to purchase a chart plotter with MFD for a 22' RIB. The screen, which should be between 8" and 12" (haven't decide yet!), will be at least partly exposed to the elements so it needs to be rugged. I don't need something with all the bells and whistles, just GPS, electronic mapping, depth sounder and radar. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[alldodge]

Hi folks,
I'm looking to purchase a chart plotter with MFD for a 22' RIB. The screen, which should be between 8" and 12" (haven't decide yet!), will be at least partly exposed to the elements so it needs to be rugged. I don't need something with all the bells and whistles, just GPS, electronic mapping, depth sounder and radar. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If it wasn't for the radar I would suggest the Garmin 625S, but does appear it has gone out of production. It does interface with radar it does not do radar itself. Probably going to need to go to Raymarine but then you need to install CAN buss. I've been looking myself for some time to upgrade to and all in one but info out there is an issue

 

[dingbat]

Plenty of options out there.

Any of the garmin 6000, 7000 and 8000 MFD will do the trick. I believe the garmin 7xx and 8xx series will work as well.

If you want the good stuff, furuno now has a line "recreational" equipment.

Simrad makes a couple of units as well that fit the bill

 

[jhebert]

I [plan] to purchase a chart plotter with MFD for a 22' RIB.

The most important consideration in a chart plotter will be the availability of good electronic charts for the body of water on which you will be navigating. Most chart plotters now offer the option of using charts in several electronic formats from more than one vendor.

GARMIN seems to continue with their policy of mostly using only charts published by GARMIN themselves. Whether or not the GARMIN charts are decent for your area would be an important factor to consider before going with a GARMIN chart plotter.

 

[jhebert]

I don't need something with all the bells and whistles, just GPS, electronic mapping, depth sounder and radar.

Actually, a chart plotter that supports RADAR overlay, include a built-in GNSS receiver, and a built-in echo sounder, and has a multi-function display that can show other functions really is more or less a device that does have all the "bells and whistles. What are you considering to be "bells and whistles" which might be omitted from your consideration?

If you want something without a lot of "bells and whistles" you should drop support for overlay of RADAR. Typically overlay of RADAR requires a high-bandwidth network connection to carry the video from the RADAR unit to the multi-function display.