Fishfinder/chartplotter recommendation

[mustacheyouaquestion]

I've been boating for several years know my local lakes very well and have never had a need for gps on the lake. I'd like to start venturing out to the South eastern intercoastal waterways so obviously I would have to be aware of rising and lowering tides as well as finding my way around. I've seen some that give a 3D View and actually chart a course for you based on the average low tide depths. I've never done much fishing but may consider now so having a fishfinder will be a plus also

 

[gm280]

WOW, that is a huge question. There are so many great offerings everywhere. I suggest you visit a showroom, or any other number of sports type stores that have such electronics on display. Then you can see them with their built-in demo displays and actually see their sizes and options. And who knows, you could even get a salesperson that knows all about them. But that is really a stretch there. JMHO

You could also visit the manufacturer's websites and view their units and videos as well. I would wait to purchase anything until you know a lot about them and the options and features first. Most are going to have very similar features but with different names or titles.

 

[ezmobee]

In addition to the great suggestions made by gm280 above, you can also check out youtube for some real world demos of the various units. Probably best to have your choices narrowed down to a couple units first though

 

[mustacheyouaquestion]

I actually went to look at them yesterday but the salesperson didn't know a thing about them. I really like the look and feel of the Raymarine dragonfly series.

 

[dingbat]

Garmin and Furuno are the only units with autoroute that I know of....

Big box electronics "experts" can be very amusing....asked a BPS guy how the unit they're pushing compared to a Furuno (commercial sonar). He went on and on how the $250 unit he had on sale performed just as well. I should "upgrade" my setup ($3,100) for his unit. Pretty obvious he didn't have a clue. Told him I'd think about it....lol

When comparing units, pay attention to maps included with the unit Base maps are useless and purchasing third party maps is expensive.