Which GPS unit
 

What kind of GPS units do you guys use? What do you like about it and what do you wish it could do that it doesn't? If it broke today, would you replace it with the same model?

Lowrance GPS's are what Mariah used to equip the boats with. They used both the LMS-160 and the GlobalMap (forget which model).

I personally use a handheld Garmin GPS III, It used to be my GPS I used when in my jeep in the mountains. It has accuracy to about 300ft, which isn't exactly what I'd call practical for the water. You need something accurate, and while that may have been top of the line when I bought it back in 1998, the technology has improved so much since then! Most units these days are accurate to 9ft if they use WAAS. I'm planning on replacing it later this year with a fully mounted chartplotter unit. I'm looking very seriously at the Garmin GPSMap192c, it's got a color display, internal antenna, and has the bluechart navigational software already loaded in! Having charted depth, navigational aids, shoals, wrecks, and everything is a great feature! And it keeps me from fumbling with the NOAA charts while underway.

However there are some other units worth mentioning, Lowrance makes the Globalmap series, which are pretty top-notch systems, Eagle has the Intellimap series, Navman/Northstar have decent systems which come loaded with engine monitoring systems (like fuel flow, etc), Standard Horizon makes a pretty nice little unit, then there's Si-Tex, Furuno, and Raymarine, which make more high end systems.

I've been researching GPS's a lot recently, so if you have any questions or need advice, by all means, let me know! :)

Thanks Chris. I'll do some reading on the brands you mentioned. I've been reading about Garmin and Magellan. Of those, based on reviews and reading (no hands on yet), I've been leaning a bit towards the Garmin Nuvi 500 for ease of use, mobility and they say it's waterproof. It doesn't sound like it's the most durable unit for water as it's only rated to be underwater for 30 minutes and no more than 3' of water, so I could easily be swayed to something else if you have any recommendations.

I'm looking for a portable, waterproof unit that I can switch between my boats and vehicles. I also have a catamaran and it would be interesting to have the gps on board for some of the outings on that. The cat is a pretty wet ride so having something that can withstand a soaking is a necessity. I've been leaning away from the hand held units because of the size of the screen. The hand held unit would be nicer for hunting or camping, but I spend a lot more time in my cars & boats than I do in unfamiliar woods. I think the larger screen will be nicer to have in the boat and car.

I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks
Paul

I have a Garmin GPSMap 76Cx. It's a handheld tracking model. Portable enough to go anywhere. My only complaint would be the screen is small, but that's kind of expected in a handheld. I have a RAM mount so I can swap it between the boat and the Jeep. Lot's of features. Proximity alarms, man overboard key, it's waterproof and it floats! I have it loaded with all the Marine data for my local waters. You can use interchangeable microSD cards to store data, or it can be fully configured with maps and trips using the USB interface connected to a PC. On the open water I'm usually seeing accuacy to about 6m (~18ft).

replaced the original older Garmin with a new Garmin 420S (sounder). We really enjoyed the fisheye and birdseye view. With the optional blue chart it was an awesome tool while cruising our waterways this summer