Plotter Advice
 

Need some advice on a Plotter.

I live in Cape Coral. Usual boat trip consists of 10 minutes on the canal, 15 mins on the river to the open ocean. The issue is that there are a lot of very low spots on the way. There are also a ton of little islands that I would love to explore but I am not sure how to get to them due to the low river depth. I dont have a plotter and figure one would help me with this.

I am not looking to get to the Bahama's....just looking for one that I can use local.....easy of use and price would be my two requirements.

Any advice or suggestions??

Thanks

Re: Plotter Advice
 

The kicker to some of these plotter units is, you can find one with a low price, but then you have to buy the card, software, or digital charts. They usually run up to $200 in addition to the cost of the plotter.

The new units are awesome, have satellite imaging to give you a photographic aerial view, can pick up weather, can interface with your ECU with the engine, and so much more. I didn't really need all that, and I just wanted a chartplotter that would help me navigate in addition to the charts. So what I did is bought a used, pre-loaded plotter. In particular, the Garmin GPSMap 192c. Granted it's a few years old, and there's many newer models, I couldn't beat the price. It came pre-loaded with bluechart america, which is Garmin's digital chart software that costs around $150. And with it being pre-loaded, it was pretty much already ready to go. I bought it on ebay for a little shy of $200. So if you don't want to spend a ton of money, and don't necessarily need the latest greatest model, definitely check out ebay! :wink_thumbup:

The photo shows it installed and working, however the photo doesn't show any of the detailed marine charts because I'm still not on the water yet!

Re: Plotter Advice
 

I bought a combo fish finder/gps from Humminbird - 757c. Awesome machine. The extras for the detailed maps are worth it especially in your situation dealing with inlets and rivers. If you're only going for a GPS, try to get one with a built-in antenna. It eases installation. I got color and the larger screen - it makes it much easier to see in all light conditions. Wiring the transducer took a lot of work as Mariah didn't seem to design a very good wiring channel from the transom to the console. All in all - worth the price! Look for used - make sure it's water tight.