# Sonar / GPS recommendation



## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Am having a boat built and need to decide on a decent but affordable sonar / GPS unit for it. I'm not a techy guy; I have no idea what the various websites (Lowrance, Garmin, Raymarine, Simrad) are saying. Most of their terminology is over my head. I don't need -- make that adamantly don't want -- anything linked to or operated by my cellular phone (which will be in a soundproof container at the bottom of a hatch while I'm fishing). I want a basic sonar unit -- most of the time I'm in skinny water -- and a GPS unit capable of decent detail, so when that killer fog or frog-strangling rain rolls in I can find my way back to the ramp. I'm thinking a 5" or 7" screen, and would like one that doesn't get too dark to read after a little bit of time in the sun. I'm assuming that I'm pretty well stuck with a color display, but a monochrome display would be just fine with me (I used 'em and loved 'em for many years). I don't have a hard price ceiling, but I can't get too extravagant with it.

What say you, ladies and gentlemen?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Forget shopping for the machine first. Pick the map first and then only after that pick a machine that will run it. If you get a machine that doesnt run the map you want or has a bad map you are screwed. The machine can only be as useful as the map it displays and that is the bottom line. I say a 7" screen is too small. 9" min. 12" is best. The small screens have way inferior resolution so if you get a hi res map it will appear inferior compared to larger screen displays.


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Egrets landing, thanks for the response. I have no idea how to 'pick the map' for this; I don't know what I'm reading when I try to research these things. We used to just buy a chip for a region and plug it in; I could handle that. Last year I bought a Navionics chip on a recommendation for the unit in my SoloSkiff. I got it home and found out I had to do a bunch of stuff with it on a computer first. I had NO idea what some of the directions meant; I had to get someone to help me. End result was nothing. Nada. Zip. All I had was the pathetically crude mapping that was built into the unit from Lowrance. Most of the back lakes I fish don't even show up on it. I emailed Navionics for help and received no response, but they kept emailing me to renew my subscription to free updates. Some time later I mentioned it on another forum, and one of their reps emailed me directions on what to do. Tried 'em. Still does nothing.

Anyway, I wrote it off to a $200 screwup that I won't be repeating. I don't want to make the same mistake with the new boat, and I don't want to try to decipher a bunch of technical gobbledygook that is all over my head while trying to research these things, and I don't want to buy something that requires a degree in computer science to use. I don't like or trust all of this high-tech stuff. The city decided we all absolutely need to have iPhones, and issued them out to us. One morning at 1:42 my iPhone, sitting on a table plugged in to the charger, woke me up. It was dialing a friend's number, and the dial tone woke me up. Apple insists that would be impossible. Yet it made the call, and to hear "that's impossible" when I saw it happen just really torques me. Our Sheriff's Office has been on a dispatch / records program -- I heard the cost was $26 million -- for three years. EVERY DAY it crashes, and our law enforcement world comes to a grinding halt. But we are supposed to pretend that it's a miraculous boon. Three years, and they still haven't gotten it to work. But the IT guys keep telling us what a great program it is......

I could go on and on about "impossible" high-tech screwups I've seen. But, the bottom line is that I don't trust this technology the world is clamoring for, and I haven't immersed myself in it and learned all of the terminology, techniques, and procedures. So I am clueless when it comes to deciphering what I am reading when I try to comprehend the different products' specs. That's why I am asking for recommendations from people who actually use them. I just want a reliable, easy to use unit that will show me the depth and bottom composition when I am in deeper water, and that will show my location on a reasonably accurate, detailed chart so I can find my way home in a fog. I have been reading the various websites for the manufacturers, and just don't understand much of what they say. But when I see words like "interface" I immediately get leery.

Does anybody make a detail chip for a GPS that will work on the Texas coast? What moderately priced sonar/chartplotters will it work in? That's what I need to know.


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## YnR (Feb 16, 2015)

Garmin has bad base maps and only OK BlueChart maps for my area in SC and does not accept Navionics. The Garmin BlueChart works fine in the bigger water ways but once you get into the smaller creeks, half the time it shows that you’re in the marsh. 

I’d look for something with satellite imagery overlay if you want a truly helpful chart plotter function. Any of today’s fishfinders will work fine for you want.


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

So where do I look for the different maps that are available? I don't really want to give Navionics another $200 when I have a Navionics chip that does nothing. And how do I find these satellite imagery overlays?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

If you are fishing Texas and that is the coverage you want I think Navionics is the only current option there is. That could change next year when ISLA, who makes FMT may release a Texas map. If that happens you would likely find it much superior as everyone who who has both finds to be the case for FL and for LA. To that end, get a Navico machine (not a hook) because they support both. To see what it looks like go to a retail store and look at machines and have them put in the best Navionics chip that covers your area to see if you can get OK with it and compare it to the basemap that comes in the Machine. Map chips are pretty much plug and play so I am not sure what your issue was last time you tried to boot a map. It sounds like you are not technically inclined at all and most any GPS is going to be trouble for you to operate. Better go the store and have someone show you.


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Thanks, Egrets landing. Quick question: not sure what "get a Navico machine (not a hook) because they support both" means. Don't know what Navico and hook are. Would you clarify please?

My last marine GPS setup (before the Navionics debacle) involved buying a chip for my Lowrance unit. I didn't need to do anything to it on a computer; I just plugged it in to the unit and immediately had access to greatly enhanced detail. Never had a problem with it. It went with that boat when I sold it; wish I still had it. Working a GPS has never been a problem; all of this computer mumbojumbo is the problem. For you, having to upload / download / program, or whatever it is that Navionics requires, may be plug and play. To me it's not. Especially when, even after Navionics sent me instructions (finally), it still doesn't work. It's just another example of why I don't trust all of this miraculous technology. I see it fail on a regular basis. I appreciate the convenience when it works, but it sure fouls up everything when it doesn't, and I resent being told that it's infallible by the people who sell it when we all just watched it fail.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

hipshot said:


> Thanks, Egrets landing. Quick question: not sure what "get a Navico machine (not a hook) because they support both" means. Don't know what Navico and hook are. Would you clarify please?
> 
> My last marine GPS setup (before the Navionics debacle) involved buying a chip for my Lowrance unit. I didn't need to do anything to it on a computer; I just plugged it in to the unit and immediately had access to greatly enhanced detail. Never had a problem with it. It went with that boat when I sold it; wish I still had it. Working a GPS has never been a problem; all of this computer mumbojumbo is the problem. For you, having to upload / download / program, or whatever it is that Navionics requires, may be plug and play. To me it's not. Especially when, even after Navionics sent me instructions (finally), it still doesn't work. It's just another example of why I don't trust all of this miraculous technology. I see it fail on a regular basis. I appreciate the convenience when it works, but it sure fouls up everything when it doesn't, and I resent being told that it's infallible by the people who sell it when we all just watched it fail.


Navico is the mfg of Lowrance, Simrad and B&G gps units.
Get a 9 or 12" unit that fits your budget. Do not get a HOOK and dont get a Simrad GO.


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Aha! Thank you. Will look for a Lowrance unit, and will give Navionics another try. Hopefully, if the Navionics card works this time, it will show the back lakes and sloughs I like to fish.


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## slewis (Sep 8, 2015)

More often than not, the technology isn't the problem; its the people who implement it (not you, the IT guys)!

I'm a huge fan of my Simrad NSS9 Evo3. While pricey, it just works for what I need it to do. The display is very crisp and easy to view from multiple angles. I also prefer the knob for zooming in and out over the touch screen, but have the option of both.
While it does have some more advanced features, it is pretty user friendly.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

hipshot said:


> Aha! Thank you. Will look for a Lowrance unit, and will give Navionics another try. Hopefully, if the Navionics card works this time, it will show the back lakes and sloughs I like to fish.


Don't expect to be overly impressed with the map detail and photos on the chip but it will be better than the basemap in the unit.


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## Chaser88 (May 7, 2018)

If you have a West Marine near by go in and see if they have any Garmin 741XS still available. It was an $800 unit marked down to $499. Picked up that with a transducer for just under $700 and use it on my 17' skiff with zero issue. Great unit and deal.


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## nautilott (Oct 29, 2017)

hipshot... glad I found your thread, we could be brothers. I'm getting ready to take my Cayo to Tampa to have them repair my busted tiller on the Tohatsu 50. They have a black one in stock, so I figure with my lack of tech savvy, I'd get them to install a GPS/depth unit while it's there.
I've just about decided on a unit that runs the FMT chips, so if Simrad makes a 9 or 12 inch screen, I'll probably be going with them. Going to West Marine today to see if I can get some advice on the pros/cons of a transom/through hull mounted sending unit. 
Like you, I just want a unit that doesn't get too fancy but good enough to overcome my busted internal compass.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Zach Vogelsang said:


> If you have a West Marine near by go in and see if they have any Garmin 741XS still available. It was an $800 unit marked down to $499. Picked up that with a transducer for just under $700 and use it on my 17' skiff with zero issue. Great unit and deal.


The unit is fine. The map is horrible unless you are fishing blue water and there are no alternative options. So if get that and find your self floating in 5' and your map shows you on land, you are out of luck. This is a ubiquitous Garmin problem all over the place due to their inferior cartography for anything proximate to a land mass. The web is replete with "my garmin shows me on land" threads going back for many years.


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## Chaser88 (May 7, 2018)

Hmmm... guess I got lucky with mine. I use it in Ft. Lauderdale and down around Big Pine and haven't had that issue. Only time I came across is when I launched on the St. Johns right outside Christmas, Florida. Turns out the unit didn't have the freshwater maps though. But good luck with whatever unit you get!


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Zach Vogelsang said:


> Hmmm... guess I got lucky with mine. I use it in Ft. Lauderdale and down around Big Pine and haven't had that issue. Only time I came across is when I launched on the St. Johns right outside Christmas, Florida. Turns out the unit didn't have the freshwater maps though. But good luck with whatever unit you get!


Your experience with this is limited so you can only know what you know. It's like running around on really bad tires that you are used to. Once you put some new high tech tires on you finally realize just how bad the others really were. The Garmin detail (particularly around big pine) is the worst anywhere. The worst imagery and the worst detail. That is just the sad truth. Hundreds of relevant navigational features are totally missing in that area and there is no way you can run your boat just based on that outside of a main deep channel. There are dozens of stakes at the north end of big pine and lots of obstacles. In any area outside of a main marked channel you can't look at the Garmin chart and have a clear understanding of exactly where to run and more importantly where not to run unless you are staring at a previous track you ran. Not a single one of the navigational aids at the north end of big pine key is noted on Garmin. That is just the sad truth. If it was what is purported to be, you could run anywhere at midnight with no issue if you are paying attention.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Egrets Landing said:


> Your experience with this is limited so you can only know what you know. It's like running around on really bad tires that you are used to. Once you put some new high tech tires on you finally realize just how bad the others really were. The Garmin detail (particularly around big pine) is the worst anywhere. The worst imagery and the worst detail. That is just the sad truth. Hundreds of relevant navigational features are totally missing in that area and there is no way you can run your boat just based on that outside of a main deep channel. There are dozens of stakes at the north end of big pine and lots of obstacles. In any area outside of a main marked channel you can't look at the Garmin chart and have a clear understanding of exactly where to run and more importantly where not to run unless you are staring at a previous track you ran. Not a single one of the navigational aids at the north end of big pine key is noted on Garmin. That is just the sad truth. If it was what is purported to be, you could run anywhere at midnight with no issue if you are paying attention.


Truth


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## Chaser88 (May 7, 2018)

Guess I'm going home and blowing up my unit...


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Don't ever feel bad for learning new stuff and gaining enhanced perspective. The truth can be harsh but also very beneficial.


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## Chaser88 (May 7, 2018)

I definitely don't feel bad for learning new stuff... or gaining perspective. But given its my first boat and GPS that I busted my ass to save and get I just didn't get why go into bashing the unit. I came across this forum and offered my very humble two cents... didn't put anyone or their gear down. Some of us fish/boat on a budget... I didn't have massive disposable income. I bought what I felt and read was the best unit for the money. Now I've learned save up the extra bucks next time and upgrade. What would you consider an upgrade in the 7" series? I was looking at the Simrad Go 7" but heard they have the worst customer service. Just wanna learn and not repeat the same mistakes.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Zach Vogelsang said:


> I definitely don't feel bad for learning new stuff... or gaining perspective. But given its my first boat and GPS that I busted my ass to save and get I just didn't get why go into bashing the unit. I came across this forum and offered my very humble two cents... didn't put anyone or their gear down. Some of us fish/boat on a budget... I didn't have massive disposable income. I bought what I felt and read was the best unit for the money. Now I've learned save up the extra bucks next time and upgrade. What would you consider an upgrade in the 7" series? I was looking at the Simrad Go 7" but heard they have the worst customer service. Just wanna learn and not repeat the same mistakes.


The other truth is you really do not need the best of everything on your first boat. Take the time to learn to operate your vessel and then fine tune your fishing skill with better equipment in a few years. But one of the better reasons to use this forum is ask other forum members about equipment and what you expect of the equipment *before *you spend money.


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## Chaser88 (May 7, 2018)

Very true. And one of the main reasons for me joining the forum. Many many of you guys have countess hours on the water. And I respect the hell outta that... I'm just here to gain some knowledge like any other person. If you ain't learning you're dead!


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Zach, I know that Egrets Landing comes across as being a little (okay, maybe more than a little) arrogant, but I believe he's just trying to help. I think he just has a hard time comprehending that we aren't all computer geniuses. I appreciate his input and knowledge, and his willingness to help, even if I don't always understand what he just said.....

I can't afford the 9" or 12" units he recommends, and the 7" unit (a Lowrance Elite 7 Ti or Ti2) I'm considering is really more than I should be spending. I still don't understand all of the terminology, and the differences between the variations, but I'll get that figured out eventually. I guess my biggest hurdle right now is having to buy another Navionics chip, when I already bought one that does nothing but take up space in the port on the unit it's in -- in spite of all the millenials telling me how to operate it, and insisting that it must be my fault that following their directions doesn't work..... It pi$$es me off to take a $200 screwing, and if I have to take another one when I knew better I'm going to feel like a supreme sucker. But accurate, detailed GPS charting has saved me a lot of aimless wondering in the past when I've been fogged in, and I really want to have it while fishing the coast. Unfortunately, I don't even know how good the Navionics chip is (if I get one that works), and that is a hurdle for me too. Too many vendors out there assuming that we are all computer geniuses. And I can't understand why, for the life of me, anyone would want to operate a boat (or anything else) on which all of its primary and support systems are totally monitored and controlled by their cell phone ?????? Good Lord, this iPhone I'm forced to carry around already has a pathetic battery life.

Anyway, if anyone wants to offer opinions on the Lowrance Elite 7 Ti (or Ti2?) in lay terms that a technologically challenged old fart can understand, I'm all ears. And there seem to be a couple of different Navionics chips?? Differences (in non-techy terminology)?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Zach Vogelsang said:


> I definitely don't feel bad for learning new stuff... or gaining perspective. But given its my first boat and GPS that I busted my ass to save and get I just didn't get why go into bashing the unit. I came across this forum and offered my very humble two cents... didn't put anyone or their gear down. Some of us fish/boat on a budget... I didn't have massive disposable income. I bought what I felt and read was the best unit for the money. Now I've learned save up the extra bucks next time and upgrade. What would you consider an upgrade in the 7" series? I was looking at the Simrad Go 7" but heard they have the worst customer service. Just wanna learn and not repeat the same mistakes.


I wasnt bashing the unit at all. In fact I said straight up the unit is fine. Its the map running in it that sux. But since the unit can only be as useful as the chart it runs, it makes no sense to get that. As for the Simrad GO it would be near the bottom of my list. It's touch only which is a real hassle compared to any unit that also has buttons, compared to a larger unit its harder to see and operate on the water, it has a small single processor, loads a chip from the back only and it has the worst screen resolution. It's cheap for a reason. If your on a budget, get the Elite Ti 9" or 12", HDS or simrad EVO3 9" or 12". Customer service at Navico is fine. I have had it for years and never had to wait more than a couple of mins at the most for the few times over the last few years I called in with a question. The customer service at Navionics which is now owned by Garmin is what is horrible. You can actually have to wait there an honest 90 mins on hold.


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## nautilott (Oct 29, 2017)

Watching the FMT online videos(me likey), I take it that FMT is an overlay to the unit's base mapping??? I'm thinking I'd like to include FMT into whatever unit I end up with.

Being that the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti and Simrad GO9 are under the same parent company, is it wrong to assume that they both run the same mapping, with the Elite 9Ti having the added benefit of function buttons? Is one's mapping better than the other or does the function buttons of the Elite over shadow the GO's mapping? I'd love to have a 12" unit, but with the size of my skiff, I think it would look a little goofy...like putting an off shore fighting chair in a microskiff.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

nautilott said:


> Watching the FMT online videos(me likey), I take it that FMT is an overlay to the unit's base mapping??? I'm thinking I'd like to include FMT into whatever unit I end up with.
> 
> Being that the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti and Simrad GO9 are under the same parent company, is it wrong to assume that they both run the same mapping, with the Elite 9Ti having the added benefit of function buttons? Is one's mapping better than the other or does the function buttons of the Elite over shadow the GO's mapping? I'd love to have a 12" unit, but with the size of my skiff, I think it would look a little goofy...like putting an off shore fighting chair in a microskiff.


Dont get a GO unit. They are cheap for a reason and touch only with FMT is a real hassle. The Elite Ti will drop in price a lot in a couple of weeks when the Elite Ti2 is released for sale. 12" is fine for any skiff and will fit no problem with an adjustable mount. You will get used to a larger screen very quickly and be glad you have the increased functional utility and superior screen resolution. I am switching my 12" for a 16" this month on an 18' boat. There are tons of smaller skiffs with larger screens including Gheenos.


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## nautilott (Oct 29, 2017)

Glad I found this thread and I appreciate your input/experience, Egrets Landing. Until my tiller gets fixed, I'm in no real hurry to purchase. Good to know that Lowrance is coming out with the '2' so I'll wait a little while to see the differences between the two.

Jeez, 16 inch unit...that's big! Are you going to mount it so it gimbles horizontally for your dining pleasure?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Hey that could work. But it will screw up the 2 million pixel res.


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

I spoke to the folks at Lowrance's technical support. They guy I talked to kept directing me toward the more expensive units. I had told him that the sonar capabilities were not important to me, and my primary concern is GPS capabilities, but he kept going back to how much better the sonar is on the Ti units. He finally admitted that the GPS capabilities and display of the Hook2 unit are equal to the Ti unit. So I am getting a Hook2 unit with a chip for the GPS, for a substantial savings over the Ti unit.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

hipshot said:


> I spoke to the folks at Lowrance's technical support. They guy I talked to kept directing me toward the more expensive units. I had told him that the sonar capabilities were not important to me, and my primary concern is GPS capabilities, but he kept going back to how much better the sonar is on the Ti units. He finally admitted that the GPS capabilities and display of the Hook2 unit are equal to the Ti unit. So I am getting a Hook2 unit with a chip for the GPS, for a substantial savings over the Ti unit.


That would be a total disaster. Its a total waste of money. The unit is equiv. to a kids toy. It is slow, it has very limited software capabilities and is not able to run any map with imagery so you are stuck with a total crap map. If you get that, be prepared to be thoroughly disappointed.


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## AshCraft17 (Nov 18, 2018)

What did you get and are you satisfied?


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

I got the Hook2-7. Just like I said I was. 

As I explained in the beginning, I neither need nor want a high-end sonar capability. Basic sonar fits my needs. While it's interesting (and even helpful on occasion) to know what -- and where --the bottom features are in deeper water adjacent to my fishing areas, I fish pretty much exclusively in skinny water, throwing flies at fish I can see (or think I see, LOL). I thought that I made that pretty plain in the original post. Actually, the $69.95 4" monochrome Lowrance units I have in my Torque and my Trident 13 would tell me everything I want to know, sonarwise. Depth, bottom hardness, and contours. That's all I want or need. When I used to guide bass anglers (over twenty years ago) I used high-end (for that time) sonar. I fished a lot of deep structure then. But I don't now, and I no longer need to count the pimples on a minnow's butt forty feet under the hull. And I'm certainly not striving to impress the gear geeks with my acquisition of the 'latest and greatest' (for this week) electronic device.

Now we get into my "old school" attitude. I get that some people are caught up in the fantastic technological advances being made in the wonderful world of electronics. They are the ones who tell me that the iPhone that the city has chained to me didn't really just dial a number while it was sitting on a table with nobody near it, even though it just did. They are the ones who tell me that that same iPhone could not have just changed several contacts' numbers, even though it just did so. They are the ones who tell me that that iPhone really doesn't start randomly dialing numbers from my contacts list when I terminate a call -- while watching it do so. They are the ones who always insist that I caused the malfunction, but can't begin to tell me how I caused it. So, if you can't tell yet, I'm more than a little bit fed up with these gear geeks telling me that the latest, greatest new technological advance is absolutely infallible and absolutely necessary. But since I'm neither a politician nor a gear geek, I'm allowed to see the truth, and I could never blindly trust these miracles of modern technology after all I've seen and heard.

So, my GPS needs are simple. I want to know where I am when a frog-strangling rain or a dense fog pops up. Makes it a whole lot easier to get back to the ramp. Now, I'll be the first to concede that a 16" screen with a satellite photo overlay and marked boat lanes would be a true convenience in such conditions. But are they really necessary? If you want to run fast under those conditions you're a fool. A fool operating illegally. If you are in a completely unfamiliar area with excessive navigational hazards on a day with dense fog or heavy rain forecast (or at night) and plan to run out of there at speed, you haven't given much thought to safety, have you? 

With a basic chartplotter I have navigated through a lot of bad areas in extremely limited visibility over the years. Granted, I did it at safe speeds, not up on the pad in a 20' visibility fog, but I did just fine. I never hurt myself, never hurt a client, and never hurt another boater, and I never had any close calls that were due to error on MY part. That was made possible by knowing where I was. A 16" display and satellite photo overlay would not have gotten me back any quicker or any safer. And while that 16" display and photo overlay would certainly be nice, I would have had to give up something else to afford it. A whole lot of something else....... I'm not about to make that sacrifice, just to hear an arrogant gear geek who sells high-dollar electronics give me an online attaboy. He doesn't set my priorities.

Am I satisfied? So far. On a cop's salary I can't justify the expense for the unit that the arrogant gear geek says I have to have. So, is the unit I selected a "total disaster"? "A total waste of money."? "Equivalent to a kid's toy."? Not yet. But maybe I'm just not bright enough to figure it all out...........


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

I got a Lowrance HDS 7 gen 2 touch about a year ago with the Navionics platinum chip. Map detail for Galveston bay is really good. Most of the units these days require you to select which map data you want to use, base map or chip/map card. The unit default setting is to base map. I can also use Google map imagery or use it as an overlay combining satellite imagery and Navionics chip data. For what ever reason, the map data select is a couple menus deep and can be a little tricky to find. I have found the user manual to be pretty good and Youtube is your friend also. Lowrance/Navico customer support not so much...


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

The Hook is not capable of running any chart with that has photos or raster of any kind. That chart is not an option for any Hook.


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## AshCraft17 (Nov 18, 2018)

Looked at the simrad cruise 7 today anyone know anything about this unit


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

AshCraft17 said:


> Looked at the simrad cruise 7 today anyone know anything about this unit


Yes.. Its just a HOOK with a knob in a simrad Box. Its cheap for very good reason.


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## OakHill63 (Mar 28, 2013)

hipshot said:


> Am having a boat built and need to decide on a decent but affordable sonar / GPS unit for it. I'm not a techy guy; I have no idea what the various websites (Lowrance, Garmin, Raymarine, Simrad) are saying. Most of their terminology is over my head. I don't need -- make that adamantly don't want -- anything linked to or operated by my cellular phone (which will be in a soundproof container at the bottom of a hatch while I'm fishing). I want a basic sonar unit -- most of the time I'm in skinny water -- and a GPS unit capable of decent detail, so when that killer fog or frog-strangling rain rolls in I can find my way back to the ramp. I'm thinking a 5" or 7" screen, and would like one that doesn't get too dark to read after a little bit of time in the sun. I'm assuming that I'm pretty well stuck with a color display, but a monochrome display would be just fine with me (I used 'em and loved 'em for many years). I don't have a hard price ceiling, but I can't get too extravagant with it.
> 
> What say you, ladies and gentlemen?


Get a Simrad with the FMT chip, and you’ll wonder how you ever did without it


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## hipshot (Sep 29, 2018)

Somehow I doubt that spending way over my budget for a unit and a chip for Florida, to use in Texas, will result in my wondering how I ever did without it. 

I’ve seen the FMT chip. It’s awesome. But it’s not NECESSARY. And, as I’ve already said several times, on my budget there are other things more important than satellite overlays with tracks already marked. Hell, I grew up navigating off charts. I’m just looking for a little more detail than the base maps, in case I need to get home in s fog or heavy rain. 

And the more advanced these electronic marvels get, the less I trust them. I’ve seen WAAAAY too many unexplained failures, with far more serious consequences than, “Gee, I can’t run my boat out of this bay I’ve never seen before on the pad. I’ll be late for the first round of martinis!”


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## Mountolive (Mar 21, 2016)

Egrets Landing said:


> Dont get a GO unit. They are cheap for a reason and touch only with FMT is a real hassle. The Elite Ti will drop in price a lot in a couple of weeks when the Elite Ti2 is released for sale. 12" is fine for any skiff and will fit no problem with an adjustable mount. You will get used to a larger screen very quickly and be glad you have the increased functional utility and superior screen resolution. I am switching my 12" for a 16" this month on an 18' boat. There are tons of smaller skiffs with larger screens including Gheenos.


Egrets Landing. Thanks for your input on this thread. There are so many brands and price points for these units. I’m more interested in the higher end units. I’m curious about the 16” unit you are considering. Would you please share the unit’s information and the chart or mapping chip you are considering? I am also curious to know what made you decide to move from the 12” to the 16” unit? Aside from the larger screen, what is the difference between your 12” vs the new 16” you are looking at? Processing speed? What will you do with the old 12” unit? 

I’m running a 9” Lowrance HDS on an 18” skiff. I think it is a gen 3. It has the navionics platinum chip. I fish from NC to the keys and also Louisiana. I don’t know how to use half the functionality of my unit or the functions for the transducer/sonar. I don’t understand how to interpret the side scan sonar view for example. The tool is only as useful as the person using it and I know I have a lot to learn. I also understand that I need to get familiar with the technical aspects of the unit and am not afraid of that part. I sit on the boat on the trailer at my house and punch all the buttons but honestly get lost because I’m not sure about what settings I’m modifying. I have two other skiffs (18’ and 16’) that don’t have units on them and have been considering getting another unit, so your comments are appreciated. 

I see guides that have their units dialed in and it really makes a big difference. With my current set up, I often go between looking at my Lowrance screen and my iPhone running google maps. I think the unit is fine, it is the user (me) that is the problem! 

I know bass tournament anglers make their living using these units. I wish I could get a bass guide who is knowledgeable about units show me how to dial in my unit on my own skiff. I would be happy to pay a full days guide fee to get my unit all dialed in. Is there anyone who does that?


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

Egrets Landing said:


> The unit is fine. The map is horrible unless you are fishing blue water and there are no alternative options. So if get that and find your self floating in 5' and your map shows you on land, you are out of luck. This is a ubiquitous Garmin problem all over the place due to their inferior cartography for anything proximate to a land mass. The web is replete with "my garmin shows me on land" threads going back for many years.


“It’s an OK unit” until it goes black. Would never purchase any Garmin product. Your advice is $$$. Our OP needs to hire a geek to install


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