Croydon Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Hi folks, Thought I'd pick the brains trust before I jumped in and made a bloody mess of things myself....... In the not too distant future I should be the proud owner of a newish, 6m or so, plate alloy cuddycab. I fish out of Batemans Bay and for the last few years have concentrated on fishing for kings, dollies, snapper, gummies, flathead and the like in depths of water from a few metres to around 70m. The intention with the new boat is more of the same with the added bonus of heading to the shelf on good days to chase tuna and marlin as well as bottom bash the depths with a deck winch at times. To date I've done without a GPS and have managed OK. With the new boat I'm looking at installing a new sounder, gps and or chartplotter. I'm undecided on brands and the electronics will most likely be dash mounted, under a metal canopy with side clears. Without getting into a long winded dispute on brands, as I think all the new gear is pretty good these days, I'm wondering what type of setup you guys have found to be successful. My main priority is the quality of sounder! As always cost is an inhibiting factor, but I'm realistic in what a decent electronic setup will cost. I guess my questions are these? - Do I go for a stand alone sounder, gps/chartplotter or combo unit? - As 99% of my time on the water will be between here and Narooma, do I really need a chartplotter? - Would a handheld GPS do the job as most likely, all I need (other than the safety aspect) is something to mark waypoints and tracks and get me back to them at a later time? - Would a handheld GPS, mounted on the dash under a metal canopy function correctly? What do you think? Thanks.......... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Hi Dave, from your description of what you are looking for I would check out the new 700 series from Humminbird-prices start at $430. These are all good units with big screens, various pixel counts, dual frequency and goo mounting. The benefit of these units are for about $230 (about the same cost of a basic portable GPS) you can plug in a GPS aerial and get the info you are after in terms of waypoint and routes and you have the ability of once you find a good spot of marking it and coming back later. Just my 2 cents worth, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnie Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Croydon With your newish boat coming......and with what you have said regards with heading out to the shelf chasing tuna & marlin maybe a bit of winch work...over the shelf.....sounds to me like you are preparing your self for a step up to the next level......so if that be the case.............. do like wise with the electronics think about a combined sounder & gps with chartplotter mounted on or set in the dash and depending on the amount of money you are prepared to spend of course.... you will never look back....... as you said there are numerous brands to look at...... and at various prices maybe a call to huey might get you a better entry combo for an affordable cost......... or for you to aim at saveing some dollars for.......... Cheers Warnie....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croydon Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Thanks Huey, I wasn't aware they made such a unit. I'll look them up and have a read. Warnie, Your right in what you say. I am tending towards something more permant and functional than a handheld gps, but just not sure how I'll set things up yet. Still a lot more reading to do. Much appreciated guys......... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingrod Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Id definatly go for stand alone units if budget allows. Ive got a soft spot for fiddling with electronics so like seperate devices and also like having seperate units as you get 2 full size displays. On a combo you often need to run split screen. A chartplotter (i assume meaning a GPS with map cartridges) is not really a must, but very handy. You can see your position on a map with depth contours etc. Also if there is marine parks in the area (Jervis?) the maps may show the boundarys. Most low cost GPS these days can record heaps of waypoints and give you a snail-trail dot plot on the screen so you can see where you have been and trolled that day. The same screen will normally show any recorded waypoints so you can see how far you have drifted off the mark etc. A hand held GPS under a metal hard top could be a bit hit and miss at times. Im sure it would probably work but is not ideal. Handheld GPS have smallish screens and can have fiddly small buttons. Most models would do everything you mention. You need to get a solid mounting bracket (to handle pounding and vibration) and a power adaptor. Running on batteries is a pain, especially if you want to run backlighting. I ran a very basic hand held for a number of years and it did virtually everything i wanted. Ive got a fixed mount GPS (without maps) its soooo much better. Sounder brands and models have been discussed a lot on this site. Try a bit of search. Im not sure what your budget is and i also note your comment on not wanting to "get into a long winded dispute on brands". I run a Raymarine colour DS600X sounder and a non map cartridge fixed mount Garmin GPS152. There were both my my boat when I bought it second hand and Im happy enough with them. After owning a colour sounder it would be hard to go back to a black and white. cheers Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1990 Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Hi mate We have a lowrance lcx-37c plotter,fishfinder/depthsounder/gps combo in our 6.2seascape alloy..top unit, could not be happier. I look look through the receipts and i will PM you the price on one of these babys. Im trying to upload a photo of the unit, i have resized the pic it is nearlly microscopic but it still says im having issues ARHHHHHH.......help please cheers james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croydon Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Thanks Rod and James, My current boat has a Raymarine DSX400, which I've been very happy with. I don't think I'd go back to black and white after this. My decision will have to be either stand alone or combo unit and then brand/model/price, I guess. So many brands so little time..................Beats thinking about work though! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james1990 Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Sorry mate....forgot to get the details...will have a look tomorrow.. Cheers james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croydon Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Sorry mate....forgot to get the details...will have a look tomorrow.. Cheers james No dramas James much appreciated......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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