Fish finder chartplotter

[Uh Oh]

The boss and me are looking for recommendations and/or advice please.

We would like a fish finder and to be able to store a location and return to it. And to know the depth below us. I think it would be useful to see our position on a chart, especially if we take our rib to new launch sites.

Ideally, we would like a middle of the road model, from a manufacturer with a good reputation. Something that's easy to use.
We are hoping we could get something suitable for around £300. But we could push that to maybe £400 - £500, if it made a significant difference.

Thank you in advance for any advice and recommendations you can help us with

[Pikey Dave]

Any plotter/sounder combo from a well known manufacturer will do what you want at your price point.
I would go for the biggest screen that you can get for your money.
Navionics charts
Transducer included, some aren’t & will add cost.

Keep an eye out on websites like Cactus, Force4 etc. There will be offers & bundles after Christmas.

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Any plotter/sounder combo from a well known manufacturer will do what you want at your price point.
I would go for the biggest screen that you can get for your money.
Navionics charts
Transducer included, some aren’t & will add cost.

Keep an eye out on websites like Cactus, Force4 etc. There will be offers & bundles after Christmas.

Many thanks. Really appreciate your advice.

[spartacus]

When you said up to £500, wow, that's into decent tech territory.

Garmin, Lowrance, Hummingbird, Raymarine, Simrad, the world is literally your oyster! I'll let some of the more tech-knowledgeable Ribnet members help you spend your cash.

I'm still using a prehistoric Garmin Etrex GPS and a Garmin greyscale fishfinder for depth. Hey, they still do the job. We found the MV Taurus near Montrose with the fishfinder that had been sunk by the Luftwaffe during the war. And the Etrex is perfect for GPS waypoints as it was foggy on the trip south.

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by spartacus

When you said up to £500, wow, that's into decent tech territory.

Garmin, Lowrance, Hummingbird, Raymarine, Simrad, the world is literally your oyster! I'll let some of the more tech-knowledgeable Ribnet members help you spend your cash.

I'm still using a prehistoric Garmin Etrex GPS and a Garmin greyscale fishfinder for depth. Hey, they still do the job. We found the MV Taurus near Montrose with the fishfinder that had been sunk by the Luftwaffe during the war. And the Etrex is perfect for GPS waypoints as it was foggy on the trip south.

Thank you. Would like to spend less if possible.
The weakest link in any fishfinder will be me!

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Any plotter/sounder combo from a well known manufacturer will do what you want at your price point.
I would go for the biggest screen that you can get for your money.
Navionics charts
Transducer included, some aren’t & will add cost.

Keep an eye out on websites like Cactus, Force4 etc. There will be offers & bundles after Christmas.

I quite like the Lowrance hook 5 or 7. Cactus have got them both with a transducer at a very good black friday price. They come with a CMap but are compatible with Navionics. The Navionics charts look better than the Cmap. Is it expensive to swap them over please?

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by spartacus

... with the fishfinder that had been sunk by the Luftwaffe during the war....

That's some accurate bombing that is.

[craig_c]

Second hand Raymarine A series would do that. Some of them also have internal antenna's for super simple installation.

A transom hung depth sounder would be relatively cheap also for one of these and keep you well withing budget

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by GuyC

That's some accurate bombing that is.

Apologies for thread-drift.

Linky here GuyC: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...recent-storms/

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Uh Oh

I quite like the Lowrance hook 5 or 7. Cactus have got them both with a transducer at a very good black friday price. They come with a CMap but are compatible with Navionics. The Navionics charts look better than the Cmap. Is it expensive to swap them over please?

I have a Hook5 on my SIB, the screen is a bit small (for my eyes[emoji849]) but it does the job. Be careful with the hook series, not all have GPS built it. I think it’s the Hook 5x that has GPS. Charts are a simple case of swapping the microSD card over. The Navionics chart may cost as much as the unit depending on area covered.

[treerat]

I use a Garmin echo - built in gps antenna and a smallish transducer on the back. Not too big on the dash board and plenty of accuracy for me. It's not the biggest screen but works ok for me around the South Coast and hits each of your requirements above.

Not so sure I'll be great on long passage planed trips with lots of waypoints or long crossings, but I don't so it's great

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Uh Oh

I quite like the Lowrance hook 5 or 7. Cactus have got them both with a transducer at a very good black friday price. They come with a CMap but are compatible with Navionics. The Navionics charts look better than the Cmap. Is it expensive to swap them over please?

I've got the hook 7 with Navionics map on my sib Navionics maps are about £200 i think the screen is good enough to read in the chop so well happy as others have said any of the top brands will do.
i dont mess with mine i set it to auto and use the fishing chart simple

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by craig_c

Second hand Raymarine A series would do that. Some of them also have internal antenna's for super simple installation.

A transom hung depth sounder would be relatively cheap also for one of these and keep you well withing budget

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by treerat

I use a Garmin echo - built in gps antenna and a smallish transducer on the back. Not too big on the dash board and plenty of accuracy for me. It's not the biggest screen but works ok for me around the South Coast and hits each of your requirements above.

Not so sure I'll be great on long passage planed trips with lots of waypoints or long crossings, but I don't so it's great

Thank you. We don't do long trips either. The reasons I looked at the lowrance was they appear to be cheaper and you have the option of putting the navionics card in them, as Dave was recommending. Do you know if Garmin will take the Navionics too please?

I was thinking about a pole mount to avoid drilling the transom. Almost fell of my chair when I saw the cost of those Minn Kota pole mounts

[craig_c]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raymarine...UAAOSwTnpfoDDg

Not one of mine ( I have a hobby of repairing old chartplotters ) but looks in decent nick. The guy also takes offers too. You will need a mount or to make a mount but a transom hung transducer is usually around £80 so factor that in

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Uh Oh

Thank you. We don't do long trips either. The reasons I looked at the lowrance was they appear to be cheaper and you have the option of putting the navionics card in them, as Dave was recommending. Do you know if Garmin will take the Navionics too please?



I was thinking about a pole mount to avoid drilling the transom. Almost fell of my chair when I saw the cost of those Minn Kota pole mounts

Garmin now own Navionics, afaik a software update will allow newer Garmin units to use Navionics, check before you buy though. Lowrance are good & tend to give more bang for your buck compared to Garmin. If you’re not in a rush (and why would you be?[emoji849]) you might start seeing Garmin units bundled with Navionics charts. You need the Gold or Platinum versions though, the silver are pants.

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by craig_c

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raymarine...UAAOSwTnpfoDDg

Not one of mine ( I have a hobby of repairing old chartplotters ) but looks in decent nick. The guy also takes offers too. You will need a mount or to make a mount but a transom hung transducer is usually around £80 so factor that in

Many thanks. I am grateful. However, I can get a new Lowrance with a 5 inch screen and a transducer from cactus, delivered for under £300. With the warranty, its hard to refuse.

[Uh Oh]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Garmin now own Navionics, afaik a software update will allow newer Garmin units to use Navionics, check before you buy though. Lowrance are good & tend to give more bang for your buck compared to Garmin. If you’re not in a rush (and why would you be?[emoji849]) you might start seeing Garmin units bundled with Navionics charts. You need the Gold or Platinum versions though, the silver are pants.

I am grateful Dave. Good advice, as always
I will speak with cactus and Force 4 and see what the score is with Garmin and Navionics. As you say, Lowrance give you more bangs for your buck. But I've always used Garmin on my motorbikes and I do like them. Decisions, decisions

Thank you everyone for your kind help and advice

[craig_c]

warranty is definately worth it! for the vintage stuff the raymarine plotters are hard to beat. however a warranty and modern software is epic