Ready to purchase new plotter then this happened!

[fastasfox]

Having looked at The lowrance hook 7s , the Raymarine Element 7s and the Garmin Echomap 70s i decided that one of these would suit my needs to replace my old Garmin 451s (yes I know they featured one on the antiques road show).
Raymarine we're going to cut me a deal on their plotter /fishfinder with Uk Charts (lighthouse)and Transducer all for £480...that is a sweet deal. Lowrance would match that and you tend to get a Transducer with their's anyway but it also would come with Navionics + uk charts. The Garmin (at Cactus) would come in at £530 and this would include an adaptor so I could use my old Transducer and this came with navionics + as they own it (I think) .
I went and got a cup of coffee and decided that the Raymarine package was the compromise. So off i toddled back to Raymarine only to find the chap I spoke with was busy and another fella spoke with me....and he said " your better off with a through hull Transducer ". This threw me right off.

So my question to you guy's is.....
Raymarine Lowrance or Garmin?

Transom mounted Transducer or Through hull Transduce?

Navionics + or Raymarines very own Lighthouse charts?

If I went with the through hull Transducer I would have to cut a hole in my deck and fit an inspection cover and that raised another question

How good are those plastic inspection covers...do they seal properly?

And to add I won't need a fishfinder to go fishing (not my thing) so i dont need highend Transducer.

I would love to hear your thoughts especially if you own one of the above.

Cheers.

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

How good are those plastic inspection covers...do they seal properly?

I can't comment on transducers, except that I would say "better with" doesn't mean you "need". I would be better with a HD TV. But my eyesight is so bad I can't really tell the difference.

Anyways, I can tell you about hatches! Short answer - they vary. I'm assuming you are talking about a 4-6 inch round one.

There are effectively 3 designs. Two from Allen Bro and one from RWO. (Copies of course exist, and perhaps these are copes of someone else's). Allen have. A recessed one which displays all the screws. In the dinghy world (fitted to 3mm thick fibreglass or 4mm thick polyethylene, making every screw hole 100% watertight is hard. They have what I call the smooth one - handle forms two semi circles. Seal is on the outside and so the screw holes don't matter. Easy to open. Easy to not quite seal. You won't want this under foot

RWO is made of a much stiffer plastic. Handles are recessed quarters. Because plastic is stiff they are harder to open. IME they are very robust.


If you are thinking bigger square ones .. I've never seen a floor one last a season on a sailing club RIB when there are anchors etc that get chucked on them

[fastasfox]

[QUOTE=ShinyShoe;860831]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

How good are those plastic inspection covers...do they seal properly?
/QUOTE]
I can't comment on transducers, except that I would say "better with" doesn't mean you "need". I would be better with a HD TV. But my eyesight is so bad I can't really tell the difference.

Anyways, I can tell you about hatches! Short answer - they vary. I'm assuming you are talking about a 4-6 inch round one.

There are effectively 3 designs. Two from Allen Bro and one from RWO. (Copies of course exist, and perhaps these are copes of someone else's). Allen have. A recessed one which displays all the screws. In the dinghy world (fitted to 3mm thick fibreglass or 4mm thick polyethylene, making every screw hole 100% watertight is hard. They have what I call the smooth one - handle forms two semi circles. Seal is on the outside and so the screw holes don't matter. Easy to open. Easy to not quite seal. You won't want this under foot

RWO is made of a much stiffer plastic. Handles are recessed quarters. Because plastic is stiff they are harder to open. IME they are very robust.


If you are thinking bigger square ones .. I've never seen a floor one last a season on a sailing club RIB when there are anchors etc that get chucked on them

I was thinking about the smaller round design and it would be just off centre right near the transom.

[lakelandterrier]

I'm very happy with my Garmin Echomax with transom mounted transducer.
I'm all for making the least number of holes - of any size - in a boat but
I would recommend going for the largest screen you can fit / afford.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

I'm very happy with my Garmin Echomax with transom mounted transducer.
I'm all for making the least number of holes - of any size - in a boat but
I would recommend going for the largest screen you can fit / afford.

Having looked at the 7" plotters I feel that is about right for my 5m Tornado as it will sit on top of the console in the bracket.

My HGV navigation unit is Garmin and is excellent.

[Orwell boy]

I have one of these in the floor of my gemini which seems well sealed !
https://floatyourboat.co.uk/product/...ernal-diameter

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

I have one of these in the floor of my gemini which seems well sealed !
https://floatyourboat.co.uk/product/...ernal-diameter

Did you install the threw hull Transducer?
Honestly I can see the benefits as it's out of the way and you can't knock it of or damage it.

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

Did you install the threw hull Transducer?
Honestly I can see the benefits as it's out of the way and you can't knock it of or damage it.

No not in this case ,the particular hatch is for a gas detector however the boat has got a garmin thru hull but its not a hole in the hull it is epoxied on the inside of the single skin area sending and recieving the signal "thru hull "
I have also glued transom mount garmin tranducers in hull and work great with no loss of signal at speed ................ dont assume your drilling holes for thru hull !

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

No not in this case ,the particular hatch is for a gas detector however the boat has got a garmin thru hull but its not a hole in the hull it is epoxied on the inside of the single skin area sending and recieving the signal "thru hull "
I have also glued transom mount garmin tranducers in hull and work great with no loss of signal at speed ................ dont assume your drilling holes for thru hull !

I would need to cut hole in the deck as I dont have a sump well and then grp the Transducer onto the inside of the hull.
My boat is trailered so that's why I'm thinking it's a good idea.

[Iron Dials]

Everyone to their own and I think most would agree through hull is a more elegant installation.
But if you balance performance of through hull versus transom mounted against cutting a hole in a perfectly good deck with the associated costs+potential failure points there may be merit in the transom mount option.

[OldCoastie]

Here's my 2 cents...

I'm happy with a transom mounted transducer. It offers the easiest access for service and upgrade or replacement. The only concern that I have with a transom mount would be if I had swimmers in the water that had to board the rib from the transom but I have a aft quarter ladder that I use.

For your GPS/plotter, what I did was integrate all of my engine data into my plotter and eliminated all other gauges. The plotter becomes a Multi Function display that shows GPS navigation, all engine data and alarms, sonar transducer info, radar if equipped, and even can control a stereo if you want. My setup if very customizable and gives a clean simple look. I don't know the age of your gauges etc., but it is a way to start updating and integrating everything and it's really quite easy and way cheaper than you might think. Biggest cost is the need for a larger screen. I'm using 2 9" screens in my Ribcraft 585: one for charts and one for engine data, sonar, stereo, etc. Not a single other gauge.

As for brands, Im a believer that different manufacturers provide better service and charts for different areas and that should drive your purchase. For instance, I live in Florida, and Simrad has the market here and the best coastal charts. Northeast US is dominated by Garmin. I don't know if the UK is similar but it is something to consider.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by Iron Dials

Everyone to their own and I think most would agree through hull is a more elegant installation.
But if you balance performance of through hull versus transom mounted against cutting a hole in a perfectly good deck with the associated costs+potential failure points there may be merit in the transom mount option.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to stick with transom mount for now.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by OldCoastie

Here's my 2 cents...

I'm happy with a transom mounted transducer. It offers the easiest access for service and upgrade or replacement. The only concern that I have with a transom mount would be if I had swimmers in the water that had to board the rib from the transom but I have a aft quarter ladder that I use.

For your GPS/plotter, what I did was integrate all of my engine data into my plotter and eliminated all other gauges. The plotter becomes a Multi Function display that shows GPS navigation, all engine data and alarms, sonar transducer info, radar if equipped, and even can control a stereo if you want. My setup if very customizable and gives a clean simple look. I don't know the age of your gauges etc., but it is a way to start updating and integrating everything and it's really quite easy and way cheaper than you might think. Biggest cost is the need for a larger screen. I'm using 2 9" screens in my Ribcraft 585: one for charts and one for engine data, sonar, stereo, etc. Not a single other gauge.

As for brands, Im a believer that different manufacturers provide better service and charts for different areas and that should drive your purchase. For instance, I live in Florida, and Simrad has the market here and the best coastal charts. Northeast US is dominated by Garmin. I don't know if the UK is similar but it is something to consider.

Thanks for you opinions. My outboard is too old to couple up to electronic guages athough in the future I hope to get a newer outboard.....I'm waiting for prices to come down.
I think Garmin have the lion's share of the market here in the UK. Both Lowrance and Garmin are compatible with C map's and Navionics+

[Bigair]

I went for the Garmin Echomap UHD 95sv and transform mount transducer (not included!). The bigger screen is great and the g3 maps it comes with are ok - not got a great deal to compare it against.
Garmin also has an active captain app so you can sync with phone/ipad.

[treerat]

Interesting question.

On my Highfield I run a Garmin 10" screen model with a transom transducer. It works great and i do prefer it to the smaller echo map I had before.

We looked at adding one of these to the dive club rib, but felt that with the exposed console (Tornado Viking) it was too much at risk of damage by divers and cold wet fingers may not be the best method of operation.

We looked at various models, as you list above, and in the end went with the Raymarine element 7. This gives us button control, a smaller, chunkier unit on the top of the console and as it came with lighthouse charts and a transom transducer, a great all in the box package.

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by Bigair

I went for the Garmin Echomap UHD 95sv and transform mount transducer (not included!). The bigger screen is great and the g3 maps it comes with are ok - not got a great deal to compare it against.
Garmin also has an active captain app so you can sync with phone/ipad.

7" inch sat on top of my console I think will be about right.
I can use my current transducer I just need an adaptor all need is to know how deep the water is as I'm not a fisherman. How do you find the Navionics + charts?

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by treerat

Interesting question.

On my Highfield I run a Garmin 10" screen model with a transom transducer. It works great and i do prefer it to the smaller echo map I had before.

We looked at adding one of these to the dive club rib, but felt that with the exposed console (Tornado Viking) it was too much at risk of damage by divers and cold wet fingers may not be the best method of operation.

We looked at various models, as you list above, and in the end went with the Raymarine element 7. This gives us button control, a smaller, chunkier unit on the top of the console and as it came with lighthouse charts and a transom transducer, a great all in the box package.

How do you find the lighthouse charts compared to Navionics?

[treerat]

We've fitted it, but not yet used it - should know at Easter...............

[Bigair]

Originally Posted by fastasfox

7" inch sat on top of my console I think will be about right.
I can use my current transducer I just need an adaptor all need is to know how deep the water is as I'm not a fisherman. How do you find the Navionics + charts?

I don't have the Navionics + charts on mine, it came preloaded with g3 charts so haven't bothered to pay more for Navionics +. They are more than adequate and there is always the option to buy an SD card with Navionics + further down the line.

[RickW]

Originally Posted by OldCoastie

Here's my 2 cents...



I'm happy with a transom mounted transducer. It offers the easiest access for service and upgrade or replacement. The only concern that I have with a transom mount would be if I had swimmers in the water that had to board the rib from the transom but I have a aft quarter ladder that I use.



For your GPS/plotter, what I did was integrate all of my engine data into my plotter and eliminated all other gauges. The plotter becomes a Multi Function display that shows GPS navigation, all engine data and alarms, sonar transducer info, radar if equipped, and even can control a stereo if you want. My setup if very customizable and gives a clean simple look. I don't know the age of your gauges etc., but it is a way to start updating and integrating everything and it's really quite easy and way cheaper than you might think. Biggest cost is the need for a larger screen. I'm using 2 9" screens in my Ribcraft 585: one for charts and one for engine data, sonar, stereo, etc. Not a single other gauge.



As for brands, Im a believer that different manufacturers provide better service and charts for different areas and that should drive your purchase. For instance, I live in Florida, and Simrad has the market here and the best coastal charts. Northeast US is dominated by Garmin. I don't know if the UK is similar but it is something to consider.

What I did[emoji106]

Went the Navico route Ie Simrad/Lowrance because of the very excellent Mercury vessel view