Time for an electronic upgrade

[Legend]

Hi everyone - I am in the market for new electronics for a 28 Sailfish (Space Constrained). Currently have 2004 Furuno Nav Net , primarily used for radar and a 2012 Lowrance HDS 10 for navigation and sonar. Was interested if anyone has upgraded recently and really like their new systems. Looking for user friendly system that can be self installed. Curious about brand - key reasons for selections. It is pretty obvious that there will be some pretty drastic changes in technology replacing a 21 year and 13 year old radar, navigation and sonar system. Thanks in advance for sharing!

 

[JJF]

The electronics on my boat are circa 2018. They are all RAYMARINE.

AXION PRO MFD with LightHouse charts, CPT-S transducer, autopilot & wireless remote (control head looks similar to the current P70Rs), QUANTUM RADAR, FLIR and Ray73 VHF

They are all very user friendly from an interface perspective. They all funtion well and do everything I need them to do.

The screen clarity is very good on the MFD. However, it can be a bit hard to read in direct/bright sunlight. I suspect this is true of all modern MFDs. THE MFD allows for overlaying the RADAR on the chart. Also, I really like how custom screens can be set up (e.g. CHART/SOUNDER, CHART/SOUNDER/RADAR, CHART, RADAR/FLIR.

The RADAR and FLIR are very good and pick up images very well. On the RADAR, I especially like features like guard zones for vessels/objects entering the zone. Also, on the RADAR, I like how objects heading towards my heading appear as "red" and those leaving my heading appear as "green". THe FLIR is excellent at night, but you still need to be careful.

 

[JJF]

P.S.

My boat is in the water thru 10/05.

If you want to come to Gloucester, I would be happy to demo them for you.

 

[Legend]

Thanks JJF - Great info

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

I use for many many years now only Garmin stuff and i am fine with my decision as they do what i want.
Should i start over with a total new system i may would consider the new Furuno TZT3 XL series as they have a Smartphone/Tablet style swipe user interface where you can access quickly most of the needed functions and not slowly clicking thru menu structures. Very neat User Interface!
Is Furuno in general so much better than Garmin? Well many claim that and probably true for their open-array radars but at the end it's the user who has to know how to get the best out of his system and many many don't have the slightest idea how to use their system better than just in Auto mode.

Have a look at the Furuno TZT3 XL devices to see their UI and check total cost for a Furuno system.
Check also Garmin GPSMAP series, they have very nice full hd screens, very good charts and are considered as user friendly.

I suggest two smaller devices over one bigger as it comes handy to run depth sounder on one and charts on the other, or charts and radar.
Particularly if you fish a lot, if you don't fish then 1 bigger device may be enough and probably cheaper.
Chris

 

[Mustang65fbk]

What size of screen(s) are you looking for? I'm guessing maybe twin 12" or a single 16" screen? I'm a big Garmin fan, have tried Lowrance and Furuno on other people's boats but wasn't a fan of them, the ease and simplicity of Garmin makes them my favorite option. In regard to radar, I've heard nothing but great things about their Garmin Fantom 18x or 24x units.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

I have some mixed results with my Fantom 18 ex owner installed in 2022.
Some days ago i could see a Kayaker 1/4 mile away but yesterday i could not see a about 28ft cabin boat fishing about 2 miles from me.
My speed and boat level was about the same and i could not tweak the settings to have it detected till they came to about 1 mile from me.
Honestly i would suggest to get a newer and better model than the discontinued Fantom 18 and pay more for the Fantom 18x or the xHD3 model.
The choice between both depends also on for what OP want the radar as the Fantom 18x is solid state and the xHD3 is magnetron technology.
One interesting difference is that Garmin states that the Fantom 18x minimum range is 6 Meters while they state 20 meters for the xHD3 but both have the same vertical view of 25° and horizontal 5.2° .
Chris

 

[Hookup1]

My 268 Islander is all Garmin. Everything is easy to use and performs well. I fish on a Furuno boat as well but find there are too many things you can tune.

I like a two display setup with the larges displays that can fit. The Islander doesn't have room on the helm pod to handle two displays so I mounted one 8612xsv up top in the electronics box and the other 8612xsv flush mounted in the helm pod. I expect the Sailfish to have a similar constraint.

Garmin offers a 9000 series with 4k screen resolution but it likely to big and too expensive. They also have a x43 series that is also very good. 1243xsv a little less screen resolution and lower price them the 86xx series.



Upgraded GPS antenna GPS24xd. Fantom GMR18 radar. Fusion RA770 stereo. ICom IC-506 AIS VHF. Garmin/Navionics charts with shaded relief chart upgrade.

All the Garmin units are plug-and-play.

Garmin uses a free "Active Captain" app for software updates and chart update/installation. Some GG members have had a hard time getting use to it. You must use it to install the Garmin system. You can use your phone (screen too small) but I recommend buying a new iPad for about $320 that I only use for the boat.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

You can use your phone (screen too small) but I recommend buying a new iPad for about $320 that I only use for the boat.

Screen to small for doing what? Using the ActiveCaptain App to update the devices, charts and community edits?

I use for many years my iPhone12 and 15, both Pro Max versions and i font find the screen too small for doing that.
Using the charts on the phone works as well but suboptimal and a tablet makes it more useful to review waypoints and plan routes at home, but not really in the cockpit of a boat.
It is my experience that it's the better and safer solution to download the Garmin Devices updates on a SD chard and start the update from there instead from the cellphone/tabled and thru the ActiveCaptain App.

Yes, the ActiveCaptain App can be picky if there is a mismatch between the registered devices and/or the charts. I had this when i bought my 306 Canyon as electronics were registered to ex owner what created some problems.On the end i did a factory reset and registered the many devices to me including the charts i already had in my name and then all worked as supposed.

Yes, most Furuno MFD's are a tweakers dream and that may give the feeling that they are superior and/or are superior as they can be more fin-tuned. I never considered a Furuno setup until i saw the UI of the new TZT3 XL and it looks to me much more intuitive and the fast access is perfect for constantly change settings or screens.

Chris

 

[Hookup1]

Screen to small for doing what? Using the ActiveCaptain App to update the devices, charts and community edits?

I use for many years my iPhone12 and 15, both Pro Max versions and i font find the screen too small for doing that.
Using the charts on the phone works as well but suboptimal and a tablet makes it more useful to review waypoints and plan routes at home, but not really in the cockpit of a boat.
It is my experience that it's the better and safer solution to download the Garmin Devices updates on a SD chard and start the update from there instead from the cellphone/tabled and thru the ActiveCaptain App.

Yes, the ActiveCaptain App can be picky if there is a mismatch between the registered devices and/or the charts. I had this when i bought my 306 Canyon as electronics were registered to ex owner what created some problems.On the end i did a factory reset and registered the many devices to me including the charts i already had in my name and then all worked as supposed.

Yes, most Furuno MFD's are a tweakers dream and that may give the feeling that they are superior and/or are superior as they can be more fin-tuned. I never considered a Furuno setup until i saw the UI of the new TZT3 XL and it looks to me much more intuitive and the fast access is perfect for constantly change settings or screens.

Chris

I don't want to scare off the OP Legend with Active Captain. It is a great tool and it imbedded in Garmin's product management plan. You can do everything on a phone but some tasks are better on a iPad. (bigger screen and higher resolution). Active Captain allows trip planning and waypoint management in the comfort of your living room.

The current Garmin chart plotters are shipping with built-in Garmin Navionics charts (no more BlueCharts). This is adequate for most boaters and fishermen. There are Garmin Navionics Vision+ region upgrades if you want additional features like shaded relief. I have US East and US South subscriptions. The shading and additional detail these charts include are well worth it for serious inshore and offshore fishing.

The confusion with these charts and Active Captain is that Garmin doesn't install all the charts that each Vision+ region covers. You need to either select the charts you want (easy) or "visit" the chart with Active Captain. Next time you connect to your boats wifi the charts will upload along with any software updates.

The old way of doing things with Garmin was to use a SD card for the charts but that doesn't work anymore. I was talking to an installer who told me Garmin was changing that but I can't confirm. You can still use a SD card for software updates.

Garmin acquired Navionics a few years back and merged map data. They have the best charts in the business. Active Captain is integral to their chart licensing and subscription management. When you buy a unit you get a 1-year subscription that includes updates. Beyond that the chart works but doesn't get updated. Same with Vision+ regions. You use Active Captain to buy chart subscription or to renew.

Active Captain relies on your Garmin.com account for product registration and authentication. It is imperative that device list assigned for you is correct. If you buy a used unit that unit has to be "released" from previous owner.