The most user friendly chartplotter?

[tunaticer]

G'day fellas,

I am getting bewildered with all the tech crap about chartplotters around lately.

I want something that above all is user friendly and not gonna frustrate the hell outa me running thru menu after menu trying to get what i want it to give me.

The charts are a secondary thing I am starting to suspect because we always get used to what we have and will always want the biggest best flashest and sexiest things anyway. As long as the chart is not so outdated that channels are half a mile out etc. After all these gizmos are our reference machines and not our course we must follow, our own personal navigation will over ride whatever isnt the best.

So fellas, what machines have you found to be a joy to use in the sub $1000 area?

Jack.

[peterbo3]

Hi Jack,
All Australian electronic charts get their data from paper charts which are printed & updated by the Royal Australian Navy (Hydrography Branch) & various State bodies. Updates are issued on an "as need" basis & are termed "Notices to Mariners".
These notices are issued for many reasons. Channel markers may be changed, a wreck may obstruct a shipping channel or new speed restrictions may be in place.
Retailers such as Boat Books use these notices to update their charts constantly. That is why paper charts are not cheap. Electronic charts are updated less often. So in fact, an electronic chart may be half a mile out if the data it holds is two years old.
To answer your question, you may be pushing to find a colour plotter for under a grand with a decent size screen. There are units around for close to this but a card is extra. Raymarine is user friendly once you used it a bit (personal experience). Navman seems OK also. All I can suggest is try before you buy.

[Dan5]

Hey Tuna check out the Garmin stuff i've had Eagle(intellimap480)Navman,Furuno and used jrc,seiwa and simrad and for ease of use the garmin would have to be the most simple i reckon.Dan.........

[disorderly]

What have you been using up until now,tunaticer?
The only tips I have are go for a colour unit in the biggest screen size you can afford and look for a long warranty period.
Also to keep within budget look at importing a unit(generally much cheaper from the US) and look at buying a local map rather than an all of australia map.

I also have a garmin and am happy with the setup.

good luck

Scott

[tunaticer]

Thanks fellas,

Peter, I realise the reasons why charts are so exy etc but for what i need the gps for (marking fishing spots and return to ports as most fishos I suspect do) the currentness of the chart may or may not be of ultimate priority unlike if we were shipping pilots requiring the very latest data and charting. Mostly I think fishos treat thier gps's as thier fishing location libraries so to speak and travel to and from generally as they please often wavering from routes and paths.

Seems the garmins are being the most popular as far and useability. I have a few friends with all sorts of different gps's yet they all say thiers is the best etc.

I have checked out the prices locally and overseas and some great deals are coming in from europe and the usa on most brands. $1200 machines here can be delivered to my door for around the 5-600 mark. Add to that the chart for my area and on the water for about the 800ish mark.

Thanks for your replies fellas I'm off to play with mates gps's and hopefully stumble accross a few interesting locations heheh.

Jack.