www.iFourWinns.com

As some of you may know, i had a shaky ride to my V278, but i stuck with it:)

I need to purchase a GPS and a VHF for the boat. Four winns says the Raymarine 435...any other recommendations? And for the VHF? I appreciate it Thanks.

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2007 278 Vista Classic Black

I know what GPS I will NOT buy again and that is Garmin.


I installed a Garmin GPSMap 276C on my last boat, I bought the GPS, Transducer, 500 watt amp and an automotive kit and spent a small fortune. I sold the boat more than two years ago, kept the auto kit and the maps and I just listed them on ebay to clean out my closet.

Shipped them out to the guy who bought them and I get an email back a few days after he got them, he can't install the Mapsource software the code won't work.

So I ask him to contact Garmin, they tell him to go pound salt. So I take it upon myself to contact Garmin and see if I can straighten the mess out.. They tell me to go pound salt too... All I got was the quote from the web site that maps can only be used once, PERIOD.... Garmin will not unregister the unlock code again and the CSR says "It's impossible for us to do that".

I was like, look I work in IT I am not an idiot, I don't claim to know your Enterprise, but I am quite sure that the unlock code along with my personal information is stored on your Database server and all you need to do is delete the entry, it's that simple.... They CHOSE not to maintain their Database it's not that it's "impossible". This is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard! Even Adobe who can be a bear to deal with, allows you to deactivate and transfer the license!

The CSR says "well tell the new owner just to buy an unlock code".

I emailed the ebay buyer back, apologized for the inconvenience, refunded his purchase and told him keep, burn or throw the Garmin stuff away, it's his to do with as he pleases... I hope he finds a hacked unlock code on the net and gets it to work.

Hey Garmin.... You just lost a many time repeat customer!

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Brett DiMichele

I have 4 different garmins around the house, hand helds and street pilots. If I were to get one for the boat, my 1st choice would be the garmin. I have been looking at the fishfinder chart plotter gps combo, 535s. I think you want something nicer than that though. I have no need for a GPS on the boat, but I do enjoy playing with them, we only boat on small ponds, and powell that we know very well.

I have only talked with one person that has the Raymarine GPS chart ploter and says its the bomb!!

Brett, that is the 1st negative anything I have ever heard regarding garmin. I do not use there maps, maybe thats why I have never experienced this???

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

Powell,

Correct! Hardware wise they are certainly one of the best made consumer devices. I think when you get into professional marine navigation Garmin can't hold Raymarine's dirty socks, or even Furano.

The way they handle the street maps is archaic at best and they are just being lazy and IMHO are short changing the consumer.

You have every RIGHT to deactivate and transfer software, it is YOUR software, you paid for it.. Well Garmin says otherwise.

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Brett DiMichele

While I am saddened to hear of Brett's experience, I am very happy with my Garmin GPSmap 440. It is basic, but suits my needs and was really easy to install by myself and I am far from gifted in this area! I hate to hear of such ridiculous customer service,

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2005 Vista 268 "ALTEAN"

We have an 07 258-
Like Powell, we only boat the little ponds- I had a Garmin handheld 60CSX that I used a few times before I lost it- I found that I have enough stuff to remember to take to the lake- losing the handheld made me realize I needed something that would stay on the boat and be attached to the boat. I was sick when I realized I lost the handheld.

I also wanted a fishfinder- I am not much of a fisherman and can use any help I can get. Most people I talked to said Garmin was NOT the fishfinder to get- most recommended Hummingbird or Lowrance. I am not sure how much I will use this feature, but for close to the same money as chartplotter only- I'll take it.

Another feature that I wanted was NMEA 2000 capabilities- GPS is amazing and a fishfinder is nice, but the ability to monitor fuel flows and know exact gallons on board really sold me.

I ended up with the Lowrance HDS- 7 series that does the chartplotter and fishfinder duties and installed it where the Raymarine usually goes in the factory install. I purchased and still need to install the NMEA 2000 parts- Hopefully it will work as advertised.

The unit looks good, works well and is readable in direct sunlight- It is a little cheaper without the fishfinder- and the fuel monitor was only around $ 60.00.

Lots of choices out there- If the fuel flow interface with the GPS works- it should pay for itself in operational
efficiency and fuel savings.

Have fun shopping-
Wags

As someone that has fuel flow sensors, and a gauge with fuel management calculations, I can tell you it's not as helpful as you might think.

Yes, seeing that wide-open-throttle burns nearly TRIPLE your regular cruise rate definitely helps you manage your 'need for speed'. But for regular on-plane cruising it's not all that helpful. For most boats the 'best' cruise speed (engine RPMs) is already known. The sensors won't change that. And given how waves and sea conditions affect performance it's not like you can fine tune things very much. What works at 6am on a glass smooth early spring morning won't work on a hot and humid summer afternoon in 3' chop. Even changing wind conditions and tides will affect it.

So it ends up being a sort of infrequently used curiosity. About the only time I find it useful is scaring the non-boaters with actual fuel consumption numbers.

That and I'll use it the next time a guest tells me they're "got to" be somewhere by a particular time when we're at least an hour out of port. Something along the lines of "we can cruise at normal speed 'for free' or you can pay $150 to get there about 20 minutes faster'. Man, I hate that. You take them out for an all day trip only to find they're in some sort of hurry because they've double-booked something else afterward, without telling you. If they'd let me know we'd plan a different sort of trip. Instead I'm supposed to nail the throttles? Not any more I won't.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

And negatively influenced a number of other potential customers. Good warning, sorry you ran into such trouble.

I find it's useful to say my equipment has died and I need to reinstall on totally new hardware. There's usually a mechanism for this. A bit late for that now, but I hold no guilt over lying to these idiots for the flaming hoops they think they can make us jump through. I'm all for making a profit but not when it comes to punishing your actual customers, ones who have shown willingness to actually purchase from you. The pirates aren't EVER going to buy, nor will the tire-kickers. Meanwhile serious customers get put through all manner of hassles. Stupid.

This is also why I'm not at all eager to update any of my Navionics charts. They won't tell me what areas have been updated. I'm supposed to just shell out $200 because they call them new charts? Baloney. Same deal with the nav disc updates in the car. Hell, those seem to actually get worse for business listings. If they can't take the time to scrub the database properly then I certainly won't shell out $200 for nothing. But I suppose there are enough suckers and at that price it must be profitable. I guess that's the tactic, over-price it and hope to gouge enough idiots along the way.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Bill,

That's basically how I feel! The sad part for them, is that they really did lose a lot of potential sale dollars from me. I've bought five Garmin GPS's in my life, none of them cheap, the system I had in the 230SX (the 276C with charts, auto maps, depsounder, transducer etc) cost me over $1500 when it was all said and done.

NEVER again!

It is just laziness on their part, it has nothing to do with "it can't be done" just that "It won't be done".

Wish I had thought about using the "my GPS died" line... I never thought I would get a hassle in the first place.

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Brett DiMichele

Thanks for the input on the fuel flow sensor Bill-

I have only been boating for a couple of years and this is my first boat, which I never dreamed I would enjoy as much as I do. I am afraid I am an info junkie when it comes to operating craft in changing conditions- as an aircraft pilot part of the game when you are burning fuel you pay for yourself is to get from point a to point b as fast and cheap as possible, so I am afraid I feel deprived as a boat pilot if I dont have gauges to scan while enroute.

Your post confirms why I enjoy boating so much- it is much the same challenge as aviation with the changing wind and waves and traffic. Manuvering even my small boat in a wicked changing wind into a dock is an incredibly similar challenge to landing on a runway in similar conditions. I love it.

But reading your comments about passengers and remembering my passenger friends complain "I thought flying was supposed to be faster" when I decide to delay returning home a day because of weather really confirms the similarities to me. Some people- go figure.

Anyway, I suspect you are dead on with respect with the reality of saving very much if anything at all, especially for a boat with only one engine, but for now it will give this newbie geek something (else)to play with.

Regards,
Wags
07 258

Funny to hear the analogies are similar for private planes. At least docking the boat is only likely to hurt your wallet! But then you're already familiar with 'wallet pain' if you've dealt with plane ownership. It's about the only transportation hobby more expensive than boats.

I hear re being an info junkie. There's a lot of ways to overdo the technology. I've hooked up everything short of the engine figures, my year of Crusader 6.0L engines don't have it on the engine and a 3rd party box is beaucoup dinero. Ethernet into the chartplotter, serial into NMEA, wifi router, chart software on the laptop, etc. In the end the only thing I really need is what was already present in the chartplotter: depth, speed, temp and the chart details. Go figure. The PC chartplotting stuff is interesting but unless we're planning a full days-long trip it really doesn't serve much purpose. Yeah, it's interesting to plan router and stuff but in the end the trips are more 'seat of the pants' than anything planned. That makes it a much more 'stress-busting' endeavor, for us anyway.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista