www.iFourWinns.com

Lets say you have a clean slate and want to get a MFD, radar, depth, and vhs radio possibly with AIS.

Its a challenge to determine what brand and technology is the way to go.

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

I went with a Lowrance HDS9 Gen2 Touch with Structure Scan and depth built-in that I've been installing over the winter. If I needed radar, I'd go with the matching unit for this.
As far as VHF radios, I've got my old Kenwood TM-v700 that I pulled from my truck when I upgraded to a TM-v710. It does UHF as well. For the Marine VHF, I put in a very nice Standard Horizon GX1600B. It flush mounted to the switch panel quite nicely but won't do AIS. Their GX2150 does though, and it looks almost identical.

I bought the Lowrance HDS8 with Structure Scan and the Insight mapping option a couple years ago. I like it a lot. I can add radar (if I had an arch), fuel flow and various other temp, quantity, and engine sensors as desired. It can be tied into an AIS unit and the VHF radio also. I have used it to keep track of distance traveled by day, by trip, and by the boating season.

The Gen 2 units came out shortly after I bought this unit, and it would be nice to have a touch screen. The process to add text such as waypoints is a little slow on the one I got.

This photo is what we saw with the Lowrance Structure Scan of a shipwreck in the Lake Superior Apostle Islands area. This shipwreck is the Lucerne, a 195 foot wooden sailing iron ore freighter that was launched in 1873, and sank in a November 1886 storm. We dove on this site 3 1/2 years ago and saw an anchor winch gear with a casting date of 1851, a decade before the U.S. Civil War. Cold fresh water has preserved this wreck surprisingly well.

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Raymarine Spring specials.

http://www.raymarine.com/uploadedFiles/ ... Coupon.pdf

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Sweet! Thanks Cap'n. I decieded on raymarine after goint back and forth between that and Garmin. And I made it by one day for the rebate. From March 3 - June 3, and I purchased March 4th.

_________________
Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

I agree I looked at the raymarine stuff and if you are building a network that is the way to go. I ended up going with the standard horizon cpn700i. But I really have no other used than the plotter.

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

I had a Garmin first and than tried Lowrance and Raymarine. I went right back to Garmin! I have a 740, 740S, a non-Garmin electronic compass, HD16 radar, VHF200, two Garmin fuel flow sensors and a AIS-300. All connected via NMEA 2000. They all work well with each other.

Raymarine was to me, negative logic, but it was well built. Lowrance support was far below Garmin and was really made for smaller boats.

I have asked that same question around the club I belong to. I got mixed answers, but some one said, "there all good, it just depends on which one has the best unit at that time."