GPS Plotters for small RIBS

Chris · 31 December 2006, 15:28

I guess this is one of those questions that may have been asked a few times but which colour GPS Plotters do you rate for use with small Ribs I guess the 5" type would be preferable.

For instance on ebay you can buy either a

NAVMAN TF6500 TM Color Chartplotter/Fishfinder Combo £339
NAVMAN T5505 5" TFT Colour WAAS GPS Chartplotter £269
GARMIN 182 5inch COLOUR GPS CHART PLOTTER £295

I understand that the plotters are all pretty good however it is the mapping software they use that is what really counts. What have you guys found to work well?

Chris

Jono Garton · 31 December 2006, 16:17

i like these - NAVMAN T5505 5" TFT Colour WAAS GPS Chartplotter

Jono

Biggles · 31 December 2006, 16:32

In my opinion Chartplotters for RIBs are good if you accept they have limitations.
They are no good when its bright in an open RIB and you can't read them when bouncing around. But they are good for many other things such as when its reduced visibility etc.

al40 · 31 December 2006, 17:10

I've had a Lowrance 3500C plotter for over a year now and find it great. Sunlight visibility is good and it seems really solid. Repeatedly gets covered in saltwater and no evidence of any water ingress. The screen res was better than equivalent Garmin (and I think screen was a bit bigger) which swayed my decision. Accepts Navionics or Lowrance's own charts.

Agreed - reading it at 30Knts when bouncing around is not easy!

Chris · 31 December 2006, 17:30

I guess one of the considerations is the cost of charts the Navman deal of £245.58 for the MAX Megawide chart which gives you the whole of the West UK and Ireland seems a good one I think with Garmin you pay about $260 for the Bluechart Europe CD which includes one region unlock code such as the english channel and then for each region you want to unlock you pay more ? how much are the unlock codes I wonder?

Admitedly I can't see that I would need much more then the Channel for the moment however as I got more adventurous who knows!!

Chris

Jono Garton · 31 December 2006, 17:49

What about this http://www.standardhorizon.com/ VHF & Chart Plotter in one + fish finder as an option.

Jono

alt · 31 December 2006, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono Garton

What about this http://www.standardhorizon.com/ VHF & Chart Plotter in one + fish finder as an option.

Jono

Great idea in theory, but what if something breaks? You are then stuck without GPS, VHF & Fishfinder... doh!

vince · 31 December 2006, 18:49

We have the Navman 5505 and yes its a bit small at speed, but you can blow up the display to include speed, heading and depth, or whatever you want on the screen really. A very usefull feature that means you can glance at it to see whats happening. When we first got ours, we found they did mist up, but then we stopped using the supplied white covers and no more misting! We use the navbus which you buy seperatly so that all the units `talk` to each other and display info on all the screens. Our charts came off ebay, whole NE coast for £70, so not bad. Found them to be reliable and good value.

Biggles · 31 December 2006, 19:00

Vince,

Why did the white cover stop it misting. Do you know ?

vince · 31 December 2006, 19:07

Not a clue, maybe the lack of sunlight to the screen or something, but now we dont use them, no more probs. They are a snug fit when you push them on, so humidity could be getting trapped in there.

al40 · 01 January 2007, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris1573

I guess this is one of those questions that may have been asked a few times but which colour GPS Plotters do you rate for use with small Ribs I guess the 5" type would be preferable.

Chris

You can download simulator of Lowrance plotter at link below.

http://www.lowrance.com/Software/PCS...3500C_demo.asp

I also looked at the combined plotter / depth but wasn't sure about "all eggs in one basket".

Interesting that going to lowrance.co.uk brings up garmin's UK website!

Cookee · 02 January 2007, 09:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono Garton

What about this http://www.standardhorizon.com/ VHF & Chart Plotter in one + fish finder as an option.

Jono

......... But that is the US site and not available or legal in the UK ............ at least for now!

Pete7 · 02 January 2007, 15:11

Chris, I have had the Garmin 188c for 3 years and it get the thumbs up. The 182c has been replaced with the newer chart system by Garmin hence the bargin price. However if you don't need the latest functions then older bluechart system is good. The Marine Superstore are doing some bargins at the moment on Garmins and a chart covering Southern England/ Channel/ Northern France and Channel Islands is £100.

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread....ghlight=garmin

Not sure about Navman stuff, two fuel computers have both failed through water ingress, but lots of folk on here have Navman and like them.

Pete

Chris · 02 January 2007, 21:38

Navman seems to have a number of threads focused on negative not positive aspects which is always a bit concerning.

Chris

Rogue Wave · 04 January 2007, 00:30

I really like the Garfmin range and I think they are more suitable for ribs than the Navmans however so it's a tough choice.

If you had a merc mariner engine with Smartcraft guages then it would have to be Navman

AndrewH · 04 January 2007, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

I really like the Garmin range

Ditto. I've just taken delivery of a 178 Plotter/Sounder and am very happy with it. Marine superstore are doing a great deal on these units at the moment - see here

These units even include the transom mount sounder. I know the arguments about all eggs in one basket, but they seem like really nice bits of kit.

Regards

Andrew

Neal · 13 January 2007, 17:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Ditto. I've just taken delivery of a 178 Plotter/Sounder and am very happy with it. Marine superstore are doing a great deal on these units at the moment - see here

These units even include the transom mount sounder. I know the arguments about all eggs in one basket, but they seem like really nice bits of kit.

Regards

Andrew

Andrew have you used this yet out on the water what's it like. Thanks

AndrewH · 14 January 2007, 23:34

Neal

Sadly not yet - it only arrived 10 days ago and I ended up spending all last week in Seattle. Before I can really give it a good run I have the delightful task of running the sounder cable and the GPS ariel lead through the underfloor trunk on my Ribtec - Oh joy.

However I did run it up off the car battery whilst in the car and it seemed to do a reasonable job whilst driving around.

Looks a really nice toy - if you are local to Poole I can give you a shout once its wired up and you're welcome to have a blast around the harbour whilst we put it through its paces. Let me know if your interested

Andrew

Neal · 15 January 2007, 15:46

Thanks Andrew sounds good. I must try and sort this out soon. Last years and this years budget all blown on last yeas repairs So we were looking at them as a low cost option as i dont think we we will get out too much this year but want to get a little help with the navigation. I had hoped to pick up a second hand one if someone upgraded to colour.

trentsidetimbo · 15 January 2007, 16:16

The dual argument holds well when cockpit space is limited !!
Just purchased one of the 178m 's for the club RIB at 159 quid!

http://www.marine-super-store.com/po...artno=99158699

The colour one was tempting, but at £250 extra for the same animal with a colour screen, we can live with B/W
It replaces our old Garmin FFB 100 (well pleased with that we was)and Furuno GPS that got toasted last year!!
The dual frequency sounder included gives an excellent bottom picture and as divers, the fish finder confirms the presence of a wreck with life congregating around the viewed plot,,

Although the B/W version is discontinued, it still has the 1 year warranty and support and IMHO is excellent VFM....