NEED A CHART PLOTTER GPS...ANY FOR SALE? I bought one 440 s...Garmin..may keep discussion open for others.

[LOLA]

OK Folks,

I'm in the market for a used Chart Plotter GPS....Any for Sale?

West marine says they think the GPSMAP 440...US COASTAL MARINE CHARTS...MODEL 8731754...$599.99 IN THEIR CATALOGUE PAGE 48 AT the bottom....would serve me.

Advice please.

Lola s/v Suvarov.

[LOLA]

At 7:17pm on August 6th, 2008, Lola said…
Hi Peter..remember Im a newby...now...what i understand is i have Datamarine transducer on my boat...i bought a garmin 440s which also has fish finder. Now i am told the fish finder will not work and I will use just the GPS..Its not out of Box yet...W Marine...may take back...so My question...I could just get a hand held GPS ahd use my own depth meter at the helm that works...maybe make a case for it..?.I'm so confused

[Tina Lautenslager]

I have a Garman Chart Plotter 545 for Sale for $475.00. I originally paid 699.00 for it and its only about 2 years old. Please contact me if you are interested at [e-mail]

[Phil Prater]

LOLA
Go ahead and spring for the transducer for the 440 you bought. These are the same as I have on a 498 and are very very good, and accurate. Have a keel offset function so you can read actual depth, or depth under the keel. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having two depth finders. The Garmin wil shoot through the hull, so no need to make another hole below the water line. They may have gone up a little, but I think when I got mine, they were 50 bucks. By the way I think you made a good decision. I know the Garmin has extremely good tech support if needed, has all the charts built in, and is much more user friendly than Ray Marine stuff.

[LOLA]

Thank you Phil

[h]

Lola,

How much do you want to spend?

I have a Garmin 540 (5" screen), but after using it for a while, the screen seemed too small for a longer distance passage planning.

If your budget allows, try to get a larger size unit.

Additionally, it is best to have it at the helm, if you have to navigate around shallows or difficult to navigate passage. So, at least you can try your best to place your boat away from danger.

This adds to installation complications, and cost. So not a good advise if you want to cut down the budget, or locate it below.

If you do not go far from your home slip, a paper chart is best, and more economical.

h

[LOLA]

Thanks, I got a Garmin 420 s

[Terri]

How do u like it?? Thinking about that model for Twizzled.

[LOLA]

I like it. I don't use the s as my transducer is a Raymarine, and I need to put a Garmin Transducer on. I do have a depth finder on the pulpit already so i am fine how i have it set up. If I going off shore , I plan to get a spare hand held....not been on the boat due to my travels to family in Minn, and Lisa's job so busy during tourist season.

[Peter Kafer]

I'm using the Garmin 540S on Now or Never! I mounted it on the pedestal at the helm. It's great! The reason I got the 540 was that it comes pre-loaded with Bahamas charts (good charts, BTW and more trustworthy than Raymarine's Navionics for the Bahamas). I would not use any chart plotter to navigate around shallows and coral heads. Nothing can compete with visual navigation. I also use paper charts--we take a fix every hour and plot it on paper. Not really necessary for coastal sailing, but a good habit.

[h]

Lola,

If you have a Garmin 420S, the S means fish and depth Sounder. So you should already have the Depth Sounder sensor. It is part of the Fish Sounder.

They are usually the type for motor boat, where they mount on the vertical face of a transom.

They can be mounted inside the hull on a sailboat without drilling another hole. Your accuracy may suffer slightly, due to the air gap between the transducer and the hull inside surface as well as the balsa core that you may have. But it is useable depth sounder.

Terri,

The Garmin 540 or 545 with or without S is OK. If you plan to use it doing coastal stuff, and do not have to make a route that is very long. The small screen does not allow you to have an overview of a large area. Hence it is hard to make a longer distance route. But it is aimed at the coastal market, and it fits into that market well.

I would say it would be fine if all you want to do is to sail for 6 - 8 daylight hours at say 5 knots. That is 30 - 40 NM route.

Now I am equiping my boat for longer distances, I find it too limiting. I like to be able to see the maps in a reasonably large scale, and make a route that is longer. Seeing the same area in many different smaller screen is just not the same.

So, in summary smaller screen is good for shorter distances, and larger screen for larger distances, for comnvenience reason. My personal view only, for what is worth.

The good thing about the small Garmins, it includes the map with the plotter. This is a real bonus.

h

[LOLA]

Price was considered for me...West Marine gave to me as a good deal. Yes I already ave a depth sounder build into my boat. I had the chart plotter rigged w a cigarette lighter that I had installed in my cockpit.

[Suky Cannon]

h ---- I love charts, maps, satellite pics...I need to see the big picture, so I'm curious how big a screen you are talking about...
i've never had a GPS or chart plotter in my local coastal area and just finished a charter on Catalina 34 without as well. Always dead reckoning and cross bearings. But this last cruise I did with my sisters on a bareboat charter without GPS or radar, and when the fog rolled I was wishing for both. We just waited it out. Though even with GPS and radar, I wouldn't leave in heavy fog, once it's cleared to 1/2 mile though, it would be nice. Decided, now I would like to have at least handheld one.