Hi Guys - damn 'puter power supply blew up last week, had to put the thing in a new case before it would go again, got skunked springer fishn' too - no fish and no 'puter - awful.

Anyway, been drooling over those GPS units with the maps built in - hate dinking around with waypoints and don't trust them anyway - but that icon of your boat navigating down the waterway - way cool, gotta have that

Anyway, which one is the best for the money? And do the one's that say "world map" or "detailed map of North America" depict Canada around north Vancouver Island very well? Are these things worth it? Thanks

type in GPS in the search feature, lots of info there

Spawnout, I've got the handheld Lowrance WorldMap (I think the model is the 190). It's pretty handy and the map will cover all of Vancouver Island. It won't cover it in very much detail tho--you need to buy the additional software which cost over a hundred bucks last time I checked. Probably worth it if you need more detail.

My overall opinion: I wouldn't buy a GPS without the mapping feature. It makes it that much easier to use. Good luck!

Dan

Yeah, duh, search The Garmin Map76 seems to be getting the most votes, and a couple of my bud's have Garmins, although they are older and w/o mapping capabilities, but they have never had them crap out, so that's the way I'll go. Great info - love this place

garmin map 76 my vote, for someone who has never used one i still have a lot to learn but am totaly amazed at the features it has, now my wife tells me i have no excuse for taking the wrong turn coming back the tavern, it great, doug

Hey Spawnout!

After our heated debate on this subject at Clifton Channel (thanks for not bringing the beer buddy!) I returned my Garmin GPS76 for a Garmin MapGPS76. I hope they send along a 13 year old kid to help me understand the damn thing!

5000D

PS Did you try 4th Dimensions for the power supply rebuilt on your PC?

I got the Lawrance X-15MT. Wow! what a great unit.The screen is big, it's totally easy to operate. Just like my computer, it asks you a question, and you press 'Enter'. Man, the map unit is great. I downloaded all of Washington including roads, all channel markers, parks, ect and still have lots more room in memory. My vote---Lowrance! It will make you smile

I understand that these things are nice to have. But does everyone really need one. I only go fishing on land and I never seem to get too far into the woods. I got lost/left out in the woods only once. About 25 yrs ago. I usually plan where I'm going to go. So is this a toy or a necessity. I was just wondering.

I just purchased a Magellan Meridian Marine off Ebay for 100 bucks lees than the retail at Boaters World, WestMarine, or the other retail outlets. I have only one complaint...the cheapos give you the info manual on CD ROM and you have to print it out. However, the quick start guid enclosed with it was enough info to get me started. I love the fact I can mark new deadheads in Clifton, find my EXACT spot to anchor at the Eagle's Nest, or follow the channel out of Deep River in the fog (which is tricky for a novice like me without this unit).

Old Man, I'd say they are not a total neccessity, but their value in terms of safety is fairly substantial. In low visibility you can use your senses to look around the immediate vicinity for problems rather than worrying about your heading or whether you are close to the correct bouy). Its all right there on the screen and pretty damn accurate to boot.

My buddy and I have been using his, it comes in real handy while floating new rivers as you can mark the put ins/takeouts and know where you are in relationship to them every time. It is also handy for marking danger spots on rivers you may be less familiar...You can also determine the length of a float which, on rivers that wander or oxbow alot can vary drastically from the road miles...

Now, on a river I am intimately familiar with I don't see much point in it really.

old man, you say you mostly bank fish, how many times have you found a new spot gone back the next year to find things don't quite look the same, with the gps no second guessing your dead nuts on. and when its busy being first at the hole can make all the differance in the world, doug

Well,I just had to have my say. Most of the places that I fish I have marked in my memory banks. I got lost in the woods once,but it wasn't my fault. My buddy was having such a good time fishing and didn't want to leave. So because of him it got tooooo dark and we couldn't find the path out. So we spent a night in the woods. Boy does it evet get dark out in the woods.

Hey, I got on the Garmin website to look at their shait, and they have displays of their various software map packages that you can cruise through to look at details - real cool. But I noticed one thing right off - they do not have any jetties or breakwaters on their maps. Not even the Columbia or Grays Harbor jetties that have been there over 100 years, and not even the breakwater at Neah Bay - I mean, if it was foggy and you didn't know what you were doing it tells you that it's wide open between Waadah Island and Koithleh Point Now what's the deal with that

Last fall I was fishing the south channel of Grays Harbor in the evening - this is a place I know real well - and the fog wind crept up on me - bad enough that I was navigating pretty much by feel and depth sounder and was amazed I made it back to Aberdeen at all. One of the reasons I want one of these! But that night a boat fishing the ocean didn't make it - cracked into the north jetty at high speed, blew up and killed them all. I figured they must have punched in some bogus GPS coordinates, but now I wonder if they were following one of these Garmin maps? Anyway, do the other companies bother to include jetties in their software, or is this just a plot by PETA to euthanize all us cruel fishermen

A cool very useful feature of the GPS's is the track back feature. One morning last year at Sekiu we woke up to find very dense fog. We just used our GPS to follow our trail from the previous day and fish the same path. Worked great! Point being.... If you are concerned with unmarked obstructions, you can always choose to follow your path back the way you came out.

What ever you get make sure it is WAAS enabled. Increses your accuracy from 60' to 6'.

spawnout,

i've always used garmin gps's. i have a gpsmap175 and one of the fixed mount gps's for my big boat. they both accept the garmin g-charts... which do show the waadah island breakwater and the breakwater around the marina. for marine navigation with a gps, most of the mapping features besides the g-charts (for garmin products) are worthless. roads don't make much difference out in the ocean, but a map showing wash rocks can.

for garmin products and saltwater use, i'd strongly recommend buying gps's that are g-chart compatible.

chris

Spawnout. If you want something really nice check out a software package for your laptop computer called Nobeltec. They are based in Portland and the software cost about $600. Your laptop then interfaces with your GPS and the results are hard to beat. The best part is having all the maps on your laptop so you can plan all your trips from the comfort of your home or work.

Spawnout, all the Garmin Blue chip/Blue chart (cd-rom)cartography is going to have the same info as a N.O.A.A. chart, if its on a chart, its on the software.

Topwater, As good as the G-chart cartography is, it has been replaced by Blue chip/Blue chart, very similar. Smaller chip, updated info.

One thing that should be mentioned, as good as the current technology is, gps should never be substituted for a chart and a compass. I've sold gps units to guys that have told me they don't know how to plot a course on a chart, what do these guys plan on doing when the fog rolls in at Swiftsure and there gps takes a dive on them?

akkings, how much for a 182 garmin ?

B1, 182 sells for $674.99 for the gray scale unit or $999.99 for the color unit, the Blue chip sells for $149.99