Any GPS Recommendations for Pacific NW?

[Adams]

Bought a 7 year old 30 foot crusier with no electronices this summer and need to start outfitting. Moored on Lake Washington but we want to do the San Juan's etc. and looking for recommendation for unit to flush mount in dash. Has genset and twin 5.7L. I have no marine GPS exprience so ability to quickly read screen, see in bright daylight, ease of use, internal vs. external antenna, are obvious issues. There are too many choices and looking to narrow the gap. Also, should I upgrade the VHF radio to a newer digital model?

 

[95yj]

Re: Any GPS Recommendations for Pacific NW?

I have a Lowrance LMS-525c GPS/Dual Freq Sonar and love it. The charts it uses are the Navionics Gold and are really pretty good. I have an express cruiser and have it mounted to the top of the dash behind the windshield and even with the bimini off, I can read the screen in bright sunlight. Only downside is that you might be looking for a slightly bigger display since you're in a 30 footer. You can get kits to flush mount them. Since you're going to mount it in the dash and you probably have a lid over your head, you'll want an external antenna as the GPS signal is pretty much line of site. The Lowrances are pretty intuitive about base functions, flipping between GPS / Sonar / Both, etc. As with all the other units, they have so many features that to get the real benefit out of them you have to RTM.

Regarding your radio, if you just need VHF and it works, why bother upgrading. If you want some of the new features of the newer radios like DSC, triple watch, favorite ch scan or whatnot, then think about upgrading.