Gps

[richiemoe]

I want to get a fish finder for my pontoon. Do I go with speed sensor or gps speed?

 

[dbblackburn]

Re: Gps

i feel the gps is very acurate for speed and also helps you in finding your way. i have a gpsmap60 from garmin and use it in the car woods and boat. i dont have any natical maps on mine but you can mark spots and follow tracks it makes to see where you drift and so on. i think it is a great thing to have mark your spot when you launch or where you dock at and can find your way back. helps if your out and gets dark on you.

 

[mike243]

Re: Gps

well from my first year of pontoon boating i came to realize speed dosent matter,knowing where i came from 8 hrs before when the sun went down was better .i already had a GPS i use for hunting so after looking at the offerings if fish finders with built in screens i decided it was trying to do too much & did neither very well.i only looked at units up to $400-$500 ,the big $$ would probaly work great but no way i could afford those after buying the toon & equiping it.i settled on a good fishfider for a little under $300,it might break down & become useless but my handheld gps will still be working,same thing for the gps,it might break but the fishfinder keeps on trucking.getting items repair now adays comes close to the purchase price as we have become a throwaway nation.so my answer is get a GPS or a fishfinder first then get the other when you can,have fun & stay safe,mike243

 

[EGlideRider]

Re: Gps

I agree with Mike that speed just isn't important on a pontoon. The GPS is the only way to go for accurate speed measurments.

I also like to have the fishfinder and GPS as separate units. If one function breaks, you replace that unit.

I have the Garmin 376C and love it but I don't think they make it anymore.

 

[jafo9]

Re: Gps

i use a garmin 76CSx. It's sortof waterproof and it floats. Useful for hiking as well. being portable also makes it easier to take home and download your tracks/waypoints that transfer nicely to google earth. i have a mount on the boat and one on my largest waverunner. don't know why they don't make the newer ones float. seems so logical to me. my lake gets up to almost 300ft deep. IPX7 doesn't do me much good at the bottom of the lake.