Just got our 1994 31 Open late this summer. We really love it! It has old electronics in it and we want to upgrade. We use the boat for cruising as well as fishing on the Great Lakes. I'm looking for recommendations on an auto pilot/fishfinder/gps combo that will work well with this boat. Any input is appreciated!
Thanks in advance!!
(10-03-2018, 08:51 AM)mac311 Wrote: [ -> ]Just got our 1994 31 Open late this summer. We really love it! It has old electronics in it and we want to upgrade. We use the boat for cruising as well as fishing on the Great Lakes. I'm looking for recommendations on an auto pilot/fishfinder/gps combo that will work well with this boat. Any input is appreciated!
Thanks in advance!!
If I were to upgrade all of my electronics right now. It would be all Garmin products. Their very user friendly and by staying with the same vendor, support becomes much easier.
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I have Furuno TZ touch 12s, they are great but way more difficult to use then the Garmin units I had on my previous boat. All depends on what you need. Good luck with your project.
I just upgraded all my old Raymarine to twin Garmin touch screens and Radar. I have had the Garmin products on my last 5 boats and never had a problem. They are very user friendly and quick on screen changes and menus. The only thing I don't like is having to use the Garmin Blue Charts. They are fine and everything but lag behind some of the other Navionics charts. There is even a new chip company that is doing some really cool stuff with the depth contours off the coasts (I don't recall their name) but those don't work with the Garmin products. Even with that, I still like the Garmin product.
Can't go wrong with Furuno or Garmin. I went with Furuno Because of their customer support and because they seem to be favored by the commercial fleet. IMO after looking at both brands Furuno came across as having the highest level of sophistication and features but Garmin seemed to be more user friendly. If you are able, find a dealer or some neighbor boats that have them installed and play around with them. I would also recommend doing research on whether to go Doppler/solid state radar or traditional/x-band radar. If I had to do it all over I would go for solid state.
Garmin is adding integration with Navionics’s mapping in February. As many know Garmin purchased Navionics a year ago, so I’m excited to see the improvement in their mapping this year.
I tend to agree with JCLARK003 as I have owned FURUNO equipment (Radar, GPS/Chartplotter, Electronic Compass & Fish Finder) for more than 30 years upgrading as needed on several boats. Always found FURUNO radar to be the best IMO... Initially was a NORTHSTAR proponent (also more than 30 years) and recently switched to GARMIN (7612).. Great GPS/Chartplotter and easy to use... Not familiar with GARMIN radar as I still have FURUNO radar on the boat (38 Open)... If I decide to upgrade I will take a serious look at FURUNO as well as GARMIN. Have learned over the years to steer clear of Raymarine equipment based on input from friends that have had it. Seems to be more difficult to use and less reliable unless changes have been made recently to improve both concerns. M2C
I was aware that Garmin had purchased Navionics but didn't know if they were actually planning on integrating it or just buying the competition.
Furuno definitely has a better radar. The best in the industry from what I have seen, but you do need a degree to figure out how to work it. I thought about doing a split system but wanted to have the radar overlay my plotter screen.
NAVICO purchased NORTHSTAR several years back along with others and stopped making NORTHSTAR units although they integrated some of its functionality into the SIMRAD line. I.E. SIMRAD is now part of NAVICO as well as LOWRANCE. Not sure if GARMIN purchased Navionics but assume they did based on the prior post.... I have 2 screens on my 38 Open. One is a FURUNO 1933 open array radar w/GPS Chartpoltter & Fishfinder.. I overlay the radar returns on the chartplotter of the FURUNO. I use my GARMIN 7612 as the primary GPS/Chartplotter for navigation purposes and integrated the FURUNO 1933, the GARMIN 7612, and the SIMRAD Autopilot via NMEA 183.. When I select a Waypoint (or Route) on the GARMIN data is sent to the Autopilot and the FURUNO. The destination waypoint is displayed on the FURUNO chart/radar display and is used by the Autopilot when AUTO is selected... All in all a great system that really works well.. Should the FURUNO fail I have a decision to make regarding wanting to have a uniform helm (2 GARMIN units w/Radar) or purchasing a new FURUNO that excels when it come to radar.... Oh well, that's life. M2C
I updated my 31 with all new Furuno last season, a pair of TZT 12s, with Radar and satellite weather Hub, and Autopilot. I’m very pleased with the setup, Garmin is easier to use but once you spend some time on the furunos they are amazing units for the Great Lakes.