Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Single Post - Chartplotter & Radar

sandy daugherty · 22-07-2008, 18:02

While there might be more expensive sailing instruments, Raymarine hits the spot in terms of price and performance. but....

When it comes to electronic navigation, Opinions vary, Hans! (anybody who doesn't have one is probably just plain boring!) I am biased toward Garmin even though I have owned both brands for navigation.

As of five minutes ago, Boating & Fishing Forum - The Hull Truth has 1898941 posts in 183026 threads across 49 forums. There are 82164 registered users. It has 30,000 daily hits. The electronics forum has had several strings comparing the Radars and MARPA functions of Garmin and Raymarine chartplotters. The consensus is that Garmin is superior. It is also less expensive and simpler to install, and the user interface is much better. Similarly, Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog (which is far more technical) has questioned the accuracy or useability of Raymarine's MARPA function, but finds even Garmin's least expensive radar implements MARPA very well. Many of Panbo's contributors are professional mariners. Read to the end of the current discussion to get the final word.

This is not to say that Raymarine's MARPA is inferior; only that Garmin's is preferrable. After all, there aren't many people around who can compare the two on the same boat at the same time! [but they would be my kind of nut for sure!]

22-07-2008, 18:02	#8
sandy daugherty Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: near Annapolis Boat: PDQ 36 "Page 83" Posts: 772	While there might be more expensive sailing instruments, Raymarine hits the spot in terms of price and performance. but.... When it comes to electronic navigation, Opinions vary, Hans! (anybody who doesn't have one is probably just plain boring!) I am biased toward Garmin even though I have owned both brands for navigation. As of five minutes ago, Boating & Fishing Forum - The Hull Truth has 1898941 posts in 183026 threads across 49 forums. There are 82164 registered users. It has 30,000 daily hits. The electronics forum has had several strings comparing the Radars and MARPA functions of Garmin and Raymarine chartplotters. The consensus is that Garmin is superior. It is also less expensive and simpler to install, and the user interface is much better. Similarly, Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog (which is far more technical) has questioned the accuracy or useability of Raymarine's MARPA function, but finds even Garmin's least expensive radar implements MARPA very well. Many of Panbo's contributors are professional mariners. Read to the end of the current discussion to get the final word. This is not to say that Raymarine's MARPA is inferior; only that Garmin's is preferrable. After all, there aren't many people around who can compare the two on the same boat at the same time! [but they would be my kind of nut for sure!] Last edited by sandy daugherty; 22-07-2008 at 18:11. Reason: toned down my raging jingoism.