Chartplotter replacement!

[Chawes]

Hello with all the technical advancements it's hard to keep up. Last year we cruised windward with an older Garmin GPS chartplotter 4". And an IPhone 6 with Navionics. I would like to replace the Garmin.with something like the Navionics but on the helm. I don't know which company has Touchscreen chartplotter with Navionics software.
8 " would be nice. I also would like it to link to VHF radio and AIS with display.
If someone can point me in the right direction I would be greatill.
Thanks
Clary
Morgan Catalina Classic 41

[IdoraKeeper]

Take a look at Raymarine. I just got an MFD preloaded with Navionics. It does wifi as well.

[Chawes]

Which model?
Thanks

[Neptune's Gear]

B&G Vulcan 7 or 9 inch. 9 inch does radar if you want, 7 does not. These are touch screen only - if you prefer buttons, the Zeus 3 has both. IMO better than the Raymarine, better software for sailing. :-)

[Chawes]

Thanks I looked into Ray Marine multi function display. Good lord are they crazy expensive!

[Neptune's Gear]

PC and opencpn is the cheapest!

[ozsailer]

Hi Clarry,
we did a full electronics upgrade no so long ago. After much research we went for a B & G 9" MFD. I had a smaller A series Raymarine chartplotter but now its like chalk and cheese. The wife and I have found that the B and G unit is very intuitive and very very easy to use. I was laying in routes within ten minutes of installing the unit.
Ours is intergrated with the AIS via NMEA 2000 and can be fully intergrated with our motors, depth, speed and our Fusion sound system etc. It requires the Navionics charts which are easy to install on a micro SD card and can be easily updated. The wife loves it and probably uses a lot of the gizmos more than me. It also comes with a full instruction manual unlike the Raymarine model.


Greg and Sue
Sunshine
Lagoon 410

[Neptune's Gear]

Sorry Greg, but the B&G unit does not "require" navionics - it can use Cmap as well. There are 2 substantially different B&G mfds, the Vulcan and the Zeus ( currently version 3, but Zeus 2 still available while there is stock, so good deals to be had). I'm a marine electronics dealer, I do both B&G and Raymarine. I prefer the B&G products. You made a good choice.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

Sorry Greg, but the B&G unit does not "require" navionics - it can use Cmap as well. There are 2 substantially different B&G mfds, the Vulcan and the Zeus ( currently version 3, but Zeus 2 still available while there is stock, so good deals to be had). I'm a marine electronics dealer, I do both B&G and Raymarine. I prefer the B&G products. You made a good choice.

B&G (and Simrad) will accept a great variety of cartography -- I even use NV Charts raster charts with mine.

My two B&G Zeus plotters (a first gen touch and first gen non-touch) replaced stone age Raymarine Pathfinder MFD's. They have some great features, and have a good interface, but they have been quite buggy, prone to crashes, and laggy. The lagginess is a real PITA sometimes. They have been somewhat better after updating the operating system, but still disappointing.

I would be sure that the newer ones have overcome these problems, before going with B&G.

My old Raymarine plotters were bulletproof and never crashed once in many years.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

B&G (and Simrad) will accept a great variety of cartography -- I even use NV Charts raster charts with mine.

My two B&G Zeus plotters (a first gen touch and first gen non-touch) replaced stone age Raymarine Pathfinder MFD's. They have some great features, and have a good interface, but they have been quite buggy, prone to crashes, and laggy. The lagginess is a real PITA sometimes. They have been somewhat better after updating the operating system, but still disappointing.

I would be sure that the newer ones have overcome these problems, before going with B&G.

My old Raymarine plotters were bulletproof and never crashed once in many years.

Are you using "Tracking"?

We discovered serious lag issues when we created tracks on our Zeus2. Once we disabled all tracking, the lag is completely gone. We can now zoom, scroll, measure and do all other functions smoothly.

As to crashing.. Our Zeus2 only crashed when I had network errors. Once I solved the network issues, the crashing completely stopped.

[Chawes]

Thanks I will definitely look into B&G!