Economical Radar / Comments?

[MaizieDerrick]

aloha, trying to outfit our schooner ceceline for the trip to the northwest this summer... knowing the waters of the b.c. coastline and the fog in the summer months we are looking at purchasing a radar.. we would prefer to buy a new radar at a reasonable cost and something that stands alone.. we have so many other things to buy and looking through the marine catalogs one gets sort of blown away by it all..anyway the furuno1623 looks promising for 1300 dollars..anyone have any experience with this model,everything else seems twice the price?..derrick

[David M]

I would have a look at the inexpensive Furuno's, Garmins and JRC's. Raymarine may be going out of business. You may also be able to pick up a used one on Craigslist or Ebay.

[idpnd]

There was a thread the other day; the problem seems to be that the boating electronics mafia is intent on selling radars as part of their plotter packages. A cursory glance at some online shops has shown that furunos seem to be just about the only standalone radar product left. I'm also in the market for one, so I'd be rather pleased with any pointers..

[Hudson Force]

We've spent a couple summers in Maine with our Furuno & it served us well.
when the fog lifts we see most of the lobster boats here with Furunos too. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

[sarafina]

We have just picked up a used, but in excellent condition (virtually unused actually) for $300. Screen is smallish I think- maybe 6" x 10" but crystal clear. It's an Autohelm, which was purchased by Raymarine. We felt that used, given the lack of moving parts, was the best for us. Like you we were not shooting for a high speed integrated system. Used made it easier to avoid the electronic octopi, with their multiple electronic tentacles...

Had to have a missing cable fabricated but that turned out to be easy.