Which Radar System

[Broadbill]

I have read all the sales pitches with respect to various radars. They all say they are the best. Ok, so I want an open array system that will show me clearly what I need to see in snow storms, fog and at night. Which make and model do you suggest? Please help.

[David M]

For pleasure boats...Garmin.

[Broadbill]

Thanks, but this is a fishing charter boat for Lakes Ontario and Erie. Commercial traffic exiting from the Welland Canal into either lake at some of the fishing hotspots as well as a lot of smaller vessels can be a problem. I was considering the Furuno 1945.

[David M]

Furuno is excellent. It is the most common brand on commercial fishing boats because of its reliability. Not as good bang for the buck wise. I have a Furuno MFD-BB on my research vessel. Furuno's customer support is excellent.

You will want your display be AIS capable.

[Nicholson58]

If you care about power consumption I recommend broadband. If you have a chart-plotter you should consider the manufacturer's compatable unit in order to overlay the output.

[Broadbill]

Thanks. Then it's Furuno. Now I just have to figure out how to spend the other 20k on the rest of the refit. lol

[Broadbill]

power consumption is not an issue. Kubota diesel generator will handle everything on board if need be. I need an integrated system and wanted to start with the most reliable radar unit I could find first. Cost is not as important for this venture as reliability. A long time ago I survived a 50mph gail on Lake Ontario. The date was November 10, 1975.
I was much younger and foolish then.