What kind of GPS, radar and fish finder would the perfect 25 foot center consule be decked out with?

:) 562 sounder or newer from Furuno!!!

21 mile radar from Furuno!!! they don't make the 16 mile any more!!!

North Star gps with chip!!! Can't go wrong!!! You can put all way points in from dock + many more features!!! ;) :cool:

There is so much to choose from..."best" is best determined by you and how you plan on using it. Check them out in person.

Garmin has the best maps...

I am getting north star gps...is it better to have all your electronics integrated into one system (and switch b/t screens) or have seperate monitors for each?

:) It all depends on the individuals preferance!!!

I prefer mine to be independent of each other!!!

I have the Northstar 951 There is so much that you could do with it that in my opinion would be much better with it's own monitor!!!

It 's not a recreational toy !!! It shows all your navigation aids; wrecks; land marks such as smoke stacks; radio antennas!!!

The cursor is a tool in itself!!! Put the cusor on a nav aid; ship wreck or stellwagon bank etc: and it gives you the name; lat/lon; bearing

That's just a few things that it does and i'm sure that the newer models do more!!!

When buying a Sounder you want to look at the Wrms of out put power, not watts. Mine is 600Wrms!!! Alot of the commercial guys have 1000Wrms and they can see a lobster pot line on the bottom!!!

Good luck!!! ;) :cool:

Originally posted by Fly Rod
:) It all depends on the individuals preferance!!!
Negative - it all depends on the individuals budget AND ability to hide it from da wife :eek5:

Originally posted by Fly Rod
21 mile radar from Furuno!!! they don't make the 16 mile any more!!!


Gee, thats a waste, not like you need a 21 mile range w/ radar.

I don't even think on the big racing sleds we use above a mile, unless we're looking for other boats in the fleet to see if they're ahead or behind us in the fog.

:) Lickwid!!! They don't make radar for Tonka Toys!!!
Your right about not needing the 21 mile radar but tell me where ya can buy a 10 or a 5 mile radar or less!!!!

On my boat I'm lucky to get a 5 mile range!!! If I only had a 20' mast!!!!

When I bought mine the lowest ya can go was the 16 mile radar!!!

Don't hide nutin from the wife John R !!!! Anyone that can burn up money in D ocean can't be on a budget!!! ;) :cool:

Look into JRC they make several models not sure on range but there price is great, good product.

There's no such thing as hiding anything from the wife. It's always a case of putting off the inevitable.....:D

:) Talked to my electronics guy and he says that Furuno brought back the 16 mile radar!!!!

Cost is about 1200 bucks

A JRC may be cheaper!!! A friend of mine has one

Originally posted by Fly Rod
:) Talked to my electronics guy and he says that Furuno brought back the 16 mile radar!!!!

Cost is about 1200 bucks

A JRC may be cheaper!!! A friend of mine has one


furuno 1623 is the 16mile radar - fyi

:) Missing Link: I bought 16 mile furuno three years ago when they were discontinuing them and the next step was the 21 and I also see that they have a 17 mile!!!

Doesn't make sence to be selling a 16 and a 17 mile radar from the same company!!! ;) :cool:

I run the Furuno 1623 it is typically dead on below 6-8 miles, anything over that I seem to get some false readings unless they are very large targets. A great radar unit for the price $1,100.00 delivered to my door.

179 I don't have radar but certainly wish I did. I'm just curious, in a heavy fog, flat calm, how fast are you comfortable going with the radar?

Also, will it pickup a floating log or other heavy object at the surface that could damage the hull?

:) 179:

If you are about ten feet high with your radar according to the scale you would only get about a 7 mile pick up, give or take one or two miles before the cone of arch hits the water!!! Also cold and warm air can play tricks on the radar!!! Weather affects the range of your target!!! Wind and sea return;Precipitation and Radar wave lenghts also play a role in effectiveness!!!
;) :cool:

Fish On-
When running in heavy fog I will always set my radar from 1/4 mile to 1-mile range, it picks up mostly everything including lobster pots. Every mile or so I slow to a troll and let the radar do a couple sweeps at 2-4 mile range, just to get an idea what is out there, the BI high speed ferry can bear down on you in a hurry. Don't know about the log in the water never ran into that. In the fog I don't like to run fast radar or not. I will say it has saved many fishing trips which the fog would have grounded me otherwise.

Fly Rod- It makes sense to me on the radar dome height. I can however pick up large targets outside that range if conditions are right ex. Tugs and Barges. I typically never have a need to adjust the range that high.

Good to know. Makes me want to get one even more. The fact that it picks up lobster traps makes me think it would pick up a floating log at least with some kind of signal. We see them a lot in the Merrimack floating out to sea. Some of them are enormous. If you do see one some time you might want to try approaching it as you might in the fog and see if there is anything on radar. It might give you an idea of what to look for. This is the scariest situation for me when boating. Even when visibility is clear these things can be tough to spot. Hitting a log or other heavy object with catastrophic damage leaves no time to prepare to abandon ship. You might even be injured because of the impact which would make it all the worse. Let's hope noone ever experiences such a situation.

Fish On- I should correct one of my statements. I typically can pick up a lobster traps if the buoy for it is high enough out of the water and the seas are flat. Also only on a 1/4 to 1/2 mile setting at slow speed.

There are more powerful radars on the market that I am sure do a much better job of picking up small objects such as a lobster pot or possibly log in the water.

Fly rod,
You're assuming the target is at water level, which is usually not the case. Even a ceneter console with a T-top sticks up more than seven feet out of the water. The big boats, that you really want to avoid are often several stories above the water. Practical maximum for a ten foot high tower is about 11 miles, where the curvature of the earth comes into play.
In close I go real slow, those little glass boats with almost no metal make really poor targets use 1/2 mile range. Offshore I jack the range up to 4 miles and go a lot faster, assuming it isn't real pea soup. My boat is agile enough that I can turn to avoid smaller obstacles if I spot them a 100 feet ahead.

:) my radar is approximately 9-10' above the water line on 26' boat with T-top and radar stand!!! At times I pick boats up on the horizon other times I don't depending on the circumstance,condition of the sea etc: I keep mine on the 1 mile screen in the harbor and river and 2-4 mile on the ocean and then I play with the radar to see how things appear miles away or looking for the tuna fleet!!!! ;) :cool:

Tuna fleet? Alright you guys friggin convinced me......I need to spend more $$. I found a JRC 1800 CP color radar and chart plotter on sale for $1799.99 (normally 2999.99). Would you go with that or the Furuno 1623? 179, where can I get the 1623 delivered to my door for $1100?

OK, so the box arrives, aasuming it takes me 3 times a long as an experienced installer, how long will it take me to turn the box on my doorstep into a fully installed radar?

On-line best deals & service for me came from:
http://www.brokenlegdave.com/

I will be going with the Furuno 1833 Chartplotter/ Radar this winter. The radar overlay is worth it's weight in gold.

Good luck,

Roop

Fish On-

It was www.byownerelectronics.com but their website doesn't seem to be working now.

Electronics, we don't need no stinkin electronics:-)

:) You can look here www.boatersworld.com or

www.westmarine.com

They have them for 1150 I'm not sure but you may get free shipping!!!

Before ya go jumping into it if you have a T-top you may need a plate to secure the radar dome to!!!