Do the advantages of having both FF and Gps on the same unit greater then two? I currently have two and am considering upgradeing on both. Squinting at the Garmin 176 is giveing me wrinkles:D At 699.00 Lowrance LMS-337C seems like a good unit and isn't to pricey. I'm not to concerned with space they take up on the console. Whats the pro's n con's??

Dont do it I had the Garmin 168 or 186 GPS/FF nothing but problems and Garmin wants it mailed in to be fixed leaving you without a FF or GPS. Dont get me wrong they are good about repairing/replacing but you need to drop it in the mail, if they had a local service center where you could drop it off it would be a different story otherwise buy seperate you'll be happier.

IMO if you have the space and the $, do it. (I don't know much about the particular unit you are looking at though)

In general, Combined units save you a little of both. They make good units in both stand alone and combined now...it is really a matter of personal preference now if you ask me.

The big disadvantage to combo units is that if the unit goes down, you loose both functions. With stand alone units you can still have your GPS if the FF goes down and visa-versa. Think about it for a minute if the GPS goees down you can still fish inshore since you have the FF.

I wouldn't go with a combo unit!!!
Go with the biggest you can fit and spend the most you can afford!

I disagree -
First of all - I've owned gps units (on sailboats) and a GPS / FF (garmin 188) for years. I've never had a gps unit go down. So reliability is a non issue. Plus I keep a handheld unit as backup anyway in case I need GPS and my unit goes down.

Second - I find having a split screen of FF / Plotter absolutely invaluable. There's nothing like zooming in on your plotter as you approach a piece of structure and seeing it simultaneously appear on your FF. It may not sound like much - but having to move your eyes between two different screens at different resolutions is distracting (a friend has separate setups on his grady and I find his setup distracting).

Just my 2 cents - but I'd say go with the combo unit.

IMO no matter if you have single or twin units...keep a decent handheld gps on the boat (with an extra set of batteries) and when your budget allows get a chart chip in it so you can basically do the same thing that the in-dash unit can but on the smaller scale.


Bottom line...IMO plotters are pretty similar, pick the chart chip you like and then pick the machine that supports them. Don't forget to check out the at-home computer software so you can play with plotting courses and alike from the comfort of your desk.
Then decide your your favorite FF and consider machices that offer both.

The trade off is really the "relaiability argument" vs screen size. But since the reliability is pretty decent nowadays and you have a back-up gps (which is just as capabible as your primary) I don't think that argument is as strong as it use to be. IMO get the biggest screen you can afford that fits on your boat. Bigger is better, no question. To see a big full chart or a big FF display is sweet....you will like the larger screen.

Tony I now have the Garmin 178C that one of my customers bought me for the boat. I love it and I just took the chip we use in the 176 you and I both have and put it in the 178C $$$ saved. They had them at the boat show for 650.00? One of my customers was there Fri and showed me he had bought one. Now if your 178C was to go down you take the chip out and go back to the 176, no down time and Garmin is great about repairs from what I have seen. I also did have the 240 blue Garmin ff so I did not even change the transducer so I now have a spare. Also kept the 240 so if there shuold be a problem it goes right back into service. I think it would be the way to go for you to as if the unit did go down you would still have the GPS back up!!!!!!!!:confused:

Ps if you would like to try the 178C out I have it in the house and use it off of a back up charger unit with a cig. light plug. Come over any time and you can check it out. I think you would like it as much as I do. I also went with the internal ant. for easy hook up and use on the Quad also:happy:

all the Garmin units are great and very easy to use. I perfer two units but have installed the 178c in many boats. Try Eangler.com for some great prices...

I used to be a skeptic of combo units but I think if space is an issue and with the current state of technology, reliability is not an issue.