jim, congrats on the boat- I just went through this - spent 3-4 hrs in cabelas and bass pro this weekend
for sonar - There are amazing strides in side and down imaging . The imaging provides picture like quality from your fish finder.
check out lowrance and hummingbird side scanning and down imaging. I wish I had this when I was fishing the rock piles for stripers.
Fishfinder/ Chartplotter - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics
Humminbird: America?s favorite Fishfinder ? the leading innovator of Side Imaging technology
Humminbird: America?s favorite Fishfinder ? the leading innovator of Side Imaging technology