CONTINUOUSWAVE

I am in the market for a new combination chart plotter, SONAR, and GPS receiver for my Outrage 25 Whaler Drive. I do not want touch screen. I don't need radar. [I would be happy with a display with a diagonal of] 9 to 11-inches. It has been ten years since I bought a combination chart plotter, SONAR, and GPS receiver. Any advice is welcome. Thanks--Stephen

They all do the same job as far as charting and fish finding go. Don't skimp on the transducer if you are looking for fish. Go play with the different brands and decide which user interface you like best because I think that is the biggest difference between them all. I have both Garmin and Lowrance on my boats and I like the Garmin user interface better.

Consider this five-inch screen combination device.

The most important aspect of an electronic chart plotter is the electronic charts. You should first determine which brands offer electronic charts for the water you will be operating on. There is no point in getting a particular chart plotter if there aren't any good charts available for it for your area. Also, the price of charts is quite variable, and some units come with very attractive bundles of charts for a modest extra cost.

Have you been reading SMALL BOAT ELECTRICAL for a while? There are many recent discussions of new combination chart plotter, SONAR, and GPS receiver products in the past six months--in the new and old forums.

Right now, I think I would wait for 2016 and the appearance of the just-announced new products from GARMIN in their echoMap CHIRP series before I made a decision or recommended a model.

You should look for a GNSS receiver that can receive and utilize more constellations than just the USA Air Force NAVSTAR GPS.

SONAR today is a completely new field compared to ten years ago. You will need to very carefully read all the manufacturer data sheets to sort out their offerings in SONAR. There is a myriad of options. The days of a simple "fish finder" are long gone.

Finally, the most important criterion for making any recommendation is a price point. You can spend $300 or $5,000 on a multi-function display with charts, SONAR, and GNSS receiver functions. Unless price is no object, some sort of price guidance is necessary to limit recommendations to products that will actually be considered.