usmcpaul

My budget is somewhat of a gray area, and herein lies the problem. There are tons of choices...too many in fact. I am pretty much set on replacing all the electronics on the boat. The radio is no big deal, I figure $100 should be plenty and is not really a concern nor is it factored into the gps/sounder budget. I guess I am trying to target a price range of $800 to $1700, but I of course want the biggest screen with the most useful features and a reliable unit from a company that has a good (recent) reputation for quality and customer service if the need arises. I have previously looked at HB and would consider one (OH great, thanks for reminding me:rolleyes:)

Just a little rant about Bethels Marine electronics website. For the past week or two I have been researching chart-plotter/fish-finder combos and have really been on the fence about what to get and how much to spend, blah, blah,...blah. So anyway I have been using Bethels as a launching point to gather information on manufacturers and options and what not, and decided to call them to find out the differences in a few of the systems I have been toiling over. The good news is they are very helpful and nice people, but the bad news is their website is horribly outdated. Come to find out all 4 of the systems I was considering that are listed on their site are no longer made:mad: The salesman even said he couldn't even remember the last ime they sold one of them! Looks like I will have to start all over. Like I said they seemed really nice and knowledgeable, but damn...update your site occasionally. This research is getting very annoying. It seems like these systems get changed/outdated in a matters of hours. I have had very little luck getting any 'user reviews' of any current systems. Maybe I am over thinking this a bit, but I want to be sure about it when I decide to pull the trigger. Right now I am seriously considering the Standard Horizon's CP300 or CP500. From what I can tell they are both decent systems for the money and have a 3 year warranty. I have not heard of any horror stories about them, and the one review from www.marine-electronics-reviews.com says they thought they are pretty decent, although I have never really heard of them myself before last week. Bethels said they do make a good radio so.... They are 'C-MAP NT+ and C-MAP MAX compatible' but I don't know if that is good or bad? Who are the main players as far as 'chips' go? The 3 year warranty is appealing, but I suppose that the best warranty is the one you never have to use. Garmin is in the running but they seem very expensive. The Raymarine A70 or A50 are other options also. Does anyone have a real comprehensive site to go and do some research?

What supplier are you all ordering them from?

Post some pics of your trees, I would like to see them. I'm probably going to leave mine unprotected. I dunno?

I will post some when I find them.

The screw is threaded into the bracket with loctite, but not 'threaded' into the radial holes. The screw just sticks out and acts like a dowel pin so that you can adjust the angle of the rod holder by pulling to the left (or right) and then a spring snaps it back into place. It work just like a Big Jon holder.

George, TIG welding is flat out ...AWESOME.. and worth every dime I paid for it. The best $2500 I have ever spent. It is, far and away, my most favorite machine in my shop. As a matter of fact I would sell any machine in my shop before I sold my TIG welder. It is so nice to weld in the basement without smoke and sparks. I took a class at a local college a couple of years ago and the instructor let me take home a bunch of Aluminum welding blanks to practice with, and I still have some. ( and man I took a lot), I even asked him, " are you sure it's o.k. to take this much" and he said " no problem man..just call it homework, most of these other meatheads are only here because their boss is making them be here, I can see you actually enjoy it, take as much as you want". Sometimes I will sit down for hours just welding piece after piece together for no reason at all, other than to try and get better at it... I suppose it is relaxing for me, I just crank up the radio, have a smoke, and weld with no purpose at all....no pressure to get anything done, no expectations...just miles of endless, purposeless welds. I go through 2 bottles of gas a month, and I have never made a single cent doing it!!!!! Stupid I know, but....

I have heard that any Garmin unit that uses SD cards will work. I dunno. If you know different please tell me. That would at least give my wife a break from telling me the same thing....LOL... If it would tell me to stop and ask for directions, and have to pee, she might get jealous. Nice analogy man...I can definitely relate to it. 'Redundancy' is my middle name. I have a hand-held unit and a good compass just in case, however I do see your point. I actually want one of those high dollar units, and it is not totally out of the question. As a matter of fact... Today, I was eyeballing a Raymarine 120c, but I would have to save every nickel to afford that, again...I dunno. To make matters worse, I have been thinking of keeping my Lowrance, getting an "automotive gps", and getting a speed-temp sensor for my cannonballs.

Has anyone heard of, or actually used an automotive gps in their boat? Bob, I have a hand held, but I hate the screen size.

No, actually I am a physics teacher, but thanks for the compliments guys. I do have a small machine/welding shop in my basement though and I love to make things.

O.k. guys, here's the deal. I am sort of a noob. I used to fish a lot for walleyes many years ago and recently I have gotten back into fishing and want to try Salmon (and some eye's occasionally) Anyway, the boat I bought came with a Lowrance X70-a that works although the pixels are a little messed up, and it has a non-working GPS. My preference would be to get a separate GPS and new fish finder, but I am not exactly rich, so I am stuck on what to get. I am open to any and all ideas, even if it is a combo. I suppose I don't absolutely need a new sonar, it is serviceable, but..well you know... Keeping it to around $800 would be great and the most important thing to me is screen size. Color screen, and other features are not very important to me at this point. I am open to any Manufacturer except Lowrance. I have nothing against them, I actually like my X70-a, but I have seen way, way to many bad reviews. Most of the other sites concentrate on either Lowrance or Hummingbird, but I see a lot of you guys are using other brands that I am not very familiar with. I have even considered getting an "automotive GPS" because they are cheap and my boat is a hard top. I dunno Any links on where I can get the best price for your recommendations would be great. I have found a place called www.thenerds.net that has some pretty good prices if anyone is interested.

Nice job Jon, very nice. What did you make them out of?

I needed some more rod holders and since I have way more time than money, I decided to build myself some.

Thanks for the invites guys, and I accept. Just let me know when. The reason I want to try Huron is simply money (or lack thereof). So for the weekly trips it will have to be around here, but I would really like to come to your side a few times at least, who knows, I might change my mind. I can hardly wait until spring.

Thanks for the welcoming guys, Mike, I am planning on fishing Port Huron, Lexington, Sanilac areas and maybe some Erie also. Not sure what to expect from Huron as far a Salmon goes, but a 4 hour ride one way to Lake Michigan makes me want to try Huron and hope for the best.

Hi everyone, First off let me start out by saying what a great site this is. It seems very friendly and there is a lot of good information around. I have been reading and enjoying it very much for the past week or so. I really like the fact that it seems to be pretty busy, some of the other sites I visit are too slow for me. Here is a brief bio about me. I recently celebrated the 18th anniversary of my 22nd birthday with my wife and 2 daughters and decided to retire from Motocross riding and get back into fishing. The decision to retire from riding was difficult, but after countless trips to the ER, one relaxing "2 day all inclusive stay" in Beaumont hospitals intensive care unit because of a subdural-hematoma (bleeding on the brain), 2 broken ankles (twice), 6 broken ribs, 1 torn rotator-cuff, 1 fractured collar bone, 1 titanium plate and 6 screws in my wrist....I figure I better get out before I really get hurt. Anyhow, I sold my MX stuff, and with the proceeds of the sale, I recently added a 23 foot Slickcraft to my arsenal of toys. I am looking forward to shooting the breeze with you guys this winter, Salmon fishing in the spring and Walleyes in the summer. Regards, Paul