Looking for Opinions on Garmin Combos

[hotajax]

Was wondering if any of you might be able to offer your opinions about the following Garmin products, both are combo fishfinder and GPS.
Garmin 74sv 7" screen
Garmin 95sv 9" screen.
Neither are touchscreen, and I don't want fish slime all over the screen I am trying to view. They are both CHIRP units.

I am pretty happy with Garmins I have used in boats, planes, and the car. They seem to be pretty bullet proof. I'm not interested in hooking up radar, helm, or engine data to the unit. Just navigate and see what's under me. If you run split screen, is there a huge difference between a 7 and 9 inch screen? Price diff is about $200 between the 7 inch and 9 inch screen. Looking for any opinions you might have - good, bad, or indifferent. This is a pricey install and I want to get it right. Thank you in advance. Hot Ajax

 

[DennisG01]

I think the best thing FOR YOU is going to be to actually see the size difference. What you've asked is a subjective question and what someone else might say on the subject isn't necessarily what you would say. You could download the manuals and printout the template for each - that would give you a physical size that you could hold in your hand. Or, better yet, take a ride to a marine electronics store and look/play with them in person. BOE Marine comes to mind as a good place to shop in your neck of the woods.

The second part to this would be if you have the room on a smaller boat for the bigger unit. you don't want it to be cumbersome or block too much of your view. The template/specs can help with that, too - maybe make a mock-up with a cardboard box.

 

[seasick]

Was wondering if any of you might be able to offer your opinions about the following Garmin products, both are combo fishfinder and GPS.
Garmin 74sv 7" screen
Garmin 95sv 9" screen.
Neither are touchscreen, and I don't want fish slime all over the screen I am trying to view. They are both CHIRP units.

I am pretty happy with Garmins I have used in boats, planes, and the car. They seem to be pretty bullet proof. I'm not interested in hooking up radar, helm, or engine data to the unit. Just navigate and see what's under me. If you run split screen, is there a huge difference between a 7 and 9 inch screen? Price diff is about $200 between the 7 inch and 9 inch screen. Looking for any opinions you might have - good, bad, or indifferent. This is a pricey install and I want to get it right. Thank you in advance. Hot Ajax

On my 208, I have my units in the electronics box with the vhf mounter under the helm dash. I mention the vhf because if it is mounted in the box, you can't fit what I have.
I have two units, both are combos and are 5 inch screens. I use one only for mapping and the second only for sonar. Of course the one with sonar is also a chartplotter if needed as a backup.
Split 7 inch screens are not all that easy to use. I suspect that a 7 inch depending on model would fit the box. My units are mounted on brackets and I remove them when the boat is docked. 2- 7 inch units probably won't fit.

My feeling is that bigger is better in general but two smaller screens are better than one larger split use display. For the record, my primary GPS is Garmin and the sonar/plotter is Lowrance. I prefer the more intuitive menus on the Garmin but it is an older unit with buttons and a decent amount of them! It is often frustrating navigating the menus on the Lowrance HDS.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I have a 9" Humminbird mounted in the electronics box of my 226 Grady and a 7" Raymarine touch screen on the center console of my Carolina Skiff.

1. You are dead right about not wanting a touch screen on a saltwater boat. They are almost useless in any kind of chop and the screen does get messed up when you use it while fishing.

2. I can run a split screen displaying both sonar and the chart plotter function on the 9" screen. I hate splitting the screen on the 7" unit.

3. Garmin units are great as chart plotters. Much more intuitive and easier to use than other brands. However, they leave a lot to be desired as fish finders except for the high end models with high powered transducers. They show midwater fish well enough, especially in CHIRP mode. But they really suck at bottom type discrimination if that is important to you. Even when using a fixed frequency (non-CHIRP) transducer, you don't get much information about the kind of bottom below you.

4. You will be happiest with the largest screen that you can fit on your boat. I'm going to try to shoehorn a 12" unit into my e-box next time.

 

[Ky Grady]

I'm running twin Lowrance HDS 7 Carbons in my electronics box at the helm and my VHF and AM/FM is mounted in my E-box on hardtop. The 7 was the biggest I could run and be able to have two units the same size. I use one for GPS with the remote Point-1 antenna and the other is my sounder with the Totalscan transducer. They are networked through Ethernet. In theory, I have a split 14" screen. 8)

Happy with the setup, very functional.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I have an older Garmin, 4208. I run a 1kw Airmar ducer through the hull and a Garmin 24 HXD radar. The unit is bomb proof. I love the bigger display. I have had it since 2009. Point is it us only $200 to go bigger and 8 years down the road, assuming you have the boat still is that $200 worth it to you ? For me, it would be. I added radar two seasons ago and I point it out because you may want more out of it down the road. I am contemplating a newer unit next season. Mine is not touch screen and that's fine by me. I almost prefer not to have it in saltwater use. It means thorough washing of the hands to get sea water, salt residue and fish slime/blood off the hands before touching the GPS face.

Others said go check them out in a marine supply store and make your choice there. Probably the best advice here . Have fun with your upgrades . New electronics make for a fun boating season.

 

[hotajax]

edited below

 

[hotajax]

Thanks, gents. I appreciate the comments, I am pretty sure which way to go with this. I learned a long time ago that there is really no such thing as a bad Garmin product. Maybe one that's just a bit dated.

 

[Ryhlick]

For what its worth, I have a 741xs on my seafarer 228 and could not be happier. Good Luck with your decision.

 

[Firenailer]

I agree - I've got that same Garmin 741xs on my 208 and it's a great unit!

 

[grunt]

I have a 2007 208 Adventure
Installed 2 Garmin units in the dash ...1 for GPS and the other as a fish finder.
Radio and Ship to shore in the overhead box

 

[seasick]

Original post doesn't say if there is a hard top. If not, there is no upper electronics box. That is why I had to install my VHF below the helm. I did run an external speaker to make listening easier but when that SX motor is revving, you really can't hear the radio.

 

[hotajax]

I got the Garmin Chirp 9" screen model. The navigation is superb, super fast response time when zeroing in. I'm glad I got the 9" screen, it pays off big dividends when running split screen across many nautical miles of real estate to get to the fishing spot. Clarity is amazing, and screen shows the desired channels for entering and leaving port. Any questions, gimme a shout. Hot Ajax