Looking to outfit 21' walk around ( a 218 Adventure) with electronics

[GradyAdventure]

Looking for some guidance. I will be doing inshore recreation fishing . Some trips to Montauk . The area is new for me , I want radar for fog . I previously fished Port Jeff / sound . The boat will have Manual controls .
I would like to use Garmin , but not opposed to others . 18" radar so it does not look out of wack , Navtronics -newer model as I have read here , N/S which display will fit just 12 or may acc 16 , may want separate cradle mounted sonar so it can be seen easier when fishing ,could also be a benefit to conserve power while drifting . stern mounted or pad mounted sonar (Garmin GT51m-TM ) as apposed to thru hull which may or may not be necessary for me . Is the Garmin VHS GPS the way to go ? Thanks !

 

[SkunkBoat]

Sticking with garmin,

The latest GMR Fantom radars are very good. The make it easy to understand who is coming at you or crossing your heading.
If you need Radar, you cannot use one of the Echo models of Chartplotter/FF.

You can use a GPSMAP 943xsv or larger in that xx43 line. Or a more expensive GPSMAP 8610xsv or larger (if larger fits)
They have a built in GPS but you can add a GPS24xd which will also give you the heading sensor you need for your radar.
Get the biggest screen that fits. You can split screen to see multiple things.

Get one with built in sideview/CHIRP sonar.
If you are 'staying between the forks" you don't need a deep sonar.
You can use the higher frequency models and get the matching TM xducer. like 54 or 56UHD

Garmin VHF radios are overpriced. STandard Horizon GX2400 with AIS /NMEA200 s a good deal.

You need to setup a NMEA2k network.

 

[luckydude]

I had Garmin radar on my 228's hardtop and it sucked. I never trusted it, it didn't 17 whalers. When I had the top replaced with a pilot house, Charlie Hicks put about a 6 inch pedestal up there for the radar. And tipped it forward a little. HUGE HUGE difference, sees everything.
I can't urge you enough to lift it up a little and tilt it forward a little.

Other than that, I'm happy with Garmin. I did get jealous of my friends Simrad, nice screen and they have a really nice radar overlay that just puts the boats on your charts. No 1/4 M, no circles, no extra noise. Very nice, I need to see if Garmin can do that.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I had Garmin radar on my 228's hardtop and it sucked. I never trusted it, it didn't 17 whalers. When I had the top replaced with a pilot house, Charlie Hicks put about a 6 inch pedestal up there for the radar. And tipped it forward a little. HUGE HUGE difference, sees everything.
I can't urge you enough to lift it up a little and tilt it forward a little.

Other than that, I'm happy with Garmin. I did get jealous of my friends Simrad, nice screen and they have a really nice radar overlay that just puts the boats on your charts. No 1/4 M, no circles, no extra noise. Very nice, I need to see if Garmin can do that.

There are infinite ways to adjust the Garmin displays to show or not show various things.
I was playing with settings the other day in a pea soup fog. I have a splitscreen Black background and Chart overlay. In LAYERSI removed the waypoints from the black side. The only thing you see are Red, Green and Magenta(crossing) targets on a black screen and range rings. The range rings are important. I wouldn't remove them but it is probably possible.



Also, I made some MARPA tracks. I had flashbacks to the SPQ9A in CIC....

 

[GradyAdventure]

Thanks !

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I've got a Garmin 943xsv as well as the GT 56UHD transducer, of which I really enjoy both. The majority of what I do is trolling for salmon as well as crabbing and occasionally halibut fishing and/or shrimping. I don't have radar, but as mentioned above, if I were to add it then I'd likely go with the Garmin Fantom 18. I'm very much a Garmin fan and can't see myself ever changing that up in the future. I've looked at Simrad, Lowrance and other brands in person and I'll stick with Garmin.

 

[loubeer]

I happen to have Simrad - my boat is older and had Simrad when I bought it, so I have remained with Simrad as I upgraded. I've been happy with Simrad. I've heard good things about Garmin, and if I was starting from scratch, probably would lean towards them. In my opinion, finding a good tech to install the bundle, who is willing to train you on basic operation and is able to provide future service, is your most important decision.

 

[luckydude]

I happen to have Simrad - my boat is older and had Simrad when I bought it, so I have remained with Simrad as I upgraded. I've been happy with Simrad. I've heard good things about Garmin, and if I was starting from scratch, probably would lean towards them. In my opinion, finding a good tech to install the bundle, who is willing to train you on basic operation and is able to provide future service, is your most important decision.

My buddy has simrad on his boat and they are nice screens, higher resolution and better contrast than my Garmins. So I think you are fine.

 

[Ky Grady]

Running Simrad on my 228, been happy with it. Have the Halo 24 radar also, no issues. It's mounted on a Battlewagon pedestal with 4° down angle, no problem spotting targets.