Furuno vs Garmin in 2016

G

GxK

New member
Greetings!

My search for the best way to upgrade electronics on At Last! for a cruise Down East has brought me to two finalists:

Furuno TZT9
http://www.furunousa.com/products/produ ... oduct=TZT9
MSRP US$3,695 Defender US$2,885

Garmin GPSMAP 7610
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 51678.html
MSRP US$2,499 Toronto CD$2,630

They are the largest MFDs I have space for at the helm console. The plan is to pair the MFD with radar:

Furuno DRS4W
http://www.furuno.com/en/products/radar/DRS4W
MSRP US$1,695 Defender US$1,325

Garmin GMR 18 xHD
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 86235.html
MSRP US$1,599

Questions for you:

Any first-hand experience or knowledge on the above?

Is Furuno worth the premium price?

Is it advisable to shop at discounters like Defender?

Your input will be much appreciated.

Ben Ellison of Panbo and Furuno in Canada suggested I wait until after Miami for final decision-making.

—Georgs
 
We have always used Garmin. We currently use a Garmin 7212 Chart plotter, with autopilot, depth finder with a thru hull transducer and a 18HD radar dome and we did have an issue with our original radar dome which Garmin replaced at no charge. An internal cable was the issue. The chart plotter no longer saw the radar on the system.
Our previous boat we used a 4208 with the 18HD radar 2009 vintage and never had an issue with the radar. I assume that it is still functioning for the new owner..
Furuno has always been at the top of the electronics manufacturers. I can't speak about their newer stuff but I suspect they still make a good product. I do think the Garmin is maybe a little more intuitive and maybe easier to learn how to use. Garmin's customer service even for dumb questions has always been good for us. Defender is who we use for almost everything for the boat. Been using them for years never a problem.
D.D.
 
For fishing,weather or both?? Transducers make a big difference, too.,, external mount vs in the hull? Radar mounting height makes a difference. Garmin are easy to use and dont know about Furuno. I would install 2 units. One for navigation and one for fishing with bluetooth to use the iPad in the cockpit

Both are great units. I dont see a down side except cost and a good transducer and radar mount
 
GxK":t5ej9uog said:
Greetings!

My search for the best way to upgrade electronics on At Last! for a cruise Down East has brought me to two finalists:

Furuno TZT9
http://www.furunousa.com/products/produ ... oduct=TZT9
MSRP US$3,695 Defender US$2,885

Garmin GPSMAP 7610
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 51678.html
MSRP US$2,499 Toronto CD$2,630

They are the largest MFDs I have space for at the helm console. The plan is to pair the MFD with radar:

Furuno DRS4W
http://www.furuno.com/en/products/radar/DRS4W
MSRP US$1,695 Defender US$1,325

Garmin GMR 18 xHD
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 86235.html
MSRP US$1,599

Questions for you:

Any first-hand experience or knowledge on the above?

Is Furuno worth the premium price?

Is it advisable to shop at discounters like Defender?

Your input will be much appreciated.

Ben Ellison of Panbo and Furuno in Canada suggested I wait until after Miami for final decision-making.

—Georgs
Click to expand...

Furuno /Garmin, Both are top notch

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Furuno-Navne ... P3094.aspx

:wink:
 
Georgs,
Always listen to Ben! There have been so many changes in the last year or so. There are new products coming out each year. The 2016's are better than the 2015's!

I think also get some hands on time. If you are gong to the Miami show, see if you can get on a demo boat with both of the latest versions of these. My personal preference currently is the Garmin. But, I think that Furuno was neglecting the recreational field--and has realized some loss of market share due to this. They are catching up. When we were cruising, all was Furuno, because of the reliability and being able to get excellent service and tech support.

I think the biggest changes have been in the radars, and fish finders. The faster re-fresh rate on the chart plotters helps, with overlay. Cartography is good on all. Again, see about local knowledge where you are planing to cruise. There seems to have been some disparity with certain areas with Garmin charts--probably fixed by now.. CHRIP and down scan, sound like maybe only for fisherman. I have found that looking at "structure" is really handy when anchoring! The latest Garmin transducer is 3" shorter than last years, and better resolution...

I have not fooled with Furuno since last years boat show at Long Beach--and there have been changes since then. There are some really good things said about the latest radar from Furuno. The ability to use an I pad for a "repeater" or even almost a MFD--is great.

With Furuno you have the choice of their NOAA data base (not sure about Canada)
C maps or Navionics. It used to be you had to make the decision when you bought the MFD, as to which format you want to use. I believe can switch, but it may need a different card reader, and some alteration..

Garmin comes with some pretty good charts--Active Captain may be integrated shortly on the MFD.

Any AIS receiver or transceiver--at least a receiver, should be a consideration if you do a radio upgrade.

Have fun--neat toys for navigation!
 
Will-C":308mb22m said:
Defender is who we use for almost everything for the boat. Been using them for years never a problem.
D.D.
Click to expand...

Dave, I'm up in Canada, thus, not familiar with dealing with U.S. discounters like Defender. As Tim pointed out, The GPS Store is advertising an even lower price for the Furuno TZT9. Here's the range of pricing, all in US$:

MSRP $3,695
Best price I can find in Canada is US$3,178, from a Furuno dealer
Defender $2,885
GPS Store 2,599.

Obviously, the Defender and GPS Store prices are mighty appealing.

Is there no downside in buying a name brand product from a Defender or GPS Store?

--Georgs
 
Aurelia":1fmvpjxu said:
We have experience with the XHD radar from Garmin using the 741xs chartplotter. Ask away, Greg
Click to expand...

Thanks, Greg!

How challenging was the installation? Would you recommend that someone like me, with limited aptitude for things mechanical or electronic, hire a professional?

--Georgs
 
thataway":341h11sg said:
I think also get some hands on time. If you are gong to the Miami show, see if you can get on a demo boat with both of the latest versions of these. My personal preference currently is the Garmin. But, I think that Furuno was neglecting the recreational field--and has realized some loss of market share due to this. They are catching up. When we were cruising, all was Furuno, because of the reliability and being able to get excellent service and tech support
Click to expand...

Thanks, Bob, always good to hear your words of advice!

I did spend many hours at the Toronto boat show at the Garmin and Furuno booths. I went to the show expecting that my Garmin choice would be confirmed, only to have my head turned right around by Furuno.

It's such a toss-up between the Furuno TZT9 and the Garmin GPSMAP 7610 that it might eventually come down to dollars, with the Garmin the clear winner on price.

First, I'll see what Ben Ellison has to report from Miami.

--Georgs
 
The installation of the RADAR dome and chartplotter is relatively straightforward if you have ready surfaces/positions for mounting. This is quite important for the RADAR, as the unit is heavy and needs a solid mounting location. There is at least power to run for the plotter and separate power plus network cable (from plotter) for the RADAR run so you want to think about your wiring route and how hard or easy that might be. I would recommend taking a look at the pieces of hardware once you have them, and thinking about the mounting locations and wire runs before you decide it is too much for you. It may be easier than you think. Mine have gone pretty quick but I was always pretty good at Legos.

Greg
 
Georgs,
I have room for a Garmin 12 inch plotter plus G741 using a pivoting RAM mount and a little imagination so you do too (pics in album). I agree with all above...you can start using most Garmin products right out of the box without reading the manual.
However, what no one else has posted here is that the preloaded Garmin cartography is ONLY LOW RES BACKGROUND. You'll want Garmin VISION chips for you trip, and they are not cheap.

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/garmin--v ... d--8935264
Cheaper on Amazon.
However, their automated AUTO-GUIDE route-making feature is FABULOUS (only on VISION chips). Once you have used it, you will never go back. From your spot in Canada, enter your Norfolk marina and just follow the purple line all the way there. At first use, enter your min preferred depth, whether you want to be routed as close to shore as possible, as far from shores as possible, or in the middle. It does all the rest without you having to put in interim waypoints. Garmin has a patent on it, so I don't think anyone else will have it. The most important new automated navigation aid in decades. Put your Garmin suite on a Garmin network ($68 backbone, install yourself) and your Garmin autopilot (get a pro to install it) will follow the purple AutoGuide line for you. Also cool photos of harbor entrances, aerial photos of land masses including towers, tanks etc to click on right on the plotter. With my networked 4212/741/ VHF 200 or 300 (but not 100) and AIS 300 (rec only) or 600 (tx and receive) your plotter shows your AIS target with the 1-touch option to call the bridge directly using the target's MMSI #. That's nice and good design but not NEARLY as great as Vision chips with AutoGuide routing. I would not even CONSIDER other brands if they can't match it. Once you use it, you will NEVER go back!
Happy hunting!
John
 
Just one clarification, Many Garmins come preloaded with detailed G2 marine charts and/or inland lake mapping. In the Garmin ad language, it would sound like this: "The 547 chartplotter comes preloaded with both Garmin U.S. offshore and U.S. lakes cartography"

Our 741xs came with both US "coastal" G2 charts and lake charts.
They are completely usable (and used by most owners) and comparable to the basic marine charting available on most other brands.

There are models that will say this: "GPSMAP 721 Series versions include a worldwide basemap"

The worldwide basemap is not detailed and not very useful. The variation in charts provided with a unit is part of what makes the pricing so variable and confusing. Many of the separate models marketed by Garmin are actually the same model but including or not including charts. The 720 compared to the 740 series would be one example.

The G2 Vision chart data John is referring to adds additional functionality to many Garmin units including the autoguidance features that we have also added by purchasing an additional Vision chart chip for our area.

More info and compatible product list here,

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/maps/on ... d9618.html

Greg
 
Greg is Right On as usual, thanks for the details.
PS not all older Garmin units can use the Vision chips, so don't buy them til you contact Garmin tech support (very responsive, even to email).
You can download free g2 cartography updates from Garmin, but NOT free updates for Vision chips.
Happy Hunting!
John
 
Wow! I host several forums for trawler yachts-- http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/fo ... intro.html --that altogether have some 5,000 subscribers, but you guys on C-Brats are awesome!

Thank you, John, Greg, Bob and so many others for being spot-on the topic with your advice.

At this point, I'm really leaning toward

Garmin GPSMAP 7610
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 51678.html

Garmin GMR 18 xHD
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 86235.html

which I can purchase for a decent price in Canada, I have learned, but I still have a Furuno MFD and RADAR on the short list until I hear what Furuno has introduced this week at the Miami show.

Thanks, again!

--Georgs
 
Just my 2 cents. I've had fully integrated (chart plotter, radar, sounder, autopilot, VHF radio) from Raymarine, Furono, and currently Garmin (on my Ranger Tug). For me the user interface and features of the Garmin are outstanding. If I were in the market to get new electronics I'd go Garmin. The autopilot options for plotting a course are very cool. You can pick a destination and simply say take me there and it can automatically set a course accounting for charted obstacles and depths. Of course that is a feature of the chart plotter integrated with the autopilot. I'm not a fan of tying components from different manufacturers together.
 
Hi Georgs,

Maybe I've missed it, but do you already have a good sonar/fishfinder?

If not, or if it's getting old, you might think about going with the 7610xsv, which includes sophisticated sonar capabilities for $200 more than the plain 7610. Even if you don't need another fishfinder right away, having the xsv unit would position you to be able to install a transducer and active the sonar functions later, should you need to replace or upgrade your sonar.
 
I have a similar Garmin setup to the you are considering. I have the 7610xsv that Richard mentioned. It is the only GPS and Radar I have ever owned, so I can't compare and contrast, but it was easy to learn, easy to use and the screen is as large as I would want. I studied the manuals on line prior to picking up the boat after installation and just took off using them!

Harvey (Sleepy-C) recommended them based upon ease of use, and boy was he right!
 
I just installed the Garmin 7610xsv and when I turned it on-- WOW my GPS position came right up showing where I am in Corvallis, Or. I turned on my 14 year old Furuno and waited several minutes for my GPS position to come up.
So far I installed the chart, Sonar and Heading sensor- next I need to tackle the Radar and AIS.
 
Just a small matter. If you buy Garmin, that digital radome is compatible with the OpenCpn charting overlay. This allows another option for a chart display: your PC (or Mac.)

Also Garmin is cheaper. For the cheapest, try Lowrance. I've bought, over the internet, from the cheapest source, some of which I've never heard of before. For problems, you deal with the Mfg. anyway. I don't know how they deal with Canada.

Boris
 
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