New Garmin items on website

[JMacLeod]

Was going over my electronics list versus all the advice from Bob and John and noticed some changes on the Garmin site this morning.

The site is slowly changing as I refresh, so it may take some time for them to get the full descriptions and prices up.
I saw a VHF 215i and 315i, and an AIS-800.
Some chartplotters popped up with "NEW" tags but then disappeared and several other pages had red "NEW" tags on items.

I'd stick around and watch the site but we're on our way to the dealer's now to pick out our electronics package so I'll see what their installer knows.
In the meantime, does anyone else have any information on the new models yet?

 

[journey on]

Personally, I'd be careful to get the latest unit from Garmin, or Lowrance for that matter. I've found out that those two, at least, don't support units over 5 years old. That includes units still in production. On a 3-g Lowrance radar, which the dealer assured me is still being built with no changes, they will not provide support past 5 years, and since the unit is 4 1/2 years old, they would not sell me the part I needed. They suggested that I buy a new unit. I've heard the same about Garmin. So if there's a new(er) unit, make sure you get that.

Boris

 

[thataway]

If the boat delivery is going to be soon (within weeks) then sourcing the MFD and electronics is OK now. IF it is several months out--then I would wait to see what else comes along. However, when Garmin announces new products, often it is months before they are available.

I read several electronic forums each day. One poster had some very good advice:
"Read the manual on line before deciding on what MFD or any electronics to buy before you decide.". 'Some times the most expensive options may have features you will never use.

As for radio--I stick with companies who primary business is radio--that is Icom and Standard Horizon. I have used both brands for many years as a ham radio operator.

You want to consider if you really want a touch screen, dials and knobs plus buttons In heavy weather (or even chop) touch screens are more difficult to use. I have both a touch screen, and hybrid which uses both touch and dials, joy stick and buttons.

I didn't see FLIR on your list. ??

 

[gulfcoast john]

Hey John and others in the same boat buying these boy toys…don’t sweat it too much. Helms are an individual choice, one size fits one….only you.
We found that two Garmin 8212 12 inch MFD’S on our TC255 show all we want once parameters we like are set up. The image is so big, and so fast, and so easy to see and interpret immediately on one glance, that we’d never go back to anything smaller.
The prior Garmin 4212 was also 12”, but had the cursor and buttons plus soft keys, and unlike Bob we found it much harder to use than a touchscreen in the slop or at any other time. And again, once all that screen space has on it everything you like to see, there is not much need to touch it except rarely.
Re FLIR, I envy Bob’s handheld unit, but I bet you guys won’t be boating at night if you can avoid it. Esp not on plane.
If most boaters didn't want a touchscreen then Garmin wouldn't be selling so many of them, and have a separate line for the rough-water offshore fisherpersons who are all buying touchscreens now.
I’ve had great support from Garmin including an offer to replace a faulty 2011 era GPS antenna ($200) with a refurbished one for $69 (haven’t got around to it yet, too busy with the next adventure, hope you will be too!). Their support chat is also very responsive and right on.
The Tampa SW rep for Garmin was at the last FL Ranger/Cutwater gathering and suggested ‘put your old Garmin unit on EBay, you may be surprised what folks will pay for it.” I paid about $1300 in 2013 for that 4212 $3,000 new unit at BOEMARINE.COM (2008 technology) and sold it for $650 plus $30 shipping on EBay to 9some guy in Alaska in April 2018. What would you get for a 2008 laptop, $30?

Don’t sweat ‘getting cheated’ by the dealer, the reassurance of your Suzuki 6 year warranty and dealer responsiveness is worth many Boat Units ($1,000 each) in the long run. Even the best dealers will be overrun in season by newbie boaters who can not solve even the simplest problems on their own…ie, won’t start because the kill switch lanyard was pulled, or the gearshift was not solidly in neutral, or the Start battery switch is Off, or they are trying to plane with the Trim full Up, etc etc. Don’t be One of Them by asking Here before asking Three Rivers…. and their mechanics will respect you even more for that.
Consider this missive as just Another County Heard From, nothing more. What works for you will only be discovered by you over time. That discovery process is half the fun. The most important advice that we can give you is that
IT’S A GREAT BOAT, YOU’LL LOVE IT!
To date, I don’t know of any posters who didn’t.
Happy Outfitting and No Fretting!
John

 

[JMacLeod]

I've heard the same about Garmin.

Good to know.

If the boat delivery is going to be soon (within weeks) then sourcing the MFD and electronics is OK now. IF it is several months out--then I would wait to see what else comes along. However, when Garmin announces new products, often it is months before they are available.

Just got back from Three Rivers and met with both the canvas guy and electronics guy.
(Freestanding bimini in the back with insect screens and roll-up windows. 24-26" wide removable boarding access between bimini and roof per your advice.)
Everything is on track for 2-3 weeks except the VHF with AIS/GPS which is 4-6 weeks out.
The newest models say available 3rd quarter 2018.

I read several electronic forums each day. One poster had some very good advice:
"Read the manual on line before deciding on what MFD or any electronics to buy before you decide.". 'Some times the most expensive options may have features you will never use.

Very good advice indeed.
I've already downloaded the ones I could find.
Some aren't available yet.

As for radio--I stick with companies who primary business is radio--that is Icom and Standard Horizon. I have used both brands for many years as a ham radio operator.

This was one thing that nagged me.
Garmin radios don't make the cut for any of the current "best of" tech comparison lists.
I was just sticking within the brand suite to make sure of easy integration, other than that, I picked a model with AIS and built-in GPS for redundancy.
If I mix and match brands, is there a particular model you recommend with the same or better functionality and plays well with Garmin gear?

You want to consider if you really want a touch screen, dials and knobs plus buttons In heavy weather (or even chop) touch screens are more difficult to use. I have both a touch screen, and hybrid which uses both touch and dials, joy stick and buttons.

I took a bunch of cardboard mock-ups for different size displays/brackets today and still couldn't find an acceptable solution that worked with the curved dash.
A 12 and 10 display combo would fit perfectly across the dash while staying well under the line of sight with the brackets flat on their side attached to a block on the dash, but all of the cable ports are on the lower half of the unit meaning I'd have to carve a sizable chunk out of the top and front of the fiberglass console to get it to fit in that position behind the steering wheel.

For the time being, I just ordered an unmounted 7610xsv for them to temporarily wire-up and sit on a beanbag until I can get it home and customize the dash and build an overhead console for the VHF and various entertainment gadgets.
I don't know yet if the future second display will be a 12, 10, 8 or 7, but I was planning on making that one a hybrid for the reasons you mentioned.

I didn't see FLIR on your list. ??

It's a little further down the Christmas list right after the helipad and the parasail tower.
:xnaughty

But seriously, I did consider the MD-625 briefly before I started whittling down my ever-growing list of wants into something resembling responsible adult choices.
I'm having them install a single MFD, the autopilot (minus the display), and the transducers.
Everything else I would prefer to install myself after I get her home.
I assumed the FLIR is primarily for nighttime navigation, and since that's probably something I won't be intentionally doing my first year as a sailor, I figured it can wait til later along with the panoptix.
How high does FLIR rank on your list of safety gadgets?

 

[JMacLeod]

Hey John and others in the same boat buying these boy toys…don’t sweat it too much. Helms are an individual choice, one size fits one….only you.

We were discussing height on the bimini with the canvas guy and he told us the story of a 5' tall customer who wanted the canvas just a couple of inches over his head.
The canvas guy is over 6' like me and asked him what about when you invite friends like me out to fish?
He said "they can duck. It's MY boat. Not theirs."

We found that two Garmin 8212 12 inch MFD’S on our TC255 show all we want once parameters we like are set up.

Please enlighten me.
Why did you choose the 8212 over the 7612?
I am trying to be financially wise in my decisions regarding value versus actual use on gear.
The 7612 may be sufficient for our needs, but I might have overlooked a feature that changes my mind.

 

[MikeR]

If I mix and match brands, is there a particular model you recommend with the same or better functionality and plays well with Garmin gear?

Can't speak to icom (I'm assuming it's just as easy), but Standard Horizon radios were super easy to connect w/ Garmin units, once you decipher the wiring instructions in the SH manuals. In my setup linked below, the large Garmin (9" Echomap) is receiving and displaying the AIS data from a Standard Horizon GX2200. The small Garmin (5" GPSmap) is sending GPS data to a SH GX5500 for DSC functionality. (note, the GX2200 has an onboard GPS and uses that for DSC functions). I like redundancies on boats. http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

 

[thataway]

I assumed the FLIR is primarily for nighttime navigation, and since that's probably something I won't be intentionally doing my first year as a sailor, I figured it can wait til later along with the panoptix.
How high does FLIR rank on your list of safety gadgets?

Although the FLIR comment was a little tongue in cheek, (and not made by Garmin, but there is a video input to your MFD). We have done a lot of night time boating (including thousands of hours of night time sailing). As John noted, I do have a FLIR scope--and if I had a bigger boat and was doing a lot of full time cruising again, I would opt for a FLIR M232 Pan/Tilt 9Hz Thermal Camera, with a dedicated read out (Currently have "Rear vision" camera on the boat, with 10" screen, and would display on that, rather than the MFD).

I carry the hand held FLIR scope in the Pelican Case with the Fuji Techo-Stabi 14 x 40 binoculars, and use the binoculars much more often than the FLIR scope. (We also carry 8 x 30 Steiner binoculars for "quick" scans, and Fuji 7x50 "night glasses, with compass) There can be some loss of raw night vision when you refer to any display. We often assign one person to be looking out the window with the Mark II eyeballs, and the other is watching Radar, chart plotter, depth and FLIR during night or decreased visibility runs.

As for radio: we have a second VHF One is always on channel 16, the other may be on scan or a working channel . If I was buying another radio for your boat, the "Last call" feature is nice to have on the Icom M506 or Standard Horizon GX6000, but you are also paying for a second AIS receiver, which is not really needed. I have the Standard Horizon GX 2200, with second RAM mike, and loud hailer-fog horn--I Use the Fog horn function far more than as a hailer/listen back. I just keep a small digital recorder by the helm, if there are details in a message which are critical, I can flip it on. The second mike certainly is not necessary in a boat the size of the C Dory, but we have it set up so it will control the radio from the bunk or navigator Marie can have it at her station. She can mirror all of the displays of MDF's thru the iPad. All of these radios have NMEA 2000 as well as 0183.

Certainly there is something to be said for the easy interface of the Garmin system.

One item I didn't see mentioned was fuel flow gauges--but you should be able to get that information off the interface with your outboard's computer which should part of the backbone input to the Garmin MFD. If you are using the Suzuki digital gauges, then you don't any of that info on the MFD.

Great on getting the boat so soon.

he prior Garmin 4212 was also 12”, but had the cursor and buttons plus soft keys, and unlike Bob we found it much harder to use than a touchscreen in the slop or at any other time. And again, once all that screen space has on it everything you like to see, there is not much need to touch it except rarely.

We may have different definitions of what "rough" is. We do find multiple reasons to touch or use buttons, wheels and joy sticks when running--for example setting routes & waypoints, setting a waypoint for the autopilot, validating a turn with the pilot, fine tuning the Radar, changing radar depth sounder or map scale, and selecting targets for MARPA or ARPA, Changing range and bearing markers etc. There are positive features on both types of screens--and a hybrid which allows all functions for both types of MFD will allow you to utilize both modalities of control. Some of the Garmin MFD will allow a wireless remote--The RayMarine allows either an I pad, & Android system, as well as a networked remote device with buttons, & dials to communicate with the MFD.[/quote]