Christmas is just around the corner, and that special angler in your life has been dropping hints for months about needing to upgrade their boat’s navigation system. But how are you supposed to figure out what to buy without the help of a marine electronic service center? You’ve heard about how nice it would be to have a touchscreen display and how handy it would be to have a fish finder on board. They’ve even suggested that you’d be able to enjoy listening to your music throughout the boat if the right system was onboard.
So you know in general what the Christmas present should be, but how do you choose the perfect navigation system? Here’s a couple of suggestions based on the latest innovations in marine navigation technologies.
Garmin GPS 8600 Series
The Garmin GPS 8600 Series has been tried and tested for years. In fact, it won a 2018 Product of Excellence Award from the National Marine Electronics Association for its multi-functional display. Its preloaded charts and maps, along with customized layouts and sonar sources have made it a dream purchase for any angler. At the 2018 Fort Lauderdale Boatshow this past October, Garmin introduced upgrades to this flagship brand, including built-in sonar and auto-guidance systems. Innovative technology has also allowed Garmin to offer more affordable products in this series, allowing any sailor to enjoy their water activities with confidence.
Simrad NSS evo3
Featured at the 2018 Miami Boatshow, Simrad’s NSS evo3 GPS, chart plotter and fish finder boasts a 12” display with all-weather touchscreen technology. It includes a built-in echo sounder, and the addition of your choice of transducer will enable CHIRP sonar and HD imaging. The NSS evo3 has both a touchscreen display and a built-in keypad, allowing any angler to have optimal control, no matter what conditions they find themselves in. A wide range of charts, along with the C-MAP Easy Routing application provides sailors with effortless route plotting options, as easy as any land vehicle navigation.
Lowrance Fishfinders
Lowrance provides fish finders for every angler. Its Hook2 series was featured earlier this year at the Miami Boat Show and spotlighted by Boating Magazine. The Hook2 model features a SolarMAX display, high-performance processor, CHIRP technology and an internal GPS.
Lowrance is also featuring two other product series in 2019 that expand upon and improve their Hook2 Series. The first is the Elite-Ti2. In addition to the Hook2, the Elite-Ti2 offers a touchscreen, side and down imaging, smartphone notifications and wireless connectivity. If you’d like to get your sailor a really special present, you can upgrade even further to the HDS Live. Product features for the HDS include just about everything offered in the Hook2 and Elite-Ti2 series, while adding smartphone notification capability, live network sonar, dual channel CHIRP, and video input, to name a few features.
Raymarine Dragonfly 5M
The Raymarine Dragonfly 5M was featured this year on GearHungry.com as one of the best marine GPS systems. The 5M features a 5-inch dual channel and CHIRP sonar and GPS Chartplotter display. The Dragonfly series prides itself on taking display technology that was once only available to the most high-end marine consumers and delivering this tech at an affordable price. Dragonfly boasts all-weather displays that are optically bonded, deliver sharper contrast and won’t be a victim to fog.The PRO version of the Dragonfly 5M also gives you s 10Hz Chartplotter.
There are many options for buying that perfect Christmas present to upgrade your special someone’s boat navigation system. All of the equipment listed above come with various options and accessories, allowing you to personalize your gift as much as you wish. If you need help identifying the best system to buy, a marine electronic service center, like imaginemarine.com, can not only help you pinpoint your purchase needs but provide installation services as well.