Marine electronics help

Bottom line. I think you need to spend more than that. For a $1000 you can get a very nice 7" screen but IMHO that is pretty small especially on a 24' boat and its too small of a screen to be useful in split screen mode.

For that kind of money you can get a Garmin 740 (less money), Lowrance HDS-7, or almost a Simrad NSS8. I just put the NSS8 on my skiff and what a difference the 8" screen makes compared to the 7". But if it were me I would look to get a 9 or 10" screen. The new Simrad NSS evo are awesome and the Lowrance HDS series is nice. Good luck but think about spending $2K and you will get a lot more usueable machine than you will for $1K.

Garmin is the way to go hands down. they are the industry leader in GPS and Marine Electronics. We have had everything from Hummingbird to Lowrance. The Garmin hands down is the best brand out there

Let me add one thing. Much depends on where you are going to use your boat because that determine who has the best mapping software. If you are going to use your boat in LA marshes then the best software is Standard Mapping and you can only get it for Simrad and Lowrance. I had a Garmin 720 with the bluechart g2 and it didn't hold a candle to the Standard Mapping software. So while I really liked my Garmin I got tired of driving around the marsh with it showing me being on land.

ifsteve said:

it didn't hold a candle to the Standard Mapping software. So while I really liked my Garmin I got tired of driving around the marsh with it showing me being on land.

Click to expand...

ifsteve, does the simrad have updated mapping of the eastern marsh? I know most of the others are still using old maps that are not accurate at all for this area..

carnivore said:

ifsteve, does the simrad have updated mapping of the eastern marsh? I know most of the others are still using old maps that are not accurate at all for this area..

Click to expand...

I have been using my Standard Mapping ecards all over the marsh and have found them to be very accurate. I don't use the mapping software that comes with the unit at all unless I am in an area the ecards don't cover such as out in the MS Sound.

I agree the $1,000 is going to be tough to get all you want. The bigger the screen the better. The side scan is nice but can always be added at a later time if $ are an issue.
I would go to Bass pro or West where they have some displays set up and "play" with them see what options are important to you. All the big name stuff puts out nice equipment so it boils down to personal preference an Budget. Good luck. It sure takes a lot of the guess work out and makes it enjoyable

ifsteve said:

I have been using my Standard Mapping ecards all over the marsh and have found them to be very accurate. I don't use the mapping software that comes with the unit at all unless I am in an area the ecards don't cover such as out in the MS Sound.

Click to expand...

I had the navionics gold chip in my last hummingbird unit..but it still was way off in the eastern marsh..which I know has changed tremendously in the last several years.

Thanks for the input. When I bought the boat the dealer told me I would get the "2 footitis" I would come back in a few years and want a boat two feet longer. Sounds similar with the nav screens. I'm not too concerned with the side view right now, just need good mapping. Truth is, I'm new to saltwater fishing with the exception of a few charter trips out of Destin and Gulfport. I would like learn to fish the MS barrier islands and surrounding areas without wasting too much time, although time on the water is hardly a waste..

carnivore said:

I had the navionics gold chip in my last hummingbird unit..but it still was way off in the eastern marsh..which I know has changed tremendously in the last several years.

Click to expand...

This is exactly why my main advice for somebody looking for electronics is to go look at the units they are considering with the software they will use to see how it looks for their area. To me this is much more important if you are fishing inshore areas and marsh than the brand of unit. The software can just vary so much that good software way trumps the hardware.