gps

[soxfan]

can anyone recommend a good gps for winni??

[fatlazyless]

The green map made by Duncan which costs about 8-dollars works real good. Motor-boating around the lake on a sunny day, after about an hour, the whole lake just becomes one big blue & green blur and every island looks the same. It's all wall-to-wall house lots with overbuilt homes, too many docks, and too many accessory buildings. Do yourself a favor and stay away from that high tech gps stuff and just get yourself a green map down at the local store that also sells worms.

The green Duncan map has been used and endorsed by Charlie Moore, the Mad Fisherman on ESPN, and he knows Lake Winnipesaukee the best!

[soxfan]

The green map made by Duncan which costs about 8-dollars works real good. Motor-boating around the lake on a sunny day, after about an hour, the whole lake just becomes one big blue & green blur and every island looks the same. It's all wall-to-wall house lots with overbuilt homes, too many docks, and too many accessory buildings. Do yourself a favor and stay away from that high tech gps stuff and just get yourself a green map down at the local store that also sells worms.

The green Duncan map has been used and endorsed by Charlie Moore, the Mad Fisherman on ESPN, and he knows Lake Winnipesaukee the best!

thanks for the input

[Slickcraft]

can anyone recommend a good gps for winni??

There have been several threads that dealt with this so one suggestion is to use the search functions and look at what info is already available such as:
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5819

[Cobalt 25]

The information from the above link is helpful, but the last post was about two and a half years ago and technology has changed a bit since then.

Paper charts are a must. However, the prudent mariner would also have GPS. In fact, I believe a chart plotter is an even better choice. Chart plotters allow you to follow a return route a lot better than simple GPS. It allows you to see land masses while you are navigating. If you plan any night navigation it really helps.

For me, the jump from GPS to chartplotter was as enlightening as both Loran to GPS and charts to Loran.

Good luck with your choice.

Peter

[hancoveguy]

I am on my second Standard Horizon CP-180I (first one went with last boat). I am a novice boater (3 years boating). and I would not be on the big lake without it. Ofcourse it works best when used hand in hand with the laminated chart. The screen is big enough yet the whole thing unhooks and comes off the dash in about 10 seconds so it won't get stolen. Its got enough bells and whistles but not too many.
I bought mine at the Feb boat show in Boston. It retails for $500-$600 with the winni chip. Got it at the boat show from West Marine for $300. This was 40% off and they shipped it to my house for free. There are good deals to be had at the boat show

Good luck,
Spring can't come fast enough,
HCG

[Lakesrider]

HCG....Excellent. I have the same unit, with the Bizer chip. Does a great job. Of course you need a chart. It is a must, but if out at night or caught in a rain storm the GPS is a great help at getting home. Slowly.....
Check out the Standard Horizon unit. At one time I believe it was the ONLY unit to use the chip. Not certain but I believe the i stands for internal antennae. There is also a unit that uses and external antennae. I think the external antenna is more adaptable if you are steering from a hardtop cabin.
I also have the optional fishfinder plug in. Does a fairly good job, but I use it more as a sounder.....:D

[Kamper]

I also endorse Standard Horizon with the C-Map cartridge for the lake. Just remember, if you go out at night, change it back to "Day Mode" when you get back. Can't see it all all during the day if you don't!

Color is best. The single chip versions are fine for the lake. If you do boat a lot elsewhere, check out their coverage areas on the C-Map USA website. If you expect to cross the lines it may be worthwhile to get the two slot models.

Bizer is the source material for the C-Map chip. They now put out an what I think is an overlay chip for the Garmin products that some members use and like. Someone who uses that product will probably chime in soon with details on that.

Almost all chart-plotters made in the last 5 years will provide some connectivity to a DSC VHF. I've never heard of anyone on Winni using the 'red button' to call for help but I'm sure it would provide peace of mind.

Good luck!

[brk-lnt]

I have a Garmin GPS, and the $10 Winnipesaukee map from Garmin. Along with that I have a Bizer chart.

I use the GPS mostly just for ease of location of my position on the lake, but rely on the chart for actual data and information about depth, passages, hazzards, etc.

[hancoveguy]

HCG....Excellent. I have the same unit, with the Bizer chip. Does a great job. Of course you need a chart. It is a must, but if out at night or caught in a rain storm the GPS is a great help at getting home. Slowly.....
Check out the Standard Horizon unit. At one time I believe it was the ONLY unit to use the chip. Not certain but I believe the i stands for internal antennae. There is also a unit that uses and external antennae. I think the external antenna is more adaptable if you are steering from a hardtop cabin.
I also have the optional fishfinder plug in. Does a fairly good job, but I use it more as a sounder.....:D


Lakesrider, You said you had the blackbox fishfinder as well? I am thinking of adding it in early spring. Could you message me (or if its relevant, respond here) with info on the FF. We fish minimally but might fish more with the FF. We would primarily use it for accuarte depths, temp and bottom conditions. Is it hard to install, expensive, worthwhile etc????

Thanks in advance,
The more I think about it the more this info is probably relevant to the original post.

HCG

[Phantom]

I have to agree with brk-Int above .......

I put a Garmin Nuvi 550 into service this year with the $10 Garmin downloaded map and it worked GREAT. I ran most of the season with my old standby unit still in place to be sure. The best thing is that off season I can let my wife use the Nuvi in her car!

And SoxFan as others have said and I can't place enough emphasis on it --- learn the Lake from a Chart and use the GPS only as a back-up or to help orient yourself.

[AllAbourdon]

I have the CPF300i on board from Standard Horizon with the Bizer map.

I am also looking to add the transducer in the spring. A couple of bells and whistles beyond the CPF180 but essentially the same unit. Works great with the built in antenna.

Friends of mine are using the Lowrance units along with the navionics hotmaps and I think it looks a lot slicker than the Standard Horizon. I do like that the standard horizon looks pretty identical to the bizer paper chart though.

[Orion]

Chartplotters that use Cmap chips can use the Bizer chart which is always up to date on navaids and shoreline detail (both of which don't change much). If you are a fisherman though, I would recommend a chartplotter that uses the Navionics lake charts as they have excellent bottom contour detail which I've found to be pretty accurate.