Garmin 3205

[Bridog]

Does anyone have any reviews or opinions on this model or the new "bluechart 2"? Any other models out there that you feel are better? I am looking for a high quality chartplotter for around 1K. Can I hook this unit up to my Smartcraft system for speed readings? I had a Garmin 182C before, and liked it very much. Thank's in advance, Brian

 

[RonF]

I am very happy with the 3206 in the SE Florida intracoastal. I have traveled over a hundred miles in each direction from home, and have not found a need to purchase a regional chip. The menus are easy to follow and the chart easy to read, although I would probably not want to go below the 6" creen that I have. I can't vouch for its networking capabilities, and I don't have smartcraft electronice on the boat.

 

[BOEmarine]

If you are primarily looking for a chartplotter you can't go wrong with Garmin. There are numerous other options but most people opt for Garmin. The 3205 will hook up to your Smartcraft gauge via NMEA 0183.

 

[Sea Ray 300]

It's a long story, but here's the Readers Digest version:
My boat has the Smartcraft 5000 display. (The display is terrible, and although the concept is light years ahead of everone else in the industry, they should have spent another $50 for a better display, even if it were black + white, as color is meaningless in this application, but that's a subject for another "new" thread). Somebody at Sea Ray is brain dead, because it was mounted dead center in the dashboard, exactly where everybody wants to mount electronics. So I moved it.
After researching electronics, I decided on the Northstar. It integrates directly with the Smartcraft.
$1000, NO! Expandability sharing the same display on a limited dash panel, YES! :thumbsup:

 

[Bridog]

I will try to offer my sincere thanks AGAIN since my 3 other attempts to posting here have seemed to "disappear"??? I have another question however. If given the choice would you chose the Garmin 3205 or the Raymarine A65?

 

[Sea Ray 300]

If given the choice would you chose the Garmin 3205 or the Raymarine A65?

Garmin 3205 = 5 inch display = way too small.

Raymarine A65 = chart plotter + digital fishfinder. Includes Silver chart. Not as good as Gold chart along coastal waters. (I exchanged my Silver, + bought Gold)

Northstar 6000i = can fit an 8 inch display in your dash, as it has the largest display for its footprint on the market, with direct integration to 90% of Smartcraft data, and a seperate button to bring up the data. Much appreciated when you see the hideous Smartcraft display.
can add : fish finder
: radar ( with overlay, directly onto the chartplotter)

My question to you is where do you boat? Will you ever want radar? If we had fishing boats, with huge dashboards, we could have a separate display for every component, and add one a year. If I had my ultimate wish, I'd have the Northstar chart plotter, a Furuno fish finder, and a Furuno radar, all with seperate displays. Alas, not to be, as the 30 has a very limited area for electronics, so get the best bang for your buck. Hope this helps... :thumbsup:

 

[BOEmarine]

The 3205 and the A65 is a bad comparison. A better comparison would be the 2206 and the A65. Both include pre-loaded charts (the silver charts are identical to the gold except Silver loses the bottom contours beyond 100' and has a smaller database of onshore data like marinas). Both of these have siliar sized screens, and both function as a chartplotter and FF. The chartplotter on the Garmin unit is much nicer to use that the A65, but the FF on the A65 is much better than what Garmin offers. For your boat I would think the 2206 would be the right choice.

 

[BOEmarine]

I just realised you don't have the boat yet. If waiting until next spring then you will be looking at the next generation of Garmin equipment which is much more advanced than anything discussed above. Go to www.garmin.com and check out their line-up for 2007!

 

[Bridog]

Thanks for the heads up. The information on the website is somewhat confusing. It looks like a whole lot of new model #'s but all very similiar in features and screen sizes? Is there a simple way to understand what the model #'s represent? ie 535,545,555, ect. :smt101

 

[Bridog]

The 3205 and the A65 is a bad comparison. A better comparison would be the 2206 and the A65. Both include pre-loaded charts (the silver charts are identical to the gold except Silver loses the bottom contours beyond 100' and has a smaller database of onshore data like marinas). Both of these have siliar sized screens, and both function as a chartplotter and FF. The chartplotter on the Garmin unit is much nicer to use that the A65, but the FF on the A65 is much better than what Garmin offers. For your boat I would think the 2206 would be the right choice.

Jim, Just a quick thanks. The 2206 is a perfect fit!