Lowrance, Raymarine E/C 80, or Garmin?

[sm4513]

Which one is the best?

I have a 260 Dancer '04 no arch (I wish it had one) and would like the best overall value, perfomance, cost, upgradebility, and compatibility.

I had a lowrance Global Map 2000 in my old Sea Ray 230OV and loved it.

I need GPS, Fishfinder at least. Considering chart and Radar, though not sure radar will help me any as the 260 seems too small to go anywhere that will justify a radar. Charting would be nice, not sure if it is really worth the extra bucks. Ideally, if I got the cartography option, I would want to find a unit that I can download the appropriate maps from the inet and load them on inexpensive, non-proprietary data cards.

Any input is greatly appreciated as I would like to make a purchase soon.

Thanks!

 

[BOEmarine]

Of the combo units available I would go with the Raymarine C Series for that boat. A 26 Sea Ray is certainly worthy or radar especially if you ever cruise at night. The C-Series will give you awesome radar and chart components, and an outstanding FF if you decide to add that option. While a FF is not really necessary on a cruising boat it is nice to be able to see the trend of the bottom. In other words, as you get into shallow water you will see the bottom actually creeping up towards your boat on the screen which will help you notice shallow water at a glance.

If you want to be able to watch DVD's on the screen then the E Series would be good, but now we are talking about overkill on a 26' boat :wink:

The Garmin system probably has the best cartography but the radar is yet to be proven, We have received mixed reviews about it.

If charting is the most important feature you are looking for the 3000 series from Garmin is the way to go. If a great all around multifunction unit is what you want then go with Raymarine's C-Series. Hope I helped. sorry for the late reply.