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Everyone has an opinion, and I’ll throw mine in here. I’ve had Garmin, Furuno, Simrad, and have used Raymarine. I would probably rate Garmin highest on ease of use, Simrad, Furuno, then Raymarine in that order. Once you get past the quick initial learning curve, Furuno, Garmin, and Simrad all...

I can’t disagree with anything you’ve said. Much the same as buying a 200mph sports car and driving it around at (mostly) street legal speeds. Or using a 6000lb SUV to go the the grocery store. Both are things that I just might be guilty of. Lots of machines are over qualified for the jobs...

I’m curious about your logic on these two points. Rather than “reverse engineered” from CE ratings, I would say the boats are designed to meet the desired specs and capability. On the second point, do you feel that the availability of safer, more capable boats is bad because they may tolerate...

I think this is a category without much depth to online reviews. I have always found the local boaters to be the best resource. Once you find one or two solid vendors, ask them for others. The good guys know each other and they know who to avoid. In my case (as the OP) I was new to town and...

You are 100% correct. He kept trying to redirect the conversation to make it a warranty issue which of course it is not. Everyone loves to say that they want to do the right thing. My response in the vendor conversation was that everyone wants to do the right thing until it costs them money...

Peter, great job working with the culture and quirks of the environment. Often the best path is not the straightest. It is hard for many goal-oriented people to accept, but pushing to do it your way and on your schedule will very often result in greater delays and sometimes complete mutiny. The...

The vendor was Raven Marine near Sidney, BC. I didn't name them in the original post because it would only matter to someone local, and also because I thought the story might be worthwhile to share regardless of the players. There is an old saying about if you aren't sure if you are...

Furuno is very much aware of the situation. So are other relevant industry people. None were shocked when they heard who was involved. The vendor is not an authorized Furuno dealer. I didn't expect to be buying a new black box when I hired someone to check it out; I thought I just needed a...

In principal, I totally agree. The series of events is pretty clearly documented so the claim would be as close to a no-brainer as they get. In reality, I would have to deal with it from 1000 miles away, and/or sacrifice cruising and personal time in order to chase the money. Its just not worth...

The rectangular dish (gen 3) is shipped to the U.S., the round (gen 2) ships outside the U.S. There doesn’t seem to be any performance difference, but the gen 3 is slightly smaller (19”L v 23”round), uses a few watts less power, and is designed to cost less to manufacture. I don’t understand...

We had our Furuno TZT black box replaced in summer of 2019 due to some persistent malfunctions. When we had continuing problems and decided to send it back to Furuno last month for diagnosis and repairs, we got an unexpected surprise. Furuno ran the serial number to check for any possible...

The Starlink situation is changing at a very fast rate, almost weekly. If you are buying today and don’t want to risk some unknowns, then Iridium is likely your answer. It will also make a good backup later if you get a Starlink dish. The world of internet connectivity is changing dramatically...

As a long-time west coast guy, I think this post sums it up pretty well. Annually going up and down the coast can be done, but its a long trip with minimal payoff along the way. The fuel cost alone can be substantial, and the time required can be long if you don't get lucky on the weather...

Except for Seakeepers aren’t dependent on boat speed to produce their stabilizing effect. So the reasons the fins needed upsizing may not apply to the SK.

Try searching online for used chartplotters for sale. Ebay and craiglist of full of them. You can sometimes tell from the way the ad is written that the guy doesn’t know anything about the item. They are regularly for sale, nontheless. I do share the belief that covering the item is worthwhile...

I realize that it did affect you and you apparently avoided being taxed. My clarification was intended to be helpful to others, not knowing if you plan to return to WA state. It may also be helpful to you at some point. I can’t argue with your interpretation of the law based upon the wording...

The section of the law that you have referenced may appear to say 60 days per visit, but that isn’t the way the WA tax authorities enforce the law. WA tax law is famous for being vague and difficult to interpret, as evidenced by many discussions here on TF. In practice, a non-resident boater...

Its not that simple. Many have tried being there most of the year and hiding in MX for Jan 1 and they end up with a tax bill. Be there for no more than a few months and be out of state on Jan 1 and you are in good shape.

You can find the actual legal language online and try to sort it out. Mostly the intent is that transient/visitor boats don’t get a tax bill, but they keep it intentionally slightly fuzzy to make it harder to avoid taxes if you are actually based there. In practice, there are a couple of good...

Yes, you can certainly do that. Our last boat was a sportfisher and I still have a tackle shop worth of gear. On our cruising boat we drag a couple lines when we feel like it and the water looks fishy. We catch enough to keep it interesting and that’s good enough. The specifics vary by area...

I think it’s important to keep in mind that these threads aren’t focused conversations, they are discussion topics. Many of the responses are to other replies, not to the OP and not necessarily addressing the original question. It is unfortunate that some respond before reading the thread, since...

Don’t underestimate the value of this statement. We make lots of border crossings on the boat between US and Canada. Any hint that the CBPA officer is being lied to will often get you a thorough search or worse. They have some room for leniency on duty-free limits but there isn’t a chance of...

You say chargers, alternators, etc. “all seem to be functioning”. Learn your system in detail and check that your charging profiles are set correctly and working correctly. It’s worth the effort because incorrect charging is one of the most common ways to kill your batteries. Lots of new...

I'm not seeing size/length or model of either tender. I'm not a buyer, but that info will help you find one.

If your infatuation ended because the price went up $25, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with. And if a cellular modem works for you and you stay in cell range, you don’t need a sat dish. The Starlink dish is a game changer for those of us that cruise often (or primarily) in areas without...