Westcoastwannbe
Member
I'd suggest looking at Garmin, given what you are looking for. The ipads and apps and other things will get you minimal cost, but that's not your prime objective. And they will be limited in their ability to expand (adding radar, sounder, etc), and I think result in a messier installation with exposed wires, etc.
From everything I've seen, Garmin provides a very clean and simple user interface that seems to click with people who are less tech savy. I'd plunk yourself down in front of one and play with it for a while and see if it clicks with you.
I think the advantage of a Garmin (or any vendor) multi function display is that you can make it as simple or complex as you want. With Garmin, there is one source for charts, so simpler than having to pick with other brands. You get a daylight bright screen, DC power, and a clear installation with no exposed wires etc. You can start with just the chart plotter and either and external or internal GPS receiver. I'd also highly recommend a depth sounder (the depth will display on the Garmin, you just need a transducer to sound the bottom.) Later, if you decide, you can add Radar or whatever you want.
I'm suggesting Garmin over Simrad and Furuno for a few reasons. First, as I said earlier, the Garmin interface seems to appeal most to people new to boating. But if you find Simrad or Furuno's interface "speaks" to you better, that can sway which brand you pursue. I'd favor Garmin over Simrad because I think you are much less likely to encounter problems, bugs, and odd behavior on the Garmin. And I'd suggest Garmin over Furuno because I think Garmin's design places the user interface as it's first priority. Furuno I think has the most sophisticated functionality, but is still a pretty clunky interface as compared to other.
I haven't mentioned Raymarine mostly because I just haven't looked at them for many years. On paper they have very good functionality, but so does Simrad. What really counts is the implementation, how easy YOU find it to operate because our brains all work differently, and how buggy the product is. This is where Simrad falls way behind. If you find yourself leaning towards Raymarine, I'd suggest doing a lot of owner research to see what sorts of problems people are encountering. Ray seems to be most popular in Europe, and with the sailing crowd.
Great reply....thanks