270DA What do I need for navigation and safety on Great Lakes

[MonacoMike]

I just acquired a 97 270DA with no electronics except the marine radio. What do I need minimum? What would be nice to have? What would be WOW? This vessel has no arch for radar.

Thanks,

MM

 

[tbirdvet]

I rely on my chart plotter/GPS all the time using a Navionics chip for the Great Lakes area. I would not leave home without it. It provides a ton of detail (like water depths and shoreline contours) I'm sure you could find a place to mount the small GPS antenna.

 

[C-SIDE]

You don't need anything. My guess is you will not stray to far from shore nor will you boat in the dark. In that case, you don't need anything more than a radio - that is all I have and its fine. Bring a cell phone too, just in case your radio fails

If however, you plan on going from Indiana to wherever at night, than its highly recommended to have radar as well as a chartplotter. If your just a day boater, a radio will be just fine.

Don't need any additional saftey equip, than what is already required. Just make sure you know the weather before you head out. The lake can turn in a matter of minutes - calm to all hell broke loose.

 

[island trek1]

I have the same model and boat the lake erie islands. I am always within eye sight of land. The first year or two I used my charts and compas. I have since purchased a hand held Garmin GPS that is now on sale at West Marine for $179. It is well worth the money. When going to Pelee Island there is a few shallow rocky areas one must avoid especially near the north east end of Middle bass island. Once you chart your way the first time and mark way points, it is much easier. The GPS also saves each run as a dotted line. If I had to upgrade it would the large screen that can be used in both the boat and car and includes depth markings. However it is currently $999 so I am going to wait til the price comes down.

 

[320Bob]

Mike,
I had a Lowrance 5200 Color Chartplotter that was added to my two previous boats, the last being about the same size as yours. The GPS antenna was mounted on the dash, not a radar arch. I used and currently use the GPS as a speedometer which is yet another reason to get one for your boat. I also added a Navionics gold chip to it along with my current C80.

 

[MonacoMike]

Thanks for the input.

I know I want some type of plotter-gps but know little of the features offered. That is why I framed the question around "What do I need minimum? What would be nice to have? What would be WOW?"

What do you get from the handheld? What more do you get from a mounted unit besides screen size? The Lowrance seems to offer a lot for the price. Is it better than the similar Garmin? Unfortunately when I look at these units online I do not know what much of the terminology means.

The boat once had a Garmin 120. The external antenna is still there. Is it usable with any new units?

Thanks,

MM

 

[Creekwood]

I think for that size boat a 7 inch Garmin GPS/sonar would be great. They have touch screen versions that are really nice, even if they are a bit pricey.

Lowrance have had some quality issues so read the boating boards for the model you decide on. I had a 332c (smaller combo unit) for years and it was great but others have had trouble.

Handhelds are useless as a main unit. The screen is too small for proper navigation and the lack of button space means going through menus to do anything. They are OK as a backup (I have one for that purpose), but not as the main unit.

You don't get sonar on a handheld, which is really useful on the combo units. Split screen (chart and sonar) is good to have if you are fishing.

And lastly, with a mounted version you can wire the GPS to your DSC VHF radio and then your emergency button transmits GPS coordinates to the Coast Guard if you get into trouble.

 

[CaptianWilly]

I upgraded to a Garmin 535S this spring and am overly pleased with it. I've wired it in to the fuel flow sensor and subscribed to Sirris weather. Sirris updates weather patterns every 5 minutes so charts are always up to date. Can zoom out to almost anywhere on Lake Michigan and get instant wind directions and speeds, incoming weather patterns and even waterr temps in some locations. Great resource without radar. My buddy has 15 mile radar but likes my Sirrus because of the range I can look at over the lake. Also connected into my DSC radio. Close to a thousand bucks invested but figure I can always put it on any boat in the future. Screen could be larger but seems adequate for a boat our size regadless. Just my 2 cents worth.