Best GPS for use with boat and GXing?

[+teamgallagher]

Hello all. I am near Tampa Bay and want to buy a GPS to use for both my boat (when I find great fishing holes, dive sites, etc and want to mark them for easy return) as well as an easy to use geocaching device. Does anyone have a recommendation?

 

Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

Regards,

TeamGallagher

[+TeamMagicParrot]

I had a friend who used a Magellan triton 2000 and said it was good, he gave it to me, and I have it selling on the garage sale forums.

 

This one has a very simple "create" and "go to" for great fishing holes, dive sites, and such, and you can add maps to make them better.

 

It's very high quality, I have around 2000 geocaches, and I have updated the software so that there are no bugs.

 

I would recommend this one or maybe the Colorado 400i.

 

Anyways, check out my thread, thanks

[LinXG]

Hi TeamGallagher;

 

You didn't say much about what type of boat you use.

 

For a small boat with an outboard on back then just about any of the GPS's that are talked about here, with a suitable mount, will work fine.

 

If you have a bigger boat where a fair amount of attention has to be paid to operating and navigating it then you should seriously consider a marine unit with a screen size in the 7 - 10 inch range or larger. Check out the Garmin and Lowrance sites for details.

 

In my experience any GPS can be used for geocaching with nearly all of the newer hand helds targeting the geocaching market.

 

Lin

[+teamgallagher]

I had a friend who used a Magellan triton 2000 and said it was good, he gave it to me, and I have it selling on the garage sale forums.

 

This one has a very simple "create" and "go to" for great fishing holes, dive sites, and such, and you can add maps to make them better.

 

It's very high quality, I have around 2000 geocaches, and I have updated the software so that there are no bugs.

 

I would recommend this one or maybe the Colorado 400i.

 

Anyways, check out my thread, thanks

 

Thanks MagicParrot...after a lot of searching I think I am settling on the Garmin 450. I'll buy the BlueCharts for SW Florida as well. Just not sure if the screen is large enough for what I want on the boat. Thanks for the quick response.

[+teamgallagher]

Hi TeamGallagher;

 

You didn't say much about what type of boat you use.

 

For a small boat with an outboard on back then just about any of the GPS's that are talked about here, with a suitable mount, will work fine.

 

If you have a bigger boat where a fair amount of attention has to be paid to operating and navigating it then you should seriously consider a marine unit with a screen size in the 7 - 10 inch range or larger. Check out the Garmin and Lowrance sites for details.

 

In my experience any GPS can be used for geocaching with nearly all of the newer hand helds targeting the geocaching market.

 

Lin

 

Thanks Lin. That is kind of what I figured. I have an 18' center console bay boat outboard and I use it in and around Tampa Bay. I don't want to get too crazy with it and go too far out but it would be nice to mark my fishing holes and such. Also it's pretty shallow around these flats and would be good to have some sort of depth charts as well. Thanks for the quick response.

[+Capt. Bob]

I have a Delorme PN40 loaded with some NOAA Harbor Charts that I downloaded from Delorme (part of the $30 annual subscription). It’s easy to mark waypoints with appropriate icons on the chart, just press the waypoint button and type in a description. The PN40 also has a tide table graphics and best times for fishing/hunting (dubious value).