Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Welcome!!

Welcome to the group. What do you call mid-range?

Welcome aboard.

The one thing that stuck out to me in your post is that you only mentioned one location (Lake George). I am from the south and have no experience with Lake George but if you are only going to be dealing with one location/lake, you could purchase an inexpensive marine GPS (does not really have to be marine but they are typically waterproof and have some additional features like MOB - some units have low detail depth features but not sure about Lake George) and purchase the paper chart of Lake George and key in your own obstructions. As you probably know, the main point of nav charts on the GPS is to show obsturctions, bottom contours, and depth. If you are on a budget then I suggest trying to navigate the old fashion way (learn the chart, explore the lake). I searched the net and found this:

"Since 1948 the Lake George Power Squadron has made available to the public a highly detailed chart of Lake George. The chart is printed in full color on four pages of heavy waterproof stock, each measuring 17 x 21 inches. Included with the chart is a clear plastic tube with an end cap for storage and protection. The tube will float thereby preventing loss should the chart accidentally be dropped overboard.

The advantage of this chart over others lies in the numerous water depth indications. Rocks, shoals, and other obstructions are clearly marked. Water depths are shown for the shoreline and other obstructions. Islands are labeled as public or private, and public docks are clearly indicated. The chart also provides the GPS coordinates of most marinas on the lake together with the services available at each. The latest chart revision was made in 2008 with minor revisions during the fall of 2010. The accuracy of the chart is like no other.

The LGPS Lake George Chart is available at authorized vendors such as marinas, bookstores and gift shops throughout the Lake George, Saratoga, and Capital District region. Lake George Charts © 1949, 1967, 1971, 1991, 1994, 2008, 2010 Lake George Power Squadron Inc. All Rights Reserved"

The source of this information came from here:

http://www.lgps.org/store/pc/stgeorgecharts.asp

You can buy maps for your NUVI. Go to https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=254&pID=125130 and see if one of these maps has what you need, then check to see if its compatible to your NUVI. I have the LakeVu North Central for Lake of the Ozarks loaded in mine, Works very good!
Bryan

we've used a floating handheld model by garmin. i have a mount on the helm of the pontoon and on my wave runner. i spent the extra money and bought a detailed lake map. we also use it hiking. the bread crumb feature saved our bacon during a recent hike in north carolina.

justrfb wrote:Thank you for all the answers and suggestions. I will be looking into all the great information and will hopefully find the right device for our needs... I still have a little bit of time, I think... Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rich

Hi All..
Not trying to hijack this thread.. But what functionality do you give up adding the lake maps to a standard NUVI?
That might save me (a casual toon user) some money!
Ron Husak
Currently at Lake Havasu

One word - Navionics

It's a $10 app for any smart phone or tablet. At the very least it's a great backup to your GPS. It's good enough to navigate with though. I've used it to find reefs 10 miles offshore. Plus you can map out your routes from the comfort of your couch, estimate fuel needs, and save photos with gps coordinates embedded to name just a few uses. Best 10 bucks any boater could spend.

Ron Burgundy wrote:One word - Navionics

It's a $10 app for any smart phone or tablet. At the very least it's a great backup to your GPS. It's good enough to navigate with though. I've used it to find reefs 10 miles offshore. Plus you can map out your routes from the comfort of your couch, estimate fuel needs, and save photos with gps coordinates embedded to name just a few uses. Best 10 bucks any boater could spend.

I have the app, haven't played with it too much, but worked very well when I did. Let's you cache your local map to the device (stores the map area you select). That way you don't need a data connection while on the water.

I'm on a 16,000 acre lake, and it's just about 12 miles to the farthest point on the lake from home. We're fortunate that our lake is very deep, rock bottom and has few obstructions.

My navigation comes from a lifetime of running around this lake. I know the bottom like I know the houses around the lake.

I have found that with the new tritoon, I get farther and farther away from home every week.

We are interested in doing some long distance river cruising--staying in hotels and state parks along the way. When I get into that, I too will probably get a GPS unit to guide the way.

Just Google "marine gps" or "handheld marine gps" and you'll get lots of hits. For reference purposes, go to Cabela's or Bass Pro sites and look up their offerings of handheld gps. There are sites out there that sell the same units for less, but I wouldn't buy one without taking a look at it and asking the same questions you did. One of the posters said they have a handheld that floats--great idea. I have a Nuvi for my vehicle, but I wouldn't take it out on the water because it's not water proof and it doesn't float.
Like everything else, as the features go in the price goes up.