Maritime GPS units

The trip sounded awesome, I would love to do that, but alas, wife hates water. I can't get her on a boat (except for a big one).

I am the same with with gadets. I just met with a Radar Detector forum member (never met in real life, until now) and we talked and talked about RDs and GPSrs. We compared our Rds and GPSrs. I loved his V1, but liked my nuvi (vs his navman) better. I played with his V1 like a little kid.

Every time I take a ferry across Puget Sound, I take the Garmin out of my car to the passenger lounge and track the trip across the water.

Looking forward to taking the kids on one of these trips. They've never been on any boat larger than what a truck can tow.

asainfire, have you ever had any experience with the radar jammer? i would like to get one but would want to be sure they work

We used to sail out of Falmouth Foreside. Some of the most exciting sailing I've ever done and coldest water I've ever had to dive in to free a fouled anchor.

You brought to mind something I've wanted to call Garmin about, but maybe someone here already knows if it can be done or not...

I have a Nuvi 350 and am very happy with it. Trouble is, I also have a small outboard boat and a kayak I like to take out when the weather's nice. Both of these are way too small for a stand alone chart plotter, but the perfect size for the Nuvi. I've taken the Nuvi out with me, and used it to orient myself with land features I wasn't able to see from the water, but as far as being useful for marine navigation, it was pretty sad.

Would nautical charts, made for Garmin chart plotters also work on the Nuvi or other Garmin GPS devices?

I personally don't see any reason why chart packs, with water depths, markers and hazards couldn't be substituted for roads, geographical features and McDonalds restaurants, but maybe I'm missing something.

Charts are normally sold by region, and therefore, probably use up a lot of memory, but I searched through the threads and was surprised to discover no one with access to a nautical type GPS hasn't at least attempted to load charts onto their terra firma unit.

Some do, some don't work as well. Lidatek and Blinder seem to be in the top. I personally haven't any experience, but the knowledge I have is from a forum similar to this one where there are many knowledgable ppl there.

...is what I was always taught. I took my Nuvi kayaking when I first got it, sticking it in a waterproof box. Sorta silly because it kept trying to stick me on roads when I was out in the water. Lack of battery life for a long trip is something else to consider. Its lack of waterproofness, and the fallibility of containers made me realize that spending a few extra bucks on an appropriate GPS made far more sense.

Our very own JM suggested the GPSMap 76CX, which is what I got. Water resistant (water proof in an inexpensive flexible plastic case), it floats on its own, replaceable AA batteries with many hours of use per set, and able to easily take topo or marine nav charts. Plus I use it hiking, and whenever I park at the airport! That's my 2 cents: buy the right tool.

GC

I know what you mean, a friend of mine has a plane with Garmin GPS units in it, I had to just sit there wanting to play with it to see what kind of POIs etc.it had. Cool stuff.

I agree. Not only is it important, but wise to get the right tool. The Nuvi is used 99% of the time in my wife's car. The most important feature there is screen size and ease of use. The 76CX is not very good in either of those areas. You wouldn't be suggesting I buy another GPS unit for the few times a month I decide the tide is right and want to take the kayak out for an hour would you? I'd easily trade water resistance and floatability for screen size and touch-screen ease of use, if I could get charts and maps on one unit.

I feel the same way as you about the batteries. I don't mind seeing standard (rechargeable, of course) batteries used in any portable piece of electronics, which is the reason my mp3 player is a SanDisk. If Garmin offered a Nuvi version with replaceable AA batteries, I'd own it.