Opinions, please, on Garmin ECHOMAP Plus g3 64cv

[pcbayou]

There's a good sale on this Garmin unit, and I'm considering it among others. I'm replacing an old Lowrance Elite, which it took me a while to fully learn and appreciate. Can those of you who have this Garmin or a similar model tell me about the learning curve? Is it complicated to set up for basic navigation and sonar (multiple steps and menus, etc)? Are the features such as ClearVu (downscan) and Quickdraw™ Contours something I wouldn't use much in the kind of fishing I usually do (bayous and flats; not much offshore)? How easy would it be for me to go out the first day, find a promising spot and find fish, without annoying my fishing partner by constant button-twiddling?

[silverking]

That's the same unit I have. Very user friendly and not complicated at all. Intuitive controls. Buddy always likened Garmin to Macs vs. PC for other units. I'd agree. The ClearVu gives a sharp image, but I mainly use mine for depth, water temps and the mapping. Garmin bought Navionics and is making constant upgrades to its cartography and base maps.

Garmin doesn't run FL Marine Tracks (Lowrance and Simrad do). Don't know how extensive the tracks are for our coast. Many like it for traveling to different, unfamiliar areas to have confidence in running new water. I'm not a fan of the marketing approach of the FMT, however.

[pcbayou]

Thanks again, silverking. I remember now that you have a Garmin. I'm leaning now toward the Garmin, and I need to decide soon before the sale ends. As I noted in another post, I first have to make space on the console. You also have been helpful with that. I wasn't familiar with Florida Marine Tracks, so I looked it up. It doesn't seem crucial for me. My wife and I had a Garmin on a rented boat in Islamorada once, and it worked fine for our needs. Those waters are more unfamiliar and tricky than any others I'm likely to see.

[pcbayou]

Update: I bought that Garmin model on sale at West Marine, and it will fit snugly in the space I have. The sale price was the same as the Simrad Cruise 5, and the Garmin has a slightly bigger screen and many more features. I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy.