Garmin Nuvi For Marine GPS

[Kyhl]

I'm on a budget and want to eventually have two screens on my dash, one for GPS,and one for depth finder. I am inclined to think that a Nuvi plus depth finder would be an economical way to go. I'm not fond of the idea of spending big dollars on two gps/depth finders to only use one function from each.

Those that have tried using the Nuvi or other similar gps device for fishing, what has been your experience?

How difficult is it to mark waypoints? Can you use variable markers like different shapes or colors to denote different spiecies, example green for pike, brown for smallies, a circle for walleyes?

Will they keep tracks and how many will they keep?

Any other insights are welcome.

[Smoker]

I have the NUVI 500 that I use all around. It would be nice to have a bigger screen at times but it works. I think it is easy to mark way points but I'm not sure on the differant colors. I just use one. There is differant icons to use though. I got the CD Lakemaster and I can use the computer to change any thing or to find spots to try.

[Jordpederson]

Can you use like a lakemaster or navionics chip in the nuvi?

[Kyhl]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at one of the 5" models with WAAS.

Will it record a track or leave breadcrumbs? If so, can they be saved?

[Valv]

I think the Nuvi don't track your course, they just show the directions.

Besides they have only road maps, not lake maps.

You will be better off getting a cheap Android tablet (Walmart has them for $ 99)and use Google Maps , or if you have a 4.3" phone, flip it on its side and use that instead.

[Northlander]

I would just go get 1 seperate gps and graph if your set on 2 screen on the dash. Hand held units and phones are just too small screened and hard to read. I hate trying to read my H2Oc on my snowmobile in the winter.

[kerryd15]

the nuvi will save a track till you clear the trip log. Lakemaster makes a garmin compatible micro SD card for the nuvi's. Lakemaster shows contours and public landings. works very nice for in the boat and icefishing. Very nice for fishing lakes you have never been to. Zoom in to the lake, find the landing, press go. you now have turn by turn directions to a new lake.

[RangerJack]

I have the Garmin Nuvi 500 next to a Vexilar at my console. The Nuvi 500 with a Lakemaster chip is a good enough GPS unit for me. Just switch it to "Boating" mode, and it updates as you are driving on the lake, shows speed, and has 1 foot contours on a lot of lakes I fish. It does not track your course (that I know of), but that isn't necessary for most fishing I do. It would be nice though.

The Nuvi 500's screen is a little small, and I would definitely recommend getting a larger unit. Although, the Nuvi 500 is one of Garmin's few dual-purpose waterproof units, which is why I purchased it.

I would recommend a Garmin unit with the Lakemaster chip, especially if you're on a budget. I found the Garmin chip online for $87 too.

Good luck making your purchase.

RangerJack.

[MN Mike]

The NUVI 500 is still one of the best all around GPS devices out there, built for highway navigation with the outdoor user in mind. You can put many different types of mapping chips in the 500, Lakemaster, Garmin BlueChart, MNTrax and others. It's waterproof and has a user replaceable battery if you're gone from a power source for an extended amount of time.

The NUVI's will give you tracks and you can save those tracks ( and waypoints ) to a computer if you like, you can toggle the tracking display on and off, it records all the time.

As far as symbols for marking your fishing spot, you can do that with the symbols they have. On the 500 you can also attach a photo to a waypoint for photo navigation, I think thats a pretty cool feature to be able to take you back to the spot where you caught that 40" Pike by just taping on the picture you attached to that waypoint.

Keep in mind the NUVI list's your waypoints as FAVORITES, it's very easy to save a waypoint in the NUVI.

I have a NUVI 250, I wouldn't recommend anything other than a NUVI 500 or 550 for outdoor / boating use.

If you do get one, make sure you sign up for a free account at mygarmin, that will allow you to update your NUVI with the latest software among other things too.

Mike

[Kyhl]

This is good info. Thanks.

Do you lose anything by using the software version of Lakemaster versus the chip?

I was planning to mount a unit to the boat's windshield just like in a car. I have yet to get water on my dash but I suppose it could happen. It will probably happen 5 minutes after installing.

Other then rain, if there is water hitting my dash or the inside of the windshield, I am probably in bigger trouble then worrying about electronics.

I do have an ancient hand held and it is way to small of a screen for me. A phone screen will be too small as well. I'm looking for a 5" or larger. Going larger may mean going for a dedicated marine gps. I'm just fishing for options at this point.

MN Mike, can you speak more to your point about saving waypoints as Favorites? Is there a reason you call that out as a point? Is it tough to organize the Favorites?

[MN Mike]

I have a NUVI 250, I wouldn't recommend anything other than a NUVI 500 or 550 for outdoor / boating use.

Mike

I need to clarify that statement, IF you're looking at the NUVI's, I would recommend the 500's over any other NUVI's for outdoor use, pay the extra money to get into a 500 over the cheaper ones you see for $100 or so. I wasn't trying to say that the NUVI 500 is the best GPS on the market.

I myself like to use the chip, you can move it from one Garmin device to another ( I've got 3 Garmins that take a SD or MicroSD chip ), with the software CD or the download from Garmin, you're limited to how many devices you can use that software in. With the free Garmin BaseCamp software, you can view the lake data on the Lakemaster chip on your computer.

The only reason I make the point about favorites is that Garmin called it that on the NUVI's and not Waypoints like they do on their other GPS devices.

Mike