Free GPS Guidance

In helping our new friend search for the best GPS chartplotter navigation for his enclosed wooden boat, we have discovered that the manufacturer’s descriptions do not always educate you on whether your unit will work in an enclosed area or not.  We are finding that it is important to do more research and be sure that the unit can handle an external antenna before purchasing it.   There are often situations where you do not want to navigate your boat from the fly bridge and would appreciate the comfort of navigating from within an enclosed cabin, so be sure your unit has that capability before purchasing the wrong GPS navigation system/chartplotter for you.   It would be convenient if the manufacturers would include that in their descriptions, but that is not always the case.

Several GPS chartplotters have the capability of being used with or without an external antenna and should be reviewed with this in mind.  Be sure to look for more than an internal antenna.  An internal antenna is convenient as it is more compact and does not need to be set up separately; and although it will work quite well on many boats, it will not serve in all situations.  Another thing to consider is purchasing a 2^nd mounting station in order to easily switch back and forth between navigating either from the cabin or the fly bridge.  Happy boating!