[stripminer]

I have both a color fishfinder ( raymarine ds400x ) and a Garmin 172c chartplotter. I like them both a great deal,

I hate to disagree with my astute friends from the site but I would go color for a chartplotter. The Garmin is real easy to see even in bright sunlight and having color makes diferentiating different depths and structure so easy on the eyes. Red cans are red, green ones green, rock and grass are green, deep water white and shallow water is blue. The numbers are black against a color background. Your eye just picks things up that much faster.

The best example is running along in deep water, the chart plotter shows white,,, as you keep your eye on it if the chart shows blue ahead of you, you need to pay attention to the depths more.

The fishfinder is real nice, I have only had it this year and am still learning it but some people tell me they can tell a striper from a blue with their color units.

Obviously money is an issue for most of us, I spent 299 for the fishfinder and around 650 for the chartplotter ( with nav card ) . Make sure you find an internet price and bring it to West marine, they will match the price.

Whatever you do, buy the blue chart or whatever card comes with your chartplotter, they are fairly useless without them.

- Tom