*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: Most fishing problems are caused by the connection between the boat and the rod.
I decided this is my last post. I am sick and tired of the bashers. I tried so hard to play the devils advocate several times on this board. I am just sick of the one-sided, full-of-themselves, know-it-alls.
I spoke with Raymarine techs on the phone two days in a row, THEY ARE SUPER BUSY!
I would like to say, good luck Raymarine! I'm pulling for you.
Raymarine was almost ordered for my boat until I had a similar experience as above when calling them. They are super busy, the tech stated that he is totally burned out at the end of the day, you could tell. Here is how it played out.
While waiting on hold I was prompted to start an account with them by the "repeating message" so I thought what the heck, I am here waiting anyway. I did the account, typed my question and then the phone line dumped me since the wait was more than 20 minutes.
Called back and went through similar stuff but then a tech answered in about ten minutes. I'll admit, the answers were a bit short and I did not feel really confident with the information. That was last week, yesterday the e-mail question was answered, but not to my satisfaction.
Their response says if they did not answer satisfactorily to log in to my account, so I did. What they offer at that point is to go through the entire thing again. For this reason and this reason alone, I am not going to purchase one. Customer service means a great deal to me. I really like their units after playing with them at West Marine and they have or had some great rebates.
No matter how good a piece of equipment may be in comparison to competition, no customer support makes it relatively worthless when troubles arise. It has been two weeks now and still no return e-mails or voice mails. RM should be held accountable for their false statements on the website and their voicemail announcements regarding their response times and service standards. I'm sure the market place will seal the fate of RM as it does all companies that place sales and marketing efforts above standing behind their product. What a shame!
In defense of Raymarine, I DID get my A65 yesterday...It's working fine, and I got a new antenna .... I'm sorry that the techs are swamped with work , but my A65 did not work right out of the box ..If they had good quality control , my unit would have been one less unit that they had to repair ...I'm sure that there were plenty more just like mine that were brand new that had to be fixed .... I got it back faster than the woman on the other end of the phone said I would , so I am happy .... Between not having a working unit right from the start , and hearing that I would be having approx 1 months waiting time from beginning to end , I was not a happy camper ... The weather here in the N.E. has not been very good so it didin't hurt as much as it could have .... It ended well , so I'm happy ....A little over 2 weeks turn around from a company that is extremely busy, and going out of business, is pretty darn good in my book !! ... Some of these other companies can learn from them ....They stand behind their product to the bitter end !!....Jim
I did not return it to the retailer , because they would have had to do the same thing that I did ....They did not have a unit to give me , so what was the point ...The rep at Raymarine said to send it directly in , and I did .... It's fixed and for that I am grateful ...Jim
3 weeks ago I sent in the modulator assembly from an out of warranty 4 kw Raymarine open array radar (10 months out of the original 2 year warranty based on when the boat sold, and 18 months out of warranty by the serial number). I expected a call with an estimate for repair. Instead, 1 week ago I received the repaired modulator assembly covered under warranty. No problems with Raymarine here.
I did the math, and frankly I'm pretty surprised that with all the automobile and land GPS's that Garmin makes , and their wide variety of products, that Raymarines 52 week high was almost 4 times what Garmins was ....I read various posts on the internet ( take them with a grain of salt ) that Garmin wanted to aquire Raymarine ...By these numbers , I can see why ...Jim
PS...I happen to like Garmin GPS's , but not too fond of their F.F. 's .....
why do the math?
stock prices aren't a measure of the customer service dept ,etc.
they are more a measurement of sales , profits and growth.
i'd never choose my marine electronics based on the stock performance of the parent company.
I did the math, and frankly I'm pretty surprised that with all the automobile and land GPS's that Garmin makes , and their wide variety of products, that Raymarines 52 week high was almost 4 times what Garmins was ....I read various posts on the internet ( take them with a grain of salt ) that Garmin wanted to aquire Raymarine ...By these numbers , I can see why ...Jim
PS...I happen to like Garmin GPS's , but not too fond of their F.F. 's .....
RM stock is quoted in pence. 1 pence is about 2 cents.
I'm committed to a Raymarine E Series installation when my boat arrives next month because I believe in the product and support. What I've heard - New E Series to be launched this quarter but likely available Q4.
Share prices? GM common stock is still transacting and GM themselves needed to make a press statement to remind the market that their common stock is worth nothing.
As Raymarine have publicly announced, they are looking at options.
Garmin? Based on my personal experiences, Garmin sucks.
I wouldn't put them "Heads and shoulders" above anybody. If you like touchscreen in an all-in-one unit - then maybe. However, most people wouldn't consider the Garmin CP to be heads and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Most of the built-in units are all a bit slower than standalone PC's but the deciding factor is usually the user interface. While Garmin's user interface might be a bit structured, it's not always the fastest to use. Not sure I like traversing their menu's to do some simple things. . .
Also, garmin's screens are not as good as the Raymarine high-end units. It's certainly not anywhere close to the separate sunlight readable displays but thats an unfair comparison. And in terms of integration with other products, Garmin is severely lacking. Getting better but definitely lacking.
Now, the one thing Garmin does shine is that it is doubtful Garmin will be in the same financial trouble that RM is or that Furuno could be as they have a large segment of non-marine business.
What the HECK are ya talkin about??? Ray's "High-end units"??? Your kidding right? If Garmin is better in any area between the two, it's these two:
1. Ease of use (ergonomics) of the software. Not even a competition right now.
2. Dispalys. Garmins offers larger displays. But BOTH are sunlight viewable, and both are bright. Neither is any better than the other as they both come out of the same LCD TFT plants in china and Korea, along with every other LCD display on the planet.
But, it is a REAL bummer if Ray goes under or is bought out and disintegrates (as I suspect would occur if Garmin were to buy them). competition is good. The lack of it would suck for us.
A friend of mine within Raymarine pointed out that companies in trouble do not Introduce and Deliver as many new products as Raymarine has over the past 8 months. New X Series autopilots, New A Series combo units, New Wide-screen C Series HD Displays, New digital radomes, New ST70 Plus Series of Instruments and pilots and a New AIS Class B transceiver.
He says they're good to go, and it's bus as usual at the company.
Honestly, this is a pointless argument. Each company has advantages, disadvantages and their own issues. If everyone liked exactly the same product, we'd all be driving the same exact car, have the same boat and exact same home.
Some people like each of the brands, even the navico lines and everyone has to buy what suits their needs and pockets.
BTW - Hummingbird rules!
__________________ Justin
2000 Luhrs 320 Open - CAT Power United States Power Squadron - Vessel Safety Examiner
What the HECK are ya talkin about??? Ray's "High-end units"??? Your kidding right? If Garmin is better in any area between the two, it's these two:
1. Ease of use (ergonomics) of the software. Not even a competition right now.
To discuss which have to best user interface (UI) of two well engineerd interfaces are wasted effort. For some people the more graphical Garmin interface is the simplest to learn and to use, for other people the very logical Raymarine is the best. It's useless to discuss, but it's important to be aware of different UI styles when bying a new instrument. Go to the store and play with the different models to find what kind of style UI suits you best.
For me the Garmin UI sucks because I have to remember where they have hidden some of the seldom used options, with a Raymarine unit I'm able to reason where to find the setting.
I have had pretty much all Raymarine on my last three boats. But I will admit, I sent Furuno a technical quesion about a display that I was going to use and I received one follow up question then a phone call from a tech all within 1 1/2 days. I was impressed with that one experience with Furuno.
To discuss which have to best user interface (UI) of two well engineerd interfaces are wasted effort. For some people the more graphical Garmin interface is the simplest to learn and to use, for other people the very logical Raymarine is the best. It's useless to discuss, but it's important to be aware of different UI styles when bying a new instrument. Go to the store and play with the different models to find what kind of style UI suits you best.
For me the Garmin UI sucks because I have to remember where they have hidden some of the seldom used options, with a Raymarine unit I'm able to reason where to find the setting.
Ditto!
I've installed hundreds of Garmin units and on initial setup they always drive me NUTS trying to get where I need to go. I can walk up to a RM model I've never seen before and drive it like a pro. So anyone that claims Garmin's UI is hands down better is dead wrong IMO.
I also don't like their screens which always look grainy to me and to say they are better than RM's is... well I don't know what it is, but I don't aggree.
Also, what makes Garmin's GPS better than RM's? I'm not aware of anything a Garmin GPS will do that a RM won't and I certainly know of quite a few settings that can be changed or adjusted in a RM GPS that don't even exist in a Garmin. So what makes it better?
Hands down I like RM better for EVERYTHING, including support. I called them a week ago to get some part numbers and had to hold 18 minutes. That is by far the longest I've ever had to wait in the last 5-6 years and the RM techs seem to be, as a whole, a lot more knowledgeable than the Garmin techs. There are Garmin techs that are quite knowledgeable, but I have talked to several that aren't.
Different strokes for different folks and I'm glad they are both around so I have a choice. If Garmin were to buy out RM and discontinue the product line I'd switch over to Furuno.
My beef with Raymarine goes back a ways. Looks like they reap what they sew. All I read about and all I hear are RM complaints. Fished last weekend on a boat with all RM. Fun, boat had 2 large screens and the FF would lock up about every 5-7 minutes. The owner had to turn both units off and go in the console and remove power from each unit, then supply power and turn the units back on. They would work for 5-7 minutes and lock up again. He says he has had this problem ongoing after numerous failed repairs from RM.
Mentioned this problem to a friend who is familiar with RM on boats he fishes on and he says, yeah, common issue and he recommended installing a battery switch close to the units to make the power off procedure easier after they lock up. Ridiculous.
I love how RM always uses the boating public as their guinea pigs when they introduce new products.
Post like this just cause people concern about buying a product and bankruptcy becomes a self fullfilling proficy.....My thought is that if you want pure reliability, you buy Furuno. For the latest but less reliable technical advances you buy Raymarine. If you want the best GPS in the business, buy Garmin..
