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Random Quote: The gun in my mouth was real and the taste blew my mind.....
While engaging in some idle chit-chat down in Orange Beach AL. last week, 2 different Captians mentioned that Raymarine was going out of business due to the economy. Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor???
I don't usually take much creadence in these types of rumors but I had the need to contact customer support this week. When I called in the announcement said that e-mails should be answered in 30 mins but as my question was somewhat complex in nature I elected to hold for a live support person. After waiting 20 mins I was sent to a voice mail and I left my return call info. I then went back a sent an e-mail describing my question. Its been more than 36 hours now and still no response to either the voice mail or the e-mail. As customer support is usally the first to get laid off I thought I would check to see if the rumors were true.
Great, now I can add that 3 things I own that are obsolete. Who in there right mind would take on debt like that. Oh I know, Sirius and look where they are now.
I guess Raytheon knew what they were doing several years ago when the spun Raymarine off.
It seems that Garmin, which in only 3-4 years has gone from a bit player to capturing 25% of the recreational marine market, has put Raymarine in a world of hurt - as far as market share, Garmin's gain has come mostly at the expense of Raymarine and to a substantial, but lesser extent, Northstar.
Personally, I think Raymarine makes a good (it has no one product that is a market leader) all-around product, which is a little more expensive than its competition - which may be part of its problem. The other part of its problem is it focused too heavily on being an oem boat builder's supplier (Tiara, Genmar, Brunswick); and we all know new boat sales are almost non-existant.
I guess that explains why someone at Raymarine signed for my A65 to be repaired on 6/16/09 and I called today 6/25/09 and the woman at Raymarine told me that someone would call me when my A65 got to the bench in 10 days !!!.......Maybe I'll get ot back in time for some ice fishing ............ Glad I bought a new unit !!!......... This whole world has gone crazy ...The companies you could once trust are going broke or selling out to huge conglamerations ....Time to get out my old electronics ....They were nothing fancy by todays standards , but at least they work !!....Jim
"Too bad, but I'm sure Obama has a plan for them too."
Raymarine is UK .... Besides, politicians only bail out Special Interest groups that can help keep them in office .... The little guys gets left behind in case you haven't noticed ... I sure have .. I'm feeling smaller and smaller every day !!...Jim
I have been trying to get a question answered by Raymarine tech support for over two weeks, they finaly called back today and said they were dropping the feature (NMEA 2000 compatibility) from the product since it did not work. The web site was modified within an hour. If that is how they fix problems, then it is no wonder they are going under.
I liked the raymarine gear on my last boat a lot, and easily would have gone with all RM gear on the new boat save for one thing.
The same configuration was 25%-30% cheaper with Garmin. When you are spending close to $10k, that adds up to a real difference.
Sorry RM, you will have to de-stock the old fashioned way - lower your prices.
I don't think that's a very fair comparison. Nobody in their right mind would say that Garmin gear is equivilent to RM gear, so why would you expect the prices to be equal? I like Garmin stuff, but their FF's are a joke and the ability to adjust setting and parameters on their stuff is non-existent. Why do an apple to orange comparison and expect the price to be comparable? Do you think you can buy a Viking for the same price as a Bayliner?
I don't think that's a very fair comparison. Nobody in their right mind would say that Garmin gear is equivilent to RM gear, so why would you expect the prices to be equal? I like Garmin stuff, but their FF's are a joke and the ability to adjust setting and parameters on their stuff is non-existent. Why do an apple to orange comparison and expect the price to be comparable? Do you think you can buy a Viking for the same price as a Bayliner?
x2
unless tha O man does have his way,then everything will be the same price.
Garmin's CP's are head and shoulders above RM. Radar and FF take a back seat.
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.
Ahh, but you see I have owned and operated both Garmin and RM. They are equivelant in most respects from a feature and function standpoint. Feel free to argue, that's fine, it's only opinion.
I'm not saying that one isn't better. Each has plus's and minus's. But like it or not they both have units that do the same thing, and do it at almost the same level (Garmins high end vs. RM's networked mfd's/radar/ap's - not the high end line).
Certainly they are close enough so as not to warrant another $4k for the RM gear. But hey, if that is your choice, go for it.
As for Viking vs Bayliner, they aren't comparable other than they both float and have engines. Viking vs Richie Howell might be an interesting comparison though.
No matter, it's all opinion, and what I find important isn't what someone who is on the water 300 days a year might find important.
Of course, you can't expect RM to be much of a leader for the foreseeable future. They will be lucky to survive the year let alone innovate and improve.
It's too bad, I like their stuff. And the industry will be worse off without them. It was just a few years ago that they really shook up the market with some really interesting products.
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Terry Jason 35, Yanmar 370 hp, Lots of fun at a leisurely pace
Well I have a Garmin (182C) and 2 RM's (C70 and C120). The Garmin acquires sats faster, is far easier to use, and zooms much faster. All this from a unit that Garmin stopped producing several years ago compared to the 2 RM's which are still in production.
The only thing I like about the RM's are the screen size.
Raymarine going under??? 
....... Glad I bought a new unit !!!....
..... This whole world has gone crazy ...The companies you could once trust are going broke or selling out to huge conglamerations ....Time to get out my old electronics ....They were nothing fancy by todays standards , but at least they work !!....Jim 
