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I am looking at the Raymarine C120 & the equivalent Furuno 10" .
I will use this for Radar & GPS Plotter. Not concerned so much with the sounder, I have the Interscope Twinscope.
The pro I'm working with told me that Raymarine will have a slightly superior display, and quicker plot redraw time (approx 2 seconds not that that is significant). He noted that the Raymarine is basically a display that adds on radar & gps; whereas the Furuno is a radar that leads to a display. I think his argument is that the Raymarine C120 is conceptually started with the display and works from there. The point also that Furuno offers a superior Radar.
Costs are roughly equal, and product support/service sides with Furuno as Raymarine tends to drop support of their products quickly.
12" is better than 10"; and a quicker redraw/plot on the Raymarine is an advantage i suppose.
but how much better is the Furuno's radar quality?
-Stamas 310 Express Diesels
I bought furuno and couldn't be happier, that being said the new C stuff has been recepted well. The radar is no contest...Furuno. I have used both depthfinders and although I don't think there is a clear winner, most people believe Ray's marketing hype and think the Ray is better. I am getting ready to backfit a 2Kw transducer and 2Kw machine to my Navnet, and there WILL be a clear winner, and it won't be my wallet
Another thing to consider is Furuno is giving rebates because they are coming out with all new systems this spring.
Furuno does have an alphanumeric keypad which aids in entering waypoints,Raymarine offers it as an option,but I just seem to believe that the Ray is easier to operate. Also, Raymarine Pathfinder radars do an excellent job and their auto-tuning functions work flawlessly. My vote is for the Ray C-series. I work with & install predominately Furuno & Raymarine equipment daily & this is just my opinion.
Look at the Simrad CA 44 series..........the radar is great and allows you to view two radar screens at the same time. You can adjust and set the distance for each screens.....it's like having two radars in one. When offshore I have one set at 1.5 miles and the other set to 6 miles.
Something you should consider..........it uses CMap NT+ mapping. You can overlay the chart on the radar or have one half of the screen set to radar and the other set a a chart plotter. The screens will synch so you will see your position on both screens.
My brother and I looked at them all, Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, and Northstar.* I have Raytheon on my boat; he had Raytheon on his former boat (28' Rampage)*for the last 18 years.* No problems.* Raymarine has the inside line on the new 32' Whaler.* I liked the specs better on the 48" open array radar, 2.5 degree, 12.1" screen Vs 10.5" on the others, the hook up of the various systems seems*easier, the radar overlay of the map is excellent.* Great GPS and HD sounder PIC.* The only item not Raymarine will a Icom IC-M602 VHF radio and a Clarion sound system.** "What's not to like?"* Oh, and the price was about $11,000 for the whole deal including an extra display, considerably less than the competition.* We tried to compare apples and apples, too.* Not a perfect science.* We went in with an open mind; knowing we could have got a super deal on Northstar.* Whaler and Northstar are both made by Brunswick...the bowling ball people.*
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Boston Whaler, "MUMBLER", 24 Outrage, twin 175 HP Evinrude Ocean Pros
If output power is a consideration for the radar then the Furuno offers a 12kW version with 4ft or 6ft open antenna (as opposed to 10kW for Raymarine). "Great for spotting feathered birds". The 2004 NMEA awards also chose the NavNet radar as the best recreation radar and the GP-1900C (same display/unit as the radar) was selected as the best chartplotter. This is quite an achievement even though the C series won "best of the show" just to confuse matters even more.
The current series of Furuno NavNet is available in C-Map NT+ or Navionics (your service dealer can change the software for either) or just order the version you want in the first place.
Another consideration is the size of the display. I believe that the new series will not be that much different other than a model that accepts Navionics Gold Charts. But, I also hears=d at the Boat Show that C-Map is launching a new version (C-Map Max) with some pretty handy features that are yet to be made public. Yes, the C120 is bigger and the resolution rating is higher (on paper and so it should be for a larger display) but having compared them side-by-side at the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show I cannot say one is better than the other when based on the resolution alone. I'm going to take advantage of the NavNet rebate as the Furuno radar reputation (it also has radar overlay and split screen) as well the built-in keyboard (I have a 25ft CC) is an excellent package. Also a Furuno RD-30 digital nav repeater must be the best "accessory" I've come across. I saw one on a charter boat a few months ago and it is a simple and easy to read digital readout that I'll will easily find space for on my console.
Just like someone said before, Raymarine radars go on more recreational boats than Furuno. The same here in La. Don't get me wrong, there are alot of Furuno radars on smaller boats, but when you go to tugs, crew, and push boats all they will accept is a Furuno.The Raymarine radar is great for recreational boaters with the auto tune function. Many people like to get out there turn it on and just run. They are also very easy to operate. If I had a work boat though I would throw a Furuno on it though.
raymarine offers radar overlay but I'm not sure furuno does. I have c-80 on my Parker 2520xl and love the overlay along with the sharpnes. go for the 120.
Good Luck
Just a word of caution.* The above reference comparison of Furuno Vs Raymarine is very outdated, October 2003.* As we all know in the electronics/computer world...as soon as you buy it's OLD/ outdated technology.* The Raymarine electronics discribed in article is their old system,...No C120, split screen, etc.* The alphaneumaric keypad is now only $150 or so.* http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/* Take a look for Raymarine's new capabilities.* I'm not knocking Furuno, just trying to have a current comparison.* Not easy to do.* **
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Boston Whaler, "MUMBLER", 24 Outrage, twin 175 HP Evinrude Ocean Pros
Furuno definitely has radar overlay and auto tune so no real diffs there. I prefer the Furuno because of the standard keyboard. In my opinion it's easier to use equipment with some kinda keyboard and if it's built in it's even better. What are the specs on the Raymarine keyboard? I know it's an option but what size is the footprint and also how many dollars extra? I considered the NavNet in it's black box form. This means that you can put any size display, limited only by install space and budget. Choices are any standard off the shelf TFT monitors (15" would look pretty cool) ot the dedicated waterproof 12.1 or 15" Furuno displays. What put me off was the console does not have much space for where I would need to put the keyboard. If I was starting the layout from scratch I'd make a plan!
Also I'm looking at the 24nm radome of the Furuno (M-1823c) as it has a multi-speed scanner. Speeds up at lower ranges which is great for high speed craft and conjested waterways. Not that you would want to go at high speeds in conjested waterways but I'm told it is great for ARPA tracking high speed craft as the higher turning scanner updates the screen and hence ARPA information much quicker. As you increase the range scale the scanner automatically slows back down to the standard 24rpm. However after seeing the 4ft open scanner pick up a flock of birds feeding on the surface I'm certain to go for the higher power open scanner. I wonder if Furuno will introduce an open scanner that offers high speed rotation?
I just packaged my raycrap up and shipped it back to them with a list of aggravations.. stay posted for a good deal on it..
Furuno radar is nice, FF good, plotter is dated and slow..
I'm going with Simrad, It just seems like it's worth the little extra money, I'm tired of marginal electronics on my boat. hopefully this will be the answer.
Another popular set up here is Nothstar plotter and Furuno radar if you don't mind the separate units..
There really isnt anything wrong with Raymarine. But the Furuno Navnet series has been out longer, therefore is has a better reputation. They worked all of the bugs out them, and lets face it, if they werent so much money, more people would consider them over the Raymarine's. The features are basically the same in many ways. But the difference between the people who buy the Furuno Navnet and the people who buy the Raymarine's, is the money issue. If your not looking to spend a lot for a great unit, then go with the Raymarine stuff. But if you got the dough, and you want the best multifunction system you can get, youd probably go for the Navnet system, or the Simrad system.
The Northstar syestem is also very good, but they havnt worked all of the problems out of them yet (ie: fogging screen). And Ive heard from many owners that the radar is very difficult to use, and is not very user-friendly.
If it was me, Id go with a Northstar Chartplotter, Furuno Radar, and Furuno FF. The more technical you get with interfacing and crap, the more that can go wrong. I like to keep it simple.
If you need dual station the only choice is Furuno.
With the NavNet network if one station goes down the other still operates everything through the ethernet system.
With Simrad the "repeater" is a complete dummy and can not perform any functions if the main unit fails.
Raymarine presently only offers their HSB2 system. And if history is any indication they will cease to support that product after 2 years once their E system comes out.
Nothstar makes a GREAT plotter and it stops there.
Garmin also make s a great plotter, a marginal fishfinder, and an unkown radar.
I've had other various electronics in boats over the years but IMHO no one comes close to Furuno's customer support. Their organization is an example of how to build quality products & develop a loyal following by listening and supporting your clients. How many times have you heard of someone yanking out a Furuno & replacing it with a Raytheon/RayMarine product?
Again IMO, if you want a decent product & don't expect good support Raymarine would be a decent choice. If you want a great product from a company that will stand behind it, Furuno is the way to go.
raymarine vs. furuno 
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hopefully this will be the answer.
