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I am buying a new chart plotter/fishfinder combo and am seriously considering the Garmin 2206c or the Raymarine A65.
I do not know anyone that has used the 2206c with the sounder option and reading some of the threads the A65 does not seem like it perfoming like it should.
Input from any of you guys that have actually used these machines would be great.
I finally got my A65 peforming like it should. I do love the HD fish finding technology, it is easy to read in direct sunlihgt and very nice looking at night. Mine will hold the bottom at any speed (45mpg and below) if the water is less than 250 ft deep. Then its just at trolling speed. I must admit, after all Ray put me through on this machine, I would go back to Garmin in a second. I think this will be my last overpriced Ray product. Just my opinion. I have replaced my card door 3x already and I am sure I will have to do it again. I do not like some of the go to options either. The unit works properly and is easy to use. I guess I am just done with it and upset at myslef for not sticking with Garmin as they have never failed me.
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I am also looking at the Garmin 2206 and the Raymarine A65. I have used both Raymarine and Garmin chartplotters, and I definately prefer the Garmin. But what about the fishfinder capabilities of the two? How does the 2206 compare with the Raymarine digital FF?
Regards,
Dave
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1996 Pursuit 3000 Offshore (Emily Rose III)
We installed the A65 last June. It works very well, but have not been in water over 200' yet. The 'Disk' door is very fragile, replacement doors costs +/_ $5.00, (if you can get it). In my opinion the device is a good one, especially the digital fish finder. However, Raymarine does not acknowledge the "disk" door problem, plus the manuals are not written for non computer savvy people, like me, leaving too much of the learning curve to trial and error. (See my earlier post regarding generating hard copies of way points entered via a PC).
I know what you mean about the learning aspect of the Raymarine. My father has a Raymarine GPS on his boat. I mentioned that Raymarine makes good stuff but you need to be an electrical engineer to understand it. His response was that he is an electrical engineer and he doesn't understand it. Garmins are far more intuitive.. at least to my simple mind.
Anybody got any feedback the quality of the Garmin 2206 fishfinding capability. I understand you can purchase an analog or a digital sounder module. How do they comare with each other? And, how does the digital compare to the Raymarine?
Regards,
Dave
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1996 Pursuit 3000 Offshore (Emily Rose III)
I've never used the A65, so I can't compare the Garmin to it. The Garmin digital sounder black box works well with all of the Garmin plotters. We have 3010C's at work, all with the digital black box. It is very good at depth, structure, and fish. We have one boat with a Raymarine plotter, and personally, I hate it. The menus are very confusing, the GPS plotting on the chart is slow and well behind actual position, and it's been repaired 2 times in less that 2 years. We've had zero problems with any of the Garmins, the menus are much easier to navigate, and the charts have better details. Disclaimer...I'm not familiar with the entire Raymarine line, so there may be better options than the unit we have.
I have a Garmin 2206 GPS/CP &Furuno FCV 620 HD FF installed on my 21' Whaler. I changed over to thispackage eariler this year because I wanted some newer technology. Before that I had a Raymarine 435 GPS/CP & Raymarine DX500. I have posted spicutres of all in action. The Garmin beats the Raymarine in ease of use and functionality hands down (I've used the A65 extensively on a friends boat & have intalled 6 of them on other boats). I prefer to split my equipment because I'm not a fan of combo units. Not because of the failure issue more from the functionality side when you want to split ur FF screen and still be able to see ur GPS.
Iused the Raymarine equipment for 3 years and it was bullet proof, no hicups what-so-ever. The Ray HD FF technology is dynamite as is the Furuno. You can't go wrong either way you go. Remember, Garmin is has new models due out in Jan 07.
Garmin pictures are in the normal & 3D modes of operation. The Garmin 2206, 376C, and Furuno 620 have been absolutely superb. They are easy to read in direct sunlight, provide a crisp clear picture, user friendly, and functionality second to none. The XM weather picturewas taken from my Garmin 376c. It has saved my back side numerous times offshore (I fish 50 miles off shore so having a realtime weather picture is invaluable when it comes to safety.
Raymarine A65 or Garmin 2206c 
