I have a B&G Vulcan on order for my Cornish Crabber - I currently have an adequate Standard Horizon CP180 but after installing a Triton SDW system, the lure of the sailing features , wifi, N2k and a Thanksgiving 15% discount at West Marine was hard to resist!
Thanks to Ben an all the contributors to Panbo I am very happy with my hardware decision but my head is spinning when it comes to choosing the cartography - with the CP180 it was a non issue - C-map or C-map.
I sail out of Annapolis so the Chesapeake is my priority but I do have ambitions to return to New England - probably no further than Newport or the the Cape though. I'm less likely to sail south of Norfolk and if I plan to would be willing to buy the charts for that at the time. (I'm aware C-map has a good reputation for the Bahamas but that is just a pipe dream for me at the moment)
I'm definitely interested in being able to add my own soundings both for my own use and/or crowd sourcing.
I'm not a fisherman and have little interest in fancy 3D views of deep water.
I realise that much of the choice may come down to personal preference like Mac v PC - but I am honestly in the dark about the usability pros and cons. I do have an iPad and definitely plan to use the Vulcan wifi for mirroring and control.
At the moment it looks to me like a toss up between Navionics+ and C-map N but I am very open to other suggestions.
I've searched this forum pretty thoroughly but if if I missed an existing thread where this question belong please accept my apologies.
Patrick
Thanks! And I love Cornish Crabbers. Couldn't you trailer it to FL and look spectacular gunkholing the Bahamas?
I prefer Navionics over C-Map N, but C-Map N+ 2015 is looking very good on my NSS evo2 displays. Write up coming soon, but may not be applicable to your Vulcan 7.
Also sorry to tell you that B&G introduced a new model Vulcan 7 just today. I'm still sorting out the details but looks like more for less $. Sorry.
Hi Ben,
The more I look in to this the more I am leaning to Navionics - especially after calling B&G and being told that they find it runs more smoothly than C-Map on the Vulcan.
Thanks for the heads up about the new Vulcan 7 - no apology needed, quite the reverse! I ordered a ZG100 and the Vulcan from West Marine on Thanksgiving day when they had an an across the board 15% off (well across the board subject to multiple excluded brands). Had them ship to the local store and picked up and paid for the ZG100 yesterday. The Vulcan is not expected for 2 weeks or so and I won't be sailing again until the spring so it looks as though I will be able to weigh features v price but if the new Vulcan is priced the same as the old one at $600 it sound like a no brainer. I think the old model would need more than 15% off to be the better buy.
Delighted to hear you are a fan of Cornish Crabbers - I imported them for about 20 years and still hanker after a Shrimper (19ft) so that I could do exactly as you suggest and trailer it to Florida. My Crabber however is the Bermudan rigged 24 and displaces about 7,500 lbs and I don't find the idea of towing it fits my idea of recreation. Of course I know people do tow much bigger and heavier boats but it sounds like work to me. Stepping the mast is a 3 person job too - one of the reason my heart is in the gaff rig.
Patrick
Ben, what have you heard about the new Vulcan?
I just found this http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=151629
which indicates it will be compatible with ForwardScan sonar and Broadband radar and the US price will be $599.
I can't find anything on the US B&G site though but maybe I'm not looking in the right place.
Pretty sure I won't be putting radar on my little boat and probably not ForwardScan either thought the latter would be far more appealing in your rocky home waters than here where the water is shallow but the bottom (mostly) soft.
Still I'm guessing that these new capabilities mean extra ports (ethernet?) and possibly even a faster processor both of which might postpone obsolescence a little longer.
Patrick
I've only seen the same release, but think that the one radar mention might be a pr mistake. That would require Ethernet, the lack of which is a defining Vulcan and Simrad GO characteristic. I think the new Vulcan 7 FS is all about the FS. ForwardScan is attractive to many sailors and I believe this Vulcan can process it right from the transducer, no SonarHub needed (though not yet positive).
ForwardScan is attractive to me! Just not sure I can justify the expense at the moment - and another through-hull. I wouldn't want to shut the door on the option though. I'll watch your posts for more details.
And BTW thank you for the heads up on the FLIBS2015 SeaPilot discount - I bought the AIS unit with WiFi and it arrived last week. Looking forward to seeing AIS info on the Vulcan - FS or not.
And today we get a Vulcan 5 announced! http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=151636
Priced at $419!
Ben, I just called B&G and your surmise is correct - no radar capabilities for the Vulcan. Price for the 7 FS was confirmed at $599 but the guy I spoke to didn't have info on the 5 bond the specs on the website:
http://www.bandg.com/en-US/Products/Vulcan-5/