Furuno Nav3 Vs Raymarine

[billh22]

Anyone have any hands on with the new Furuno Nav3. I am at a point that i have to make a decision between Furuno and Ray and have heard a lot of horror stories on the Nav3. Any info on real time use under fishing conditions and eez of use would be a big help.

[mummaiv]

Billh22

We have navnet 3d on on our 27' center console. Love it so far. The installer came back a week after the orignal install and updated the software for us. As for ease of use, once you get used to it, you can fly thru the different screens. I can't speak for Raymarine, but the nav nets use a windows based like operating system. Where there is right and left click. We are located in Lewes, De. Stop over and I would be happy to show them off.

[B-faithful]

call board sponsor http://www.boemarine.com and talk to him. he was very helpful to me when deciding on electronics. He will tell you what feed back he has gotten from customers of all brands.

[rarhomes]

I had Furuno navnet and loved it. I also think they have the best support. Because they have support on the east and west coast of the US, I could carry their west coast # in my wallet and I could call them until 8 pm our time. And if tech could not pick-up immediately, just leave a message and # and they will usually call back in less then 30 min. The techs are very helpful and are glad to help (they also speak good English) I give Furuno tech support a "10". To me that's worth it's weight in gold.

[Sturgeon General]

EMC ( sponsor) just put in two 12" NN3D displays and they did an excellent job of it...

I wouldn't call what you've been hearing "horror" stories. The problems are threefold:
1) Furuno told everyone that they would release the product in 04/2008 and there were major delays. Most of the delays came with the 12" screens. I ordered in 02/2008 and the first 12" just came about 2-3 weeks ago. The second one came this week. If you were to place your order today, I'm not sure how long you would have to wait, maybe Furuno has caught up and shipped more of them now. I would ask your installer/distributor for an exact date before you commit. I already had the Furuno FF in and the radar on top so I could not change my mind. ( Though I am glad I waited).
2) another issue is the software. It's like any Windows software. It is buggy and has little problems. Furuno seems to be responsive to consumer complaints and has been working on software updates.
3) 3rd issue I can think of is the charts. The charts Furuno displayed at the Miami boat show were juiced up. We all assumed those high quality charts would come preloaded on the units. They did not. It comes with vector charts which lack detail and are pretty much useless. I have been using the raster charts which I actually like, but the image is a little blurry when zooming in. I'm told Furuno is working on this. I'm also told improved vector charts will come out in 02/2009. But the raster charts are useable.

all that being said.. the high def. radar is great, the digital fish finder is great. The units are fast. The fastest units are the black box, then 12" then 8". sirius marine weather looks good on it, it is smooth and not blocky like i saw on the northstar 6000 unit.

really the only way to compare is side by side, and although I missed a few tournaments and fishing time waiting, the wait was worth it and it's time to move forward.

if you're ever in south jersey feel free to hop aboard.


mike

[000's]

Dont know about the NAV3 but I have Raymarine and I HATE IT there is nothing I like about it.I have had Furnuo all my life and let a salesman talk me into raymare the worst mistake I have made in a long time pm me or give me a shout 804-512-6501 if you want moore datails about Raymarine.

[Dads Dream]

Originally Posted by 000's

Dont know about the NAV3 but I have Raymarine and I HATE IT there is nothing I like about it.I have had Furnuo all my life and let a salesman talk me into raymare the worst mistake I have made in a long time pm me or give me a shout 804-512-6501 if you want moore datails about Raymarine.

*Which Ray did you get and what model year

I've been tire-kicking too long.....and the E80 s/b just right for me.....

Any help you can offer....thanks!

[Loose Crew]

Navnet 3D raises the bar on the whole electronics arena. I truly feel it blows away everything else out there. However, I will say that it is a VERY robust package and needs to be installed by someone who knows their stuff. Time zero is wild and the overlay possibilities are incredible. Yes, there were some significant delays on certains units but my understanding is they are pretty caught up now. Furuno stands behind the product too. There are lots of great choices out there, but 3D is a new breed...

[deliverycapt]

we have 8 of the furunos on boats at work, they are very good the only prblem we have had so far is that one of them the roller ball has gotten loos, as you run the cursur moves across the screen,
in my opinion you could ask raytheon vrs furuno but since they combined it with apelco not even a contest with furuno

[Lured Away]

The Navnet 3 has been excellent, the only trouble I have is that in some area, usually shallow water creeks, etc. some of the bouy data is missing on the vector charts and the raster charts provide weak depth info.

A guy that fishes with me has the E Series on his boat just installed last year and cant' belive how much more advanced the Navnet seems.

Let me know if have any specific questions.