Question: What is the best chartplotter - John A.

Answer: The best marine chartplotter is the one that most closely fills your needs.  You will need to determine how much you want to spend.  What size screen you can fit.  If you want touchscreen or buttons.  If you need wireless connectivity. If you ever want to add radar. If you want a sonar built in. If you need freshwater maps, coastal maps or both. If you want NMEA 2000 integration.  Once you answer all of those questions you will really narrow down your choices. What most people find is that Garmin has the easiest to use chartplotters if your needs are simply limited to having a chartplotter.  They offer auto-guidance and have color screens. Their touchscreens make things even easier with naming waypoints and creating routes.  Chartplotters range in price from $500 for a basic unit that has a 5 inch screen up to thousands of dollars for larger screens with all of the features listed above. - Jim Maier