"wf3h" wrote in message
...
anybody have any recommendations on a reasonably priced good
chartplotter?

I recently bought a Garmin Colorodo 400C as a backup and for use in
the dinghy. It's a full featured water proof handheld with
pre-loaded charts of the entire coastal US, a highly readable color
screen, and provision for an external power and data cable (optional
but highly desirable and reasonably priced). The user interface takes
a little getting used to but with experience, I like it. We find the
chart information to be outstanding, even in the Bahamas. Tide and
current data is built in and easy to display. Other than the power
and data cable there is nothing else to buy, reasonable at about
$350.

http://tinyurl.com/pgvmmf

Without an external power cable I highly recommend the use of lithium
AA batteries, otherwise you will not be happy with battery life.