Thanks for all of the input gents,
The choices out there are really overwhelming. Unfortunately due to space constraints, it will be a 7" screen. I'm looking at a Garmin 740S which is a stand alone MFD that I believe would make a good addition to my single station boat. P-Dogg also indicated that I may want to wait and get the next generation 741XS version of this unit so it looks like there's still more research to do. At this point if I was to choose a similar unit in another brand, it would be a Raymarine. The Garmin however seems a little more user friendly. A 7" screen will still be an improvement over the 5" screens that I have now shown in the picture below. Although I will be building a new overhead console for this, a console big enough to house a 10"-12" screen will put the bottom edge of it right in my line of vision for the front window. Below is a picture of my existing set up. You'll notice that to the right is an old
Uniden Impulse 2830 Loran/Fish Finder. I bought it back in the 80' and it was way ahead of it's time. Notice how there is no glare on the screen compared to the 2 Garmin units next to it which were purchased in the early 2000's. Loran has been out of service for a few years now however I left the
Impulse unit in there as a redundant depth sounder. It will now be eliminated as well as the
162 GPSmap however the
240 Blue Fish Finder will now become my redundant depth sounder.
As for the radar, I think that Paul (prowlersfish) is right about the 24" dome vs the 18" dome. It seems that target separation would be greatly improved with a narrower beam. Garmin has a video on this subject that shows the difference. Although the HD versions help definition, it seems that there is no substitute for a narrower angled horizontal beam. They use markers entering a narrow channel as an example. From a distance, the 5° beam shows them as one target where the 1.8° beam from an open array defines them as 2 individual targets. As you get closer the 5° will eventually show them as separate targets. Although the 24" dome is double the cost of the 18"dome, I think it will ultimately boil down to which one I can best fit on the Radar arch.
Also, it seems that I can add more toys to my toys as my wife puts it. Thru NMEA connectors, I'm thinking fuel flow sensor, transducer and possibly AIS (receiver only) If I add the AIS, would it cause too much clutter on a 7" screen?
I'm thinking of possibly starting this project in August and was thinking of taking pics to do a "How To" on the overhead console.
Again thanks for the input gents,