I am in the market to upgrade my electronics. I see everyone speak so highly of Slade. I am going to have him set it up and teach me what I'm looking at. So, I figured who better to get recommendations from then Slade? So I called Slade yesterday. Super nice guy on the phone! He recommended an electronics package.

After looking everything up that he recommended. It's almost the same price as what I think my entire boat is worth currently. Is this a smart thing to do? I know that when I upgrade boats the electronics can be moved over.

When I think of this I think of the guys riding around town with $5000 worth of wheels and tires on an $800 caprice classic. Lol.

Perfect description of my boat:)

....but at least that $5000 in electronics is more practical and usable and transferable......and have a way better resale value and market than the bling!

Would also increase the value of the boat if you left the electronics on as the new owner won't have to buy them himself

Sorry I didn't mean he recommended 5K in electronics. Just the illustration off expensive wheels and tires on a inexpensive car. Probably going to be about 3K on a 3-4K worth boat. Thanks JJ.

$3000 worth of Lowrance will buy you $4000 worth of Humminbird equipment. I have Lowrance because that was what was on my boat when I bought it. For the same $$$ I could have Birds and have the next size bigger screens, newer technology and a simpler to use system.

Ehhh if you compare apples to apples they are close to the same price. Most people compare apples to oranges with lowrance & bird.

FYI Humminbird will repair older units(3yrs and semi older), Lowrance WILL NOT however they will offer you some buy back cash
(or words to that affect) toward a new unit.

I don't find HBird to be simpler to use. To each his own. Get what you're comfortable with $ and functionality. Do your own due diligence, make decision and move forward. I know of one very highly regarded person on this forum that has switched multiple times. Must have been very frustrating to his followers.

That 15 inch Solix sure looks good. 3K

Seems like most electronics are obsolete by the time you learn how to use them. Might as well buy last years model and save some bucks. Seems like the piece usually drops before they go out of stock.

IMO, you don't need that much invested in electronics to catch fish. If you know where to look for fish on the graph then you pretty much have it beat.

When I bought my boat I had the exact same thing but already done by original owner. That was the selling point of the boat 3 graphs and 101 I Pilot, I still have all the receipts. Correct on worth more. Very spoiled now with them.

They all have their good points. I do like the sonic hub on my Lowrance for my Marty Robbins tunes and the LSS-1 structure scan works fairly well although it's not needed anymore with my touch units. Awful lot of NMEA and Ethernet cables and wiring for stuff to go wrong and I have had some issues with continuity.
I like the Bird for it's interface with the self storing/deploying MinnKota and the 3 programmable view buttons on the face and last but not least the 360 scan view. The simplicity of installation and self containment is a big plus.
As far as resolution between the two I can't tell a whole lot of difference but have to give the Bird a slight edge. Maybe because the setup was far easier.
Both have the spot lock/I-pilot feature so that's a wash except Motorguide and Lowrance seems to hold the spot better. Supposedly MinnKota has fixed their wandering issues.
A 12" bird is about $400 less than a 12" lowrance. A Helix 9 is $1000 and the HDS 9 GenIII is $1650 retail

Cabelas has the Helix 10 si on sale for $999
Looks like a real nice unit

Go to UniversalMania.com. Perhaps the cheapest out there.