Garmin 478

J

JoeBalt

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2003
RO Number
12416
Messages
85
There have been all kinds of discussions on this board about which brands of plotters are best, easiest, etc. but I'd like to ask specifically about the Garmin 478. Our boat has a Raymarine C80 with Navionics Gold and I am looking for a portable / semi-portable back-up...but more than a handheld. Does anyone have this model...my take is that:
1)It has built in marine charts.
2)It will work in my car with built in road maps /GPS
3)Will run on battery as well as 12v plug or hard wired to at 12v system.
4) Is updatable and will accept card based enhancements.
5) You can add a sounder / fishfinder / depthfinder.
6) It is as easy as having a mount on the boat and the car and plugging in from one to the other, or using it as a (large) hand held.

Guess that's enough...anyone have one, other comments? Thanks for your help.

JoeBalt
2006 FourWinns 318
"Ruff'N It"
 
The problem I have with that unit is the screen size - 3.8" diagonally. That screen size will work fine for auto gps because most of the guidance is thru voice commands. But it's small for a boat.
 
Thanks Les...would be a back-up only on the boat...any other suggestions on slightly larger units that still offer portability...will be buying through BoatFix of course.

JoeBalt
 
Some of that, Joe, is personal preference. My preference would be two units, one to keep in the car and one to keep in the boat. For the same amount of money, you can get two decent dedicated units. Or you may just prefer a single unit.
 
Joe, I have a 478 and I'm really impressed with it. The screen is on the small side, but it's bright and clear. I use it as you plan to: for the car and as a backup unit on the boat. I was appreciated all of the accessories that come with it. They included all the mounts and cords that you'll ever need.

I was surprised at how long the battery lasts and it was really nice to transfer all of my existing routes from the computer to the 478. The road-mapping works very well - it's ETA has never been off by more than a minute and it recalculates routes very quickly. One thing that's an issue for me may not be an issue for others: The unit has a speaker that clicks and beeps, but the voice guidance only comes from a speaker built into the base of the 12-volt power cord. I have a 2-seater and my cig lighter is behind the seats, so it's a pain to stretch that cord across the car just to get voice prompts. I wish they had integrated that.
 
I have the Garmin 478. I got for 2 main reasons (1) WM satallite weather and (2) a backup GPS. There are many more features but having nextel radar can be a lifesafer seeing storms in greater detail than your ship's radar. I also use it in the auto mode for my car too.
 
I also have a Garmin 478 with the XM Weather option. I bought it as a backup and for the weather feature (I let the floatilla leader make the weather decision....ONCE!). The small screen is not an issue because the nav aids can be configured to be large. sometimes it is easier to find marks on the 3" Garmin than on the 7" Furuno with C-Map. Also the Garmin has a "find" button which will show a list of all places by distance and direction. I was exiting the interstate to get gas on Saturday night and I missed the sign that showed the direction and distance to the gas stations. I hit the find button and it showed the closest gas station was west. For marine use, before running an inlet, I like to get the current state of the tide. On the Garmin, hit the "find" button, select "Tide Stations" and select the closest tide station (on the top of the list. With the Furuno, I had to scroll the screen until I found a tide station, then I had to move the cursor to the icon and select it to see a tide chart. The first time I had to do this, I was in 6 - 8 foot seas and I was unable to get the cursor to stop on the tide icon (don't ever let anybody make weather decisions for you!). The find feature is get for finding a marina an hour or two away. just move the cursor to the approx. area where you'll be in an hour or two and hit the find button. It will list the marinas by proximity and direction with phone numbers. I really like this unit.
 
Funny you should ask. Just posted this in response to antoher topic. We love the unit, for both boat and car. Admittedly, with a 23' cuddy, we are not relying on GPS for major voyages, but for up and down the Chesapeake it's great. You update throgh the web. Haven't tried cards, because no need.

"We have the Garmin 478. Have had it for about a year. While I don't have to worry about carrying it between helms, we do move it from the boat to the car. It's a good marine unit, and also a great car unit. Maps preloaded seem to have even smallest locations, intuitive programming (we had tried a Lowrance for the car and it was tough to figure out the programming). For under $1000, it has been a great buy."
 
Thanks for all the info folks, sounds like what I am looking for and will order one this week.

Joe B.
 
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