Eldor and Dorothy -- I use the Garmin 276c which is a GPS / Chart-plotter. This is Garmin's entry model in their chart-plotter line and it's their only portable one. Being portable, not only can you hard-wire it to your boat/auto but it also runs on rechargeable batt's and has a built on antenna. I sail with it on the SFBAY as well as the California coast. It uses BlueChart chips so you buy the region you want and simply plug the chip in. For me one chip does all of Cali I need. Excellent and outstanding device and absolutly perfect for portability. I highly recommend if you don't want a fixed mount unit. I transition this GPS/Plotter between my boats so I only have to own one device. Presently you can buy it from West Marine bundled with land maps. I will say here however, for land purposes it isn't a great substitute for the Garmin NUVI systems. At best it's a decent substitute on land. But having said that, the NUVI won't do water at all. The bottom line for GPS Chart-plotting is, stick with the water ones for water and the land ones for land. Although I have the 276c I am saving my dollars for the wide-screen NUVI for land use. For land use the 276c does not use "chip" technology but rather, you download via your PC from a disc the areas / roads that you want at any given time. Okay just did a search on WM.com and learned they seemed to have upgraded the 276c up to a 378 and a 478. Not to mention the PRICE!!! I paid about $400+ about 4 years ago.... You might want to see if the upgrades are worth it to you for the price. Maybe you can find a 276c on clearance with WM somewhere or on craigslist. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=1... Ashley M-15 # 478 Morgan Hill, CA ----- Original Message ---- From: "Eeeisen@aol.com" <Eeeisen@aol.com> To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 3:44:30 PM Subject: M_Boats: GPS We are planning on doing the 2007 San Juan Cruise. We are trying to get equipment together starting now. One item that we would like some help with is the handheld GPS. We are fresh water sailors here in Texas but would like to purchase one with bouy and markers shown. After The Cruise, we will use it as we travel this country in the motorhome. Oh, and we want one that is reasonably priced. We are looking for guidance. What do you use? Offshore? Eldor and Dorothy M-17 Motu iti. No stuck or loose centerboard <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats ____________________________________________________________________________________ Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-index