Marine NavigationAustralia · 2026

Buying Guides

Brand-by-brand and model-by-model comparisons for the 2026 Australian market, with budgets and realistic shortlists.

15 guides65 min of reading
A glass helm showing a chart on the main multifunction display with soundings and a vessel symbol, a wind instrument dial, and an autopilot head holding 040 degrees. 1219824 SOG 6.4DPT 12.4 WIND 040° PILOT · AUTO MFD · INSTRUMENTS · PILOT
Chart, instruments and pilot. The display cannot improve the quality of the data reaching it.
A glass helm showing a chart on the main multifunction display with soundings and a vessel symbol, a wind instrument dial, and an autopilot head holding 040 degrees. 1219824 SOG 6.4DPT 12.4 WIND 040° PILOT · AUTO MFD · INSTRUMENTS · PILOT

chartplotters

Best chartplotters 2026

There is no single best chartplotter, only a best ecosystem for a specific vessel and mission. Here are the 2026 picks, mission by mission, with the reasoning.

Buying Guides5 min read

Read the guide A radar display showing range rings, a rotating sweep, a coastline return, an approaching vessel with a velocity vector, a receding vessel and a rain cell. 6 NM · DOPPLER

radar

Best marine radar 2026

The best radar is not the one with the biggest range number. These are the 2026 picks by vessel type, and the four things worth more attention than the spec sheet.

Buying Guides5 min read

Read the guide A planing motor yacht with a raised helm, an open-array radar on the mast, a thermal camera below it, and a speed annotation. thermal open array 25 kn · 0.42 NM / MIN

brands

Marine electronics brands compared

You are not buying a screen, you are joining an ecosystem for a decade. Here is what each of the six brands is genuinely best at, and where each one costs you something.

Buying Guides7 min read

Read the guide A wiring diagram showing a 12 volt battery, a fuse, positive and negative conductors running to a display, the round-trip run length dimensioned, and a maximum permitted voltage drop of 0.36 volts. 12V fuse round-trip run −0.36 V max (3%) VOLTAGE DROP

budget

What it costs, and where to spend

Most electronics budgets are spent in the wrong order. This guide allocates by tier and vessel type, and names the costs that never appear on the quote.

Buying Guides6 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the Garmin ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. Garmin BROADEST ECOSYSTEM GPSMAP · Fantom · LiveScope 2 · SmartDrive

Garmin

Garmin marine electronics

The broadest recreational marine ecosystem, and after SmartDrive a genuinely serious sailing contender. What Garmin is best at, and what it costs you.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the B&G ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. B&G DEDICATED SAILING Zeus SR / SRX · H5000 · HALO

B&G

B&G marine electronics

The most sailing-specialised mainstream ecosystem, and the specialisation is real rather than cosmetic. Worth it if you actually use the data.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the Raymarine ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. Raymarine COHESIVE CRUISING Axiom 2 · Evolution · Quantum · FLIR

Raymarine

Raymarine marine electronics

The most cohesive cruising package of the six when you use the pieces together: display, autopilot, radar, thermal and cameras behaving as one designed system.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the Simrad ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. Simrad POWERBOATS & OFFSHORE NSS 4 · HALO · S3100

Simrad

Simrad marine electronics

Built for motor yachts, power cruisers and offshore sportfishers. NSS 4's hybrid control is one of the best offshore helm interfaces available.

Buying Guides3 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the Furuno ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. Furuno RADAR & SONAR DEPTH TZtouchXL · DRS-NXT · SCX satellite compass

Furuno

Furuno marine electronics

Commercial credibility brought to recreational boats. The choice when radar, sonar and offshore sensor performance matter more than interface polish.

Buying Guides3 min read

Read the guide A typographic tile for the Lowrance ecosystem, noting its strongest application and its main product families. Not the manufacturer's logo. Lowrance FISHING VALUE HDS PRO · ActiveTarget · Active Imaging

Lowrance

Lowrance marine electronics

The most fish-finding capability per dollar, particularly on smaller and medium boats. Not the ecosystem for a bluewater sailing yacht.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide Two vessels at the same range on slightly different bearings: a wide beam merges them into one return, while a narrow beam separates them into two. WIDE BEAMNARROW BEAM merged resolved

radar

Radome vs open array

The honest answer is that beam width is real physics and windage aloft is real seamanship. Which wins depends on the boat, not the budget.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A plot of two AIS targets on converging courses, with the closest point of approach circled and CPA and TCPA values labelled. CPA 0.2 NM TCPA 8 min CLASS B · SOTDMA

AIS

Class A vs Class B AIS

Most private yachts do not need Class A simply because they go offshore. The real decision is SOTDMA versus CSTDMA, and whether to transmit at all.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A single narrow transmit frequency returning one blurred mass above the seabed, beside a CHIRP frequency sweep resolving the same water into three separate targets. SINGLE FREQUENCYCHIRP SWEEP one blur three targets

sonar

CHIRP vs traditional sonar

CHIRP genuinely separates targets a single frequency merges. Whether that is worth paying for depends entirely on the question your boat asks the water.

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A sailing yacht profile with labelled positions for the masthead wind, VHF and radar, the GNSS antenna, the heading sensor near the centre of motion, and the hull transducer. wind · VHF · radarGNSS antenna heading sensortransducer SENSOR SITING

comparison

B&G vs Raymarine

Two excellent cruising ecosystems that optimise for different things. One question decides it: do you sail the boat, or do you voyage in it?

Buying Guides4 min read

Read the guide A planing motor yacht with a raised helm, an open-array radar on the mast, a thermal camera below it, and a speed annotation. thermal open array 25 kn · 0.42 NM / MIN

comparison

Garmin vs Simrad

Two strong powerboat ecosystems. Garmin wins on breadth and ease; Simrad wins on helm input at speed. Let the transducer and radar decide.

Buying Guides4 min read

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Other topics

The library is organised so each shelf answers a different kind of question.

FoundationsEquipment & SensorsBy Vessel TypeSeamanship & SafetyProjects & InstallationReference