[pirateofcapeann]

Okay, I guess I’ll ring in on this one too. I would assess your boating style. If you’re spending a lot of time off shore and away from the common shipping lanes, the extra drain on your batteries would be a great consideration. If you spend most of you’re time along shore, coastal cruising and in poor visibility, radar is a great asset. In neither case is radar a critical piece of navigation equipment, sailors had been getting by without it longer then they have with it. Like all electronics aboard, never trust the information unless you agree with it and always be ready to pick up plotting with DR incase the failure of some 59 cent item turns your $5000.00 worth of electronic gee-wizardry into a pile of useless ballast!