have never owned a handheld gps unit. the first one I got is the gps in my moderately-priced Humminbird sonar unit that I use to mark waypoints for trees, rockpiles, etc. when the lake is down at winter pool. I went back to fish them this fall when the lake was several feel higher and found that my sonar unit seems to have a problem with wandering waypoints, sometimes as much as relocating one over a 50yd. stretch of bank on different trips. Once it showed my boat several yards up in the woods. That doesn't seem like much, but when the trees which aren't much more than the trunk and a few large branches left are in a small area it makes a big difference.

I am not getting a new sonar unit for a while yet. I have in mind to get a handheld gps unit to guide me to the exact waypoint after using my sonar unit to get close. What level of accuracy can I expect from a moderately priced, yet good basic unit? I won't be doing land navigation, geocaching, or anything else sophisticated with it. But it does need to be very accurate. Suggestions on units or brands are appreciated.

I posted this in the 24hr Campfire forum too

Hand Held units in a boat are not convient at all

I would buy a mounted unit first off

They all work great get the unit that seems the simplest to use
I use quite a few Hummingbird and Garmin seem to me to be the easiest to use

Hank

Several of the hand helds can work quite well if one simply picks up or fabricates a suitable mounting bracket. Accuracy today is typically within about 3 to 7 yds unless one gets in some steep canyon with limited sky available. If one wants more accuracy, he has to put out the coin for survey grade instruments.

I have a bracket for my Garmin hand held, it sits by the fish finder in a plastic tool box.

Like his, I screwed the base down.

I have used a handheld unit, Garmin 64ST, on rental boats on different lakes in Canada and have been very, very satisfied. I use a TrakMaps chip for the lake maps and data.

It also goes with me on as a backup on our own boat. We lost power to the dash mounted GPS/chart plotter of the coast of Louisiana, and the handheld unit got us back with no problems at all. Battery life can be a problem, so remember to turn it off when you get to your waypoint. Accuracy was usually within a few feet.

I ordered a bracket that mounts to the handrails of my Hobie kayak. It matches the carabiner clip holder for my Garmin Oregon 450. Works perfectly. Any of the popular aux batteries for cell phones will serve as backup power. Just plug in the mini-USB plug and you're back in business. I have one of those aux batteries that has a built-in solar cell - it recharges itself for virtually unlimited power.

Wabigon: Do you have brand/model info? Thanks.

Bob, I think I bought mine at Walmart. It's not a Garmin brand, it clamps on.

Thanks wab. I have a RAM mount but it sticks up too high and is pricey