garmin 188c fishfinder/ghartplotter/gps, HELP

hi all, i was thinking of buying the garmin 188c fishfinder combo,does anyone have one, are they any good or bad,or can anybody recomend a combo which would be as good,also can anybody recomend a place to buy one cheap,also on this combo the transducer is out side the hull,are thre any advantages or disadvantages to this,and is it safe to drill your boat,all comments appreaciated, thanks dezzer.............

Dezzer,
We use Garmin gear and have nothing but praise for it. I am not convinced on the practcality of the combo units though. I prefer to have two units: a sounder and gps. We have a 172C gps and a FF250C sounder.

The outside transducer has more benfits than things against. You will be drilling your transom but provided you use some good quality sealer with the screws you will have no problems.

As for places to buy, there are loads of places on-line. Redcar Fish Co. are a good crowd to deal with. The angling magazines all have ads from the big chandlers in the Uk. You could price some of the local chandlers as well, Union Chandlery in Cork or CH marine. You can search Ebay but beware of hidden charges if bringing in from the States.

Have been using the garmin 250c this season and can only say I've been delighted with it. I'm only using a hand-held garmiin gps to go with it. Definetly go for two different units, using a furuno GP7000F dual unit on the work boat but prefer my own set up. Got the units from Redcar Fish, prompt and reasonably priced.

Pete

hi all,thanks jim and pete for the advice,i have been looking at the 250c sounder and i think i will go with that option,also something like the 172 gps instead of the 188c combo,anybody else with any advice on these or similar let me know,all comments greatly appreciated,thanks again, dezzer...................