Mistakes were made here based on flawed information but we got it sorted out. It cost us a more than it had to, but we're ready for the JB Fling. We really only need a chartplotter for safety and navigation on this Bimini trip, but I figured why not equip for freshwater too? The Garmin 94SV and the 93Sv are the exact same device with the only difference being the default (hard programmed) onboard chart. Even though we exclusively boat in Mid-West freshwater puddles, I bought the Garmin 94sv (G3 Blue Water version) and would buy a freshwater chip later so we could expand to explore other regional puddles some day. We defaulted to the saltwater chart because the G3 Lakes chart was significantly cheaper. We were told by the on-line sales agent that the 94SV G3 Bluewater maps would cover Bimini. The Garmin sales and chat board information appeared to support this, so we bought from an on-line retailer during a great sale back in the fall.
We immediately found a couple of things. First, the detailed G3 maps we received provide greatest detail for the great lakes and lower Canada only - where we have no plans to boat. We were later were told that the G3 Bluewater maps are broken up and distributed by the region where you buy them, a detail the sales literature leaves out. While some folks have reported that their factory programmed on-board G3 Bluewater maps cover Bimini, we found that we have limited detail for Florida costal waters and there is a line a few miles out from Bimini where the detail quality drops again to very poor and would be unsafe to proceed as-is. I contacted Garmin to see if I could send in our unused 94SV to get it re-programmed. They respectfully declined but did help me out with a small discount on the proper chart. Now we have a solid chart plotter, but had to buy two additional maps to cover our needs. It feels a little like a brand name razor marketing strategy that gives you the system at a fair price, then gets you on blades.
If you're looking at buying charts, look carefully because even Garmin sells three different charts covering Bimini with very different and overlapping coverage areas. Sales sites intentionally dumb down their sample detail so it is difficult to know which one you really want to pick. Even more confusing is that even though Navionics builds Garmin branded maps, and were later acquired by Garmin, they still seem to operate as a separate company selling Garmin compatible maps directly, but the defined boundaries are different again.
There is another big decision to make with regard to additional or upgrade charts. Downloaded maps are quick and easy and work forever with a small period for free updates, but will only work in one device (as a copyright protection), so if that device ever fails or you upgrade, you have to buy all new maps again. SD chips have to come in the mail but are programmed at time of order so they have the absolutely latest data. I'm told that the pre-programmed chip can also be used in other Garmin devices since they can't be copied like downloaded maps. The downside is that it ties up the one and only USB slot and works differently in Garmin Express. This is goofy because the hardware requires a different SD card to be inserted to use your Active Captain features. We're long-time auto GPS owners, but since we bought the SD card marine charts, we haven't cracked the code yet on how to program, move and edit trip/regional plots back and forth to our desktop computer since the hardware has only one SD port but wants to see both the chart and the user SD card. Until then, we'll have to work exclusively on the device touchscreen and have every plot/course cluttering up the database no matter where we go. We found some information where a user said Garming told them that
Basecamp is only compatible with G2 charts.
Others have warned against 3rd party, or knock-off maps in Garmin devices. They may work fine, or work until Garmin decides to block them - I don't know. We heeded that warning because I just don't like surprises.
