fitting out new boat

[erice]

just bought a new (to me) 89 sabreline trawler; i'm going to need some electronics, fenders, lines, etc. every spring, defender maring (ct) has huge sale. my question is: do you think i'd be better off looking for stuff at the boat shows or the defender sale? one member of my club stated unequivocally that defender's sale would garner much bigger savings. any thoughts??

[ctlionsden]

Check out BOE Marine Electronics/Outfitting (http://www.boemarine.com/). A really great company to do business with. They will advise you and stand behind any product they sell. I've shopped around, and their prices are among the lowest anywhere. Ask for Jim. As for Defender, I spent several thousand dollars with them when I bought my previous boat about seven or eight years ago. When I had a problem with a Nissan o/b I'd bought with my inflatable dinghy, they did not stand behind the product. They told me to find a Nissan dealer for any service problem. Also, last spring, when I wanted to see some of the new electronics firsthand, I dropped in at Defender, and found their inventory limited and with mostly outdated products on display.

[mudskipper]

I am fitting out an 88 Albin trawler with new nav gear . It is quite a cunundrum, big screen ,touch screen, depthfinder, vhf. I am curious about what chart plotter GPS you have in mind. I have an upper bridge to outfit and the lower station as well. I have had a combo unit from Furuno on a proline with sounder and GPS plotter in one box. It has been a very good tool. I like alphanumeric key pad and dedicated Go TO and other basic functions. I am interested in a Standard Horizon combo with good Dsc VHF radio alfanumeric key pad and depth finder in one box. I would like to see one, but I can't find a seller who still has a store were you can see the goods.It looks good on paper and it is half the price of a good Garmin or North star. They have simplicated the marine electronic industry to the point where a consumer needs a guide or ombudsman to figure it out. Keep me posted. Jay on Aquarius

[jleonard]

Well I am a Defender fan. I have bought a lot thru them and they have always stood behind everything. Perhaps it helps that I actually go there as it's basically on the route to my boat provided I can get there during operating hours.
That said, when I outfitted my current boat 4 years ago I bought almost everything online. Never two items at the same place. I shopped hard via computer and got some great deals. Some of the "stores" were not even marine based.
I found my Furuno radar less than Defender with free shipping for example, and no sales tax which is 6% in CT if I had bought thru Defender.
Same with the Garmin chart plotter....I think I found it thru Shopzilla or something like that. Shipping was like $4 and no tax which again is a big deal for a CT resident.
Happy hunting.