Garmin mapping for Alaska

[trailertrawlerkismet]

We’re in the planning stages for an Alaskan cruise on Kismet, planning on launching in Prince Rupert, BC. With that said we have the Garmin 7612 GPS in our R29S with built in standard mapping. Here’s my question......what Garmin BlueChart g3 Vision card is recommended? I’m thinking this for the benefits of auto routing, better mapping and details.

Jim F

 

[Red Raven]

Hi Jim,

I recommend the VUS517L Alaska South. The built in maps that came with our boat have the same detail for that area but they are not “Vision” and thus do not enable auto routing (called “Guide To” in our GPSMAp 7212). We used the VUS517L last summer and it worked great from Dixon Entrance to Glacier Bay. It starts at Dixon Entrance and runs north so if you want to spend time in Canada then you will also need the VCA501L. We used both.

Note: the above applies for our 7212 Chartplotter. It is my understanding that the latest G3 Maps now have auto routing built in even with the non-Vision chip (or maybe even built in?). Our Chartplotter is not listed as compatible with the newest G3 version (probably for that reason). Since you have a newer Chartplotter you may be able to use the newer Non-Vision G3 maps and still get auto routing. You should confirm that with Garmin if you go that route but I can assure you the VCA501L and VUS517L work (but are expensive!).

Curt

 

[Wee Venture]

Jim, I can confirm that the g3 charts, minus the “Vision,” work perfectly in autoroute mode for 76xx series Garmin chartplotters. We were going to get the “Vision” cards for our recent trip to Alaska but found we could get vastly more coverage for the buck by going with “g3” alone. For $176 (from Hodges Marine) we got charts for everywhere you would be likely to want to go in the US, Bahamas, and the Canadian coast. In the way I use charts, I did not feel like I was missing out on anything by not having the Vision. Very detailed and complete charts that took us all the way up to Skagway. Here is the link:
https://www.hodgesmarine.com/gar010-c10 ... re-us.html

 

[Red Raven]

John,
Thanks for confirming this. While the website implies this I had not heard of anyone actually having success. Good to know. Much less expensive!

Jim,
If your Chartplotter is compatible with the latest G3 charts and if they include the auto routing I personally would not bother with the Vision chips. Much more expensive and the only benefit I can figure is the aerial photos (which I rarely use) and the different perspective views (also which I rarely use). Have a great time on your trip! You will save a lot of time and miles starting from Prince Rupert.

Curt

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

As usual everyone on Tugnuts has been very helpful with there first hand experience, thank you very much.

Jim F