Please help find the right map technology

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wayne gustaveson

wayne gustaveson

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I got this question today:

I visited Lake Powell 2 years ago with 2 other couples and we did the houseboat gig and pulled my 18 ft Hewscraft tin boat and had a great time. It took me about a microsecond to realize one can get lost on Powell pretty easy and therefore I stayed close to home base. I want to return this year and am looking for suggestions if you have any regarding a Mapping Sonar where I can safely see depth contours and an overview of the main channel of Powell.

I'm thinking of purchasing a Lowrance Hook 5 plotter. The sales people are a bit confusing at BassPro to get straight conversation about what mapping package I need to safely navigate Powell and if there are units that come pre-loaded with the map of Powell.

I am not the best one to ask since my LP map is in my head after 40 years of navigating the lake up and back. I know we have a few threads already discussing this issue. Please help me find those threads or give your expert guidance on Lake Powell Map technology. Thanks Wayne

 
Any GPS will give you the mapping portion. I do not know of anything with accurate depth contours.
 
I have been looking at a Hummingbird Helix 7 or 9 that has Auto Chart. As I understand it you can create your own contour then save. These can be saved and shared to others with the same program.

For my GPS of the lake I purchased LakeMaster PLUS (Southwestern States). I've used it for years on Powell and was able to navigate at night no problem. One just has to re-adjust the lake level so you don't run aground...at night of course.
 
I have a hook 5 mounted in my dash, but it is not the one with gps so the map is worthless. I also mounted a humming bird on the boat with gps and the lakemaster chip which allows you to change the shore line and highlight the shallow water areas. It is amazing , I adjusted for 107 ft. that the lake is low and found it to be very accurate on the southern lake last weekend. I can't wait to get up there to play with it some more. what ever you decide be sure it has gps and if your budget allows get one that will exept a mapping chip. Good luck in your search and on your trip.
 
I use a Humminbird 688 HD unit with GPS (around $499) and a Humminbird Lakemaster mapping chip (around $125). I don't rely as heavily on electronics as I'm sure a lot of people do, but it works pretty well for me. Adjusting the depth offset for different lake elevations comes in very handy.
 
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