Humminbird 997c SI Combo Color Fish Finder and GPS Chartplotter

Fantastic Sonar, poor chart plotter.

By keith  Mar 6, 2008 | 2 out of 2 found this Humminbird 997c SI Combo Color Fish Finder and GPS Chartplotter review helpful

Pros: High quality images allow you to find, identify & record bottom structure

Cons: Chart Plotter functions are very basic & not well designed

The sidescan capability of the unit is it's greatest feature and while it is fussy to get set right and there are depth and speed issues for getting a sharp picture, it can and does show the bottom in remarkable detail. The control and associated hardware is well made and the flexible feature packed software that drives it is intuitive and well designed. When the base unit is combined with the various optional accessories available, it truly stands out from all other fishfinders. Capitalizing on their remarkable sonar technology to the fullest, Hummingbird hasn't missed a trick and also provides the means to record and manipulate this sonar data in ways never before possible. There are simply too many great features with this fishfinder to list here and I recommend reading through the sideimaging forums found on the web covering this unit. As with everything it is not for everybody, do your homework to be sure it is suitable for your needs. (That kind of money can buy a lot of boating gear).

The bad news is, do not buy this unit if your looking for a good chart plotter for navigation. The chart plotter section of this combo unit is very basic and it will only read Navionics charts. The built in base map has generous detail of the USA but Canada is virtually devoid of any detail whatsoever, on water and on shore! There is no mistaking the feel your working with a cheap hand held versus an expensive combo sonar/plotter. I found the menu's for the plotter to be cumbersome requiring numerous keystrokes for even simple tasks and not at all intuitive. You can not draw routes on screen rather you have to set waypoints along your route then go through a cumbersome process of linking these together and naming them. It is a horrific nuisance as neither can you name the waypoints as you make them, rather you must remember the number they were assigned then go looking for a different menu to name them. There is also no way of setting up libraries for organizing your tracks, routes and waypoints rather you select them from a list of each. God help you if you utilize all 3000 waypoints the unit is capable of. Neither is there a way to hide waypoints and routes you are not using and very quickly these accumulate to the point they blot out the chart. This is a serious problem forcing you to delete/remove your waypoints just to see the chart. You also can not grab and reposition a waypoint on the map to tweak your route or the waypoints position, again forcing you into a menu to change it manually. Whats with No Port & Starboard bouy or other channel marker icons in the icon list, but lots of roadside type icons? Come on guys were not going backpacking with this, it's being installed on some very expensive boats to ensure our safety and that of the vessel.

In fairness to Hummingbird, besides literally rewriting the book on consumer level sonar, they are also rewriting the book on customer service, they listen to their customers and react. Chart plotting is relatively new to them and it is a very rapidly evolving product, they have already established themselves as a leader in backward compatible upgrades for older models whenever hardware permits. How much they will be forgiven for engineering on the fly will be in direct proportion to this support.I have no doubt whatsoever they are working furiously on these issues and that their plotters will eventually compete with the best of them, but right now, there are much better units out there if navigation is your priority.

In summary, its still a good plotter for work with the sonar and weekend outings, but buy it as a superior sonar/fishfinder and consider the plotter a backup for your primary plotter.