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Florida's waterways are a maze of shifting sandbars, unmarked flats, and crab-trap fields, and a good GPS chartplotter turns that maze into a road you can actually read. Whether you run the skinny water of the Ten Thousand Islands or push offshore out of Government Cut, the right unit shows you where the channel is, where you have been, and how to get home after dark. This guide walks through screen size, chart detail, sonar integration, and connectivity, then lays out picks for three budgets.
What to look for
- Screen size and daylight readability (crucial on open FL boats)
- Preloaded charts vs. subscription cartography
- Built-in sonar / transducer compatibility
- NMEA 2000 networking for radar and autopilot
- Touchscreen vs. buttons for wet, salty hands
Our picks
9-inch touchscreen chartplotter with built-in sonar
A 9-inch screen is the sweet spot for center consoles and bay boats: big enough to read at speed, small enough for most helms. Look for preloaded coastal charts, CHIRP sonar, and NMEA 2000.
Check price on Amazon → (link placeholder)7-inch combo GPS/fishfinder
For skiffs and smaller bay boats, a 7-inch combo unit delivers navigation and fishfinding in one box without crowding a tight console.
Check price on Amazon → (link placeholder)12-inch multifunction display with radar support
If you run 20-plus miles offshore, step up to a 12-inch MFD that can network radar and AIS for running through weather and traffic.
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