Equivalent to Garmin auto guidance

[lakershen]

Does Furuno has an equivalent to Garmin auto guidance? Based on depth and vertical clearance preference to automatically create a route.
It is not working very well on Garmin. Sometimes, the route is way off. However, to navigate in new waters, the feature can be a good starting point to create a route.

 

[Johnny Electron]

As it stands, Furuno does offer this via the GP1871F/GP1971F units. The NavNets are so stinking fast a dropping routes that they don't have or really need it. There has been talk about something similar with our product development but at this time only those two currently sold models have that feature.

 

[lakershen]

Hi Johnny, NavNets don't really need auto guidance because they are so fast. What exactly you mean? Thank you.

 

[Quitsa]

I think he means that manually creating a route is very fast and easy so why bother with auto guidance -- which requires a route review to ensure safety that would take nearly as much time as making the route yourself.

My experience with Garmin autorouting is that a careful review of the route is absolutely essential. Even with limiting parameters for depth and such, it made some very poor choices. Certainly with good software, completely accurate chart data, and enough processing power, it should be possible to implement autorouting that works well and is safe. But that is not what Garmin or anyone else offers today.

Maybe I am just too fossilized, but I think that anyone who is piloting a boat should take responsibility for choosing a safe route and not leave the job to a chartplotter. I think Furuno made the right choice in giving priority to other features.

 

[lakershen]

Thanks Quitsa. Your answer makes perfect sense and I totally agreed. As I said in my original post
Sometimes, Garmin auto guidance route is way off. However, to navigate in new waters, the feature can be a good starting point to create a route.

I am new to Florida Keys. I am planning to cross the bridge and go to the bay side to do a service. It is a relatively long drive in new waters. It can be handy to have auto guidance to create a route and make changes based on it. Here is a similar but slightly different scenario. Was driving my bay boat with Garmin the other day to look for a new gas dock. I found the gas dock on the chart and use auto guidance to create a route. Reviewed the route quickly and drove my boat there by using the route. There is one spot the route suggested me to directly cut through the flats instead of using a well marked channel for no reason. I made changes on the fly. By using the auto guidance route certainly gave me some more confidence to navigate there.

 

[gtstang462002]

While I wouldn't use a feature like that blindly without careful review, I would like the feature for general planning, IE how long does it take to get from Solomons, MD to Rudee Inlet based on planing cruising speed.