A long way from the days of lead lines, the five plotter/sounders PS tested are, from left, the Furuno GP-7000F, JRC Plot 500F, Navman Trackfish 6600, Simrad CX33-E, and SI-TEX ColorMax Wide.

In past issues, we’ve pointed out the many advantages that “fishfinders” have for the cruising sailor, even if he cares not a whit where the striped bass are running. Bottom line is that visual representation of seabottom contours is a far more useful navigational tool than a simple spot reading.

In the second part of our plotter-sounder series, we look at bigger, and generally more sophisticated combo units. These units cost more than the smaller units we reviewed in our April 2006 issue, which brings them closer pricewise to more powerful multi-function displays (MFD). (The SI-TEX in this test is, in fact, one such “black box” unit.) However, a dedicated…