Chartplotter/GPS reccomendations
 

Most of the Chartplotters are fishfinder centrist which does not fit my needs. Looking for a standalone chartplotter with a max width of 7" to stay out of the shallow stuff along the Gulf coast. If its Navionics compatable...thats a plus.

Nobletech

If your in that area you could just use the Navionics app on your IPAD. EZ

I have a Garmin 546s now and looking to upgrade to their 64cv because it has autoroute. I like them because they change the color for water over 25 feet. I'm usually going 70-80 in Lake Huron and there are shallows that can appear suddenly and I've seen boulders the size of a house. I need too see what's coming up in the next 1/4-1/2 mile. The Autoroute function is great because you put in your waypoint and set your minimum depth and it tells you where to go in the most optimal route. Yes, they have sonar and they will show you the fish, but I rarely turn on the fish finder view. the depth sounder is nice to have though. Because I'm usually running pretty fast I prefer buttons over touch screen, it's easier to control when your bouncing around.

I like the way you think. In fact I like it so much I downloaded Navionics on an ipad and connected it to a blutooth external GPS antenna......................It ended in failure. I say failure because you cant read the thing in direct sunlight and if left in direct sun for more than a few minutes, it overheats. Plus side is it was a $25 dollar experiment and the wife downloaded it onto her ipad so she cold follow along.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I think Ive narrowed it down to an Axiom 7 with touch screen.