Winter is the easy time to upgrade your boat electronics

Picture your first trip out next season. You head out of the harbor with the chart and radar on one touchscreen that's easy to read in the sun, the boats around you showing up right on the chart, and sonar showing what's under you and off both sides. Your route is already on the plotter, because you planned it at home on your phone the night before.

Winter is the easy time to make that happen. Your boat is out of the water for the next few months, spring is about six months away, and any electronics work we do between now and then costs you no time on the water. There's no rush, either. You have all winter to decide what you want.

Below is what a new setup can do, two Garmin bundles we like, and the other winter projects worth a look. If what you have in mind isn't here, tell us anyway. We can do whatever you want, and these are just a starting point.

Why winter is the time for a boat electronics upgrade

In the summer, a new chartplotter means giving up a weekend you'd rather spend on the water. So most people put it off, and the old one makes it through another season.

In winter the boat isn't going anywhere, so the work fits into time you weren't using anyway. Last month we put a new Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 94SV on a boat while we were wrapping it for storage.

You also get time to think it over. You can compare screen sizes, figure out where a new display would mount, and decide what you'd actually use on the water before you spend anything.

And if the work turns up something else, like old wiring or a battery near the end of its life, there's time to fix it properly instead of patching it so you can go out on Saturday.

Pro tip: Before you call, take a photo of your helm and write down what's on it now: the make and model of your display, your VHF, and any sonar. That covers most of what we need to give you a price.

What a new setup can actually do

If your plotter is a few years old, a new one changes what a day on the water feels like. A few things you'd notice right away:

• See what's around you, even when you can't. Coming in after dark or with weather moving in, radar shows you the other boats and the weather around you, right on your chart.
• Spend more time fishing and less time looking. Scanning sonar shows fish and structure below and off both sides of the boat, so you can see what's down there before you drop a line.
• Plan the trip from your couch. Map out a route at home on your phone with Garmin's free ActiveCaptain app, then send it to the plotter when you get to the boat. Your calls and texts can show up on the screen too.
• Keep an eye on the engine without looking away. With a compatible engine, its readings show up on the same screen you're already watching.

Two Garmin bundles we like

We're a Garmin Certified Dealer, and our installers are NMEA certified. Both bundles put a touchscreen chartplotter, radar, and charts together, set up to work as one system.

Garmin GPSMAP 943xsv with GMR 18 HD3 radar: $3,199

This is the one for a smaller helm, or if you'd rather keep the dash simple. You get radar on your chart, scanning sonar once a transducer is connected, and routes sent from your phone, all on one 9 inch touchscreen.

• Garmin GPSMAP 943xsv, a 9 inch touchscreen chartplotter
• Garmin GMR 18 HD3 radar, an 18 inch radar dome
• Garmin Navionics+ charts

The "xsv" means the sonar is built into the screen: traditional CHIRP sonar plus ClearVü and SideVü scanning sonar, so all it needs is a transducer. It's built to run Garmin radar, and its built-in Wi-Fi pairs with the ActiveCaptain app.

It's also a chartplotter we know well. Between July and October 2025 we installed the GPSMAP 943xsv on three boats, each with a new transducer, including a 24' Key West with a 225 Honda during its winterization and a 20' Hydra-Sports with a 225 E-TEC.

Garmin GPSMAP 1243xsv with GMR 18 HD3 radar: $4,699

This is the one if you like to run the chart and radar side by side, or you just want more screen to look at. More screen is easier to read when you're running both at once.

• Garmin GPSMAP 1243xsv, a 12 inch touchscreen chartplotter
• Garmin GMR 18 HD3 radar, an 18 inch radar dome
• Garmin Navionics+ charts

It has the same built-in sonar, Wi-Fi, ActiveCaptain app, radar, and charts as the 9 inch, on a bigger screen.

What the price covers

Both prices are for the equipment only. Installation and the transducer are priced for your boat, because they depend on where the display mounts, how the cables have to run, and what kind of hull you have.

You don't have to pick one of these. If you want a different screen size, a different Garmin unit, or just one piece of the package, we can work with that.

Other good winter projects

Not everyone needs a whole new helm. If one of these sounds like your boat, it fits into a winter just as well.

A new chartplotter or fish finder

If your screen is slow, hard to read in the sun, or running charts that are years out of date, a new one makes every trip easier. We handle chartplotter and GPS installation and fish finder installation, including mounting, wiring, and setup. This August, for example, we installed a Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 94SV. The ECHOMAP is Garmin's chartplotter and fish finder combo, and it's a good fit if charts and fishing are what you're after. It doesn't run Garmin radar, though, so if you want radar now or later, start with a GPSMAP.

Radar for an existing Garmin

If you like the Garmin you have but wish you could see what's around you after dark or when weather comes in, you may not need a new screen to get radar. We do radar add-ons. Tell us what display you have and we'll check what works with it before you buy anything. You can see the rest of our marine electronics work here.

A VHF radio

If your VHF crackles, or you're not sure anyone would hear you if you called, that's worth fixing before next season. A VHF is how you reach other boats and the Coast Guard when you're out, and winter is a good time to replace an old radio, antenna, or wiring. Here's our VHF radio installation page.

Stereo and speakers

If you can't hear the radio over the engine, or the speakers are cracked and faded, a new marine stereo and speakers makes the ride a lot nicer. We can put it in while the boat is sitting anyway.

Transducers and sonar

If your fish finder picture isn't what it used to be, or you're upgrading the screen, look at the transducer too. It's the part on the hull that sends and receives the sonar signal, and it has a lot to do with how good the picture looks. That work is part of our fish finder installation service.

Rewiring and NMEA 2000

If there's a tangle of splices behind your helm, or something cuts out every time you hit a wave, winter is the time to sort it out. We clean up wiring through our marine electrical and battery service.

We also do NMEA 2000 networking. NMEA 2000 lets your electronics share information over one network, so things like your engine data, GPS, and displays can talk to each other instead of each running on its own. If you're adding new electronics, it's a good time to set it up. We recently ran a new NMEA 2000 backbone on a Marine Master with twin Suzuki 300s. Ask us about it, or start from our marine electronics overview.

If batteries are part of the question, we wrote up what batteries we're putting on boats. And if a repower is on your list too, here's what a repower can do for your helm, controls, and gauges.

How it works with Atlantic

Tell us what you have and what you'd like. Call us or book online. If you're not sure yet, that's fine. We'll talk it through with you.

We price it for your boat. We look at your helm, your wiring, and your hull, and you'll know the price before any work starts.

We do the work over the winter. Customers bring their boats to the shop. If your boat is already here for the winter, mention it when you get in touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is winter a good time to upgrade boat electronics?

Yes. The boat is already out of the water, so the work costs you no time on the water, and you have months to decide what you want instead of rushing a choice in the spring.

How much does it cost to install a Garmin chartplotter?

It depends on your boat. Our Garmin bundles are $3,199 for the GPSMAP 943xsv with GMR 18 HD3 radar and $4,699 for the GPSMAP 1243xsv with the same radar, both equipment only. Installation and the transducer are priced for your boat once we know where the display mounts and how the wiring runs.

Can you add radar to my boat if I already have a Garmin chartplotter?

We do radar add-ons. Tell us what Garmin display you have and we'll check what will work with it, so you may not need to replace the screen you already like.

Do the bundle prices include installation?

No. The $3,199 and $4,699 prices are for the equipment only. We price the installation and the transducer for your boat.

Do I have to store my boat with you to get electronics installed?

No. You can bring your boat to the shop. If it's already here for the winter, mention it when you get in touch.

Take your time and call when you're ready

There's no hurry. Think about what you'd like next season to look like, and get in touch when you know what you want, or when you want help figuring it out. You can book a marine electronics appointment here or call us at (508) 746-3988.