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I am a complete newbie to the GPS world. I tossed around buying an auto/marine unit, such as the Magellan Crossover, but decided to go with the Nuvi 360 for my auto only.

I am a pleasure boater and do not fish at all. I boat exclusively on fresh water lakes and the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. Will I benefit from a marine GPS? I guess what I am asking is what will a marine GPS system do for me? Can I get maps that show underwater obstructions, such as "wing-dams" and rock piles in the river? How detailed are they?

Thanks for helping out a rookie!

You should look at the Inland Lakes and LakeMaster Wisconsin.

Check the online map viewer against and area you are familiar with to see if the detail is adequate for your needs. Also check with someone at Garmin to see if they will work with the Nuvi, since neither of them list it in the compatible units.

I attempted to review the maps from the website and wasn't able to for some reason. Their program froze up repeatedly on me.

As far as marine maps for the Nuvi, I guess I didn't even consider that because it's not rated for outdoor use (not water resistant). Do people do that?

I was planning on purchasing a second unit, maybe something from the GPSMAP handheld series for boating IF I can determine they will be useful for pleasure boating.

Thanks for the reply!

I got the mapping system to work on the website. Wow, that is exactly what I'm looking for. The Wisconsin map even shows the wing dams on the Mississippi River. Incredible!

Thanks.