Also when I get back from the trip I usually hose the fishfinder, shake off the water and let it dry out. The power and transducer connectors also get a freshwater shower as it is impossible to keep them dry in the ocean.

Thank you.  I think we all have a routine for cleaning our fishfinders after using them in saltwater - I do, at least - but it never hurts to see a reminder that it doesn't clean itself, and cleanliness is crucial for longevity.

I watched a video of someone playing with their Garmin screen brightness settings.  I like the feature.

I have had  the Stryker 5 for 3 which seems like a good finder so far. I wouldn’t say the quick draw map is absolutely needed but that’s maybe because I don’t really know how to use it. that being said it would probably be nice for marking reefs in the salt but it has never crossed my mind.

I know what you mean.  My Humminbird has a mapping feature but I've never so much as thought about using it.  And mark a spot?  Isn't that what my memory is for?  (Even a declining memory?). But I also use my mobile phone so close to never as to be indistinguishable, and I paddle my kayaks!  Oh, the shame of it... I'm a Luddite.

But the kid is fully electronized and he'll probably not only use all the features of a fishfinder all of the time, he probably won't need to read the manual to figure them out.

But your thoughts suggest he could save a few pennies by not worrying about built-in maps, and that's a good point, so thanks.

I've been running Lowrance, but got my wife a Garmin because, IMHO, Lowrance's value proposition has been nose-diving. Anyway, she loves the Garmin and my next finder will be a Garmin. No problems, easy to use, more features for the price.

Thanks, Cap'n.  I agree with your opinion about Lowrance, but the one thing I always liked about their finders is being able to customize the data displays to my heart's content.  My current Humminbird doesn't allow me to pick-and-chose what text/data I want to see (nor to adjust the text size for each of them).  Humminbird only supports a few pre-programmed displays, and I don't care for their choices.

That feature probably isn't important to the kid.  I'm just feeling chatty this morning...