I'm in the process of building a 43' lobster boat with flybridge (2 helm stations) here in Maine and will ultimately have the boat in Maine and my house in Florida. Will do some fishing as well.
Am a bit overwhelmed by electronics choices and am wondering if you have any recommendations about electronics. This is my 4th boat but gear changes so rapidly that what experiences I've had in the past (like I really liked the Raymarine gear I had on my 33' Black Watch and don't like the way the charts look on my new Garmin on my center console) don't seem to matter.
One thing that I have learned is that I'm probably better going with one supplier rather than mixing and matching i.e. a Simrad auto pilot with a different radar/GPS.
Here's what I do know that I want:
Open array radar
radar which highlights moving boats
joy stick or knob control in addition to any touchscreen capability
ability to overlay GPS chart and radar
Charts which look something like Raster
Ability to add Sirius weather
Looking at Garmin (which I am biased against but folks keep telling me is the cutting edge), Furuno TZTouch2 and Raymarine G Series do you have a preference in terms of features, reliability and anything else I should be thinking about?
Well, many of those features are available on all the brands you mentioned, plus maybe you should also consider a Simrad NSS evo2 system (sorry).
Common: Open array radar, radar overlay, remote control keypads, and Sirius/XM weather support.
All brands except Garmin offer paper-like raster charts, though Garmin could change that any time (especially if they realize that boaters like you consider it an important buying criteria ;-)
So "radar which highlights moving boats" is your toughest requirement. The only solid-state open array radar with Doppler target motion detection right now is the Garmin Fantom. But Furuno has already introduced the NXT radome and says an open array version is in the works, the Simrad Halo might get Doppler with a software update or a new model, and Raymarine is also working hard on their Quantum solid state radar line.
Sorry to be vague!
"Highlights moving boats" could be done with Doppler, or with MARPA. Fundamentally different technologies.
How small/fast are you concerned with?
Freighters-->Lobster boats -->Jet skis-->Kayaks ?
Do you want to do this at night, in fog, in driving rain?
What sea state?
Do you want to have happen automagically, or only when you ask for it?