Your timing is perfect. Visit the Seattle boat show and talk to all the suppliers. $5K for a plotter and radar installed seems a bit tight though.
x2. It's a great time to play with all the MFD displays and see what works best for you.
I would recommend avoiding Raymarine. I would also suggest Furuno for radar, since it seems to be the choice of commercial installations and boaters. You can't go wrong with Garmin for nav. Personally, I use a computer with daylight screen for nav, and I prefer my radar separate, but to each his own.
Why avoid Raymarine? I have been using their systems for years, and have had no problems- and customer service has been great. Now with FLIR pumping $$$ into the company, the new generation MFDs are state of the art and will only get better.
I recently installed a complete Raymarine system onboard our boat- 2 12' MFDs, 4' HD digital radar, and P79 transducer, interfaced with a SH GX-2150 for AIS. We use our iPad as a 3rd station repeater. Couldn't be happier.
I don't like the way Garmin doesn't support its older products. I do like Furuno, but not the pricing a new system would cost. the new TX Touch is awesome, but pricey. Lowrance/Navico product is getting better, but their customer service is still below par IMO.
I will likely get numerous responses, which is good. I have a 39 Californian. We boat on the Columbia River and Astoria. The most ambitious thing we will do is motor to the Puget Sound. Presently, I essentially have NO working radar, my I-phone with Navionics is my chart plotter. More for less is good, but I NEED to get real for safety sake. If I could get suggested nomenclature from a number of you for a complete Nav system at the most reasonable price, that would be great. I'm not opposed to I-pad, etc too. I do want integration with radar though.
Thanks,
sam nigro
RESTITUTION
I just went thru the same situation, and went with Raymarine. Here's a sample system just priced out from Hodges Marine this morning:
Raymarine C97 Multifunction Display W/Sonar - Us Coastal Charts - $1,828.43
Raymarine Rd424hd 4kw High-Def Radar W/10m Cable, Crossover Coupler & 1.5m Network Cable - $2,077.12
Airmar H2183 Heading Sensor (No Cable) - $594.21
Garmin Nmea 2000 Starter Kit - $65.76
Raymarine C9x/E9x Trunnion Bracket Mounting Kit - $50.83
Raymarine P79 Adjustable In-Hull Depth Angle Transducer - $120.92
Standard Horizon Gx2150b Class D 25w Matrix Ais - $337.62
Total:
$5,074.89
Mount the gear at your primary nav station, and get an iPad (used iPad 1 or 2 with 3G off Craigslist is about $300) to use at your 2nd station. If you don't need the radar overlay, you can delete the Airmar sensor and NMEA starter kit (if you have an autopilot, you already have a heading sensor) and save almost $700.
Install should take 8 to 16 hours- it's complete DIY.
No matter what system you select, take the time to learn how to use it. The fanciest gadget in the world isn't worth spit if you can't use it, and not learning WILL bite yoou in the arse.