Post by g***@yahoo.comTopFusion looks cute, but I'll have to download the demo to see its coverage
of NJ lakes & bays. (Lakes are MapSource's weakness, and it could use some
work with marshes.)
MapSource is just a program that runs Garmin's various map products.
You haven't indicated which product you're using. The detail you get
for lakes and bays will depend on which map product you use. In its
most basic form, "Trip and Waypoint Manager", you get little more than
the base map that comes in Garmin's mapping receivers. Not much
detail. I am not familiar with Garmin's boating oriented map products,
but I would expect that maybe "Fishing Hotspots" would be one of their
better ones for your use. I think I remember reading that "Roads and
Recreation" has a better level of detail for lakes than some of the
other products. I'm not necessarily recommending these, I'm just
saying that if you aren't using one of them, you may not be using the
most suitable map product that Garmin offers for water recreation. Use
Garmin's online map viewer to see what these products offer for your
area.
Presumably you already know that the only maps you can download to your
receiver are the ones that Garmin sells. With any other software all
you will be able to do is transfer waypoint, route, and track log data
between your computer and your receiver. If that's what you want, you
might look at National Geographics TOPO! State Series
<http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo/state.cfm>. NJ is included
with a group of seven other states in the "Northeastern USA" package
for $100 (sometimes you can get it for less on sale). The topo maps
will probably be the most detailed data you will find for your purpose.
The maps are scanned from USGS originals. Some of these are pretty
out of date, but fortunately shorelines don't normally change much.
The software isn't great, but it works for me. There is also Maptech
Terrain Navigator. I have access to Terrain Navigator at work, so I
have used it and TOPO!. Comparing them, they each have plusses and
minuses, but if I could only use one, I would choose TOPO!. I prefer
its interface and map printing.