Got the 797 installed on Friday and managed to get out Saturday AM. I didn't even catch one fish. Last time I went I caught one, therefore, it's obviously a problem with the 797. :p

Initial impressions were pretty much just what I expected. Amazing to be able to cut a 300' swath as I plowed along. Yep, the 5" screen is disappointing just as I expected, but I couldn't swing the cost of the bigger 997 or 1197, but it's a whole different world from 2D. Some of the controls were cumbersome to navigate through, but I'm sure I'll adjust. I did note that when the view is set to 2D on top and SI on the bottom, when I went to move the cursor to mark a way point, I couldn't move it below the 2D to mark something on the SI. Had to switch to full SI view, then mark it. No biggee, but still kind of an odd way to program it. Wished the zoom feature didn't pause the recording.

I think I've got the transducer mounted low on the right side as you look at it from the back of the boat. Noticed that when in SI - the right read out fades to black with no detail on the last inch to inch and a half of the screen. The left side was flawless though. Also, the 2D would not show a complete arch for a fish in a lot of cases the "hook" would start on the left side, climb to the top, start back down, then stop. I suspect that is from the tranducer being less than level as well.

Had an issue with the Navionics Gold - Gulf of Mexico - 15XG card. Grenada didn't show up once I was on the water. Now, this chip came with the unit, but from what I saw, it looks like the detail for Grenada should be there. May be wrong about that, but from the house, when I powered it up - Grenada shows up on the map. When I move the cursor over to the lake to zoom in on the detail, the lake outline disappears. Hmmmm. Might have a chip to sell and another one to buy in the near future.

GPS - issues noted and confirmed.

Anyway, I'm happy with it, but gonna need a good bit of seat time with it to realize all of it's benefits.

Wannabe...