NMEA GPS and Smartcraft Integration

[KAellis 0]

I just purchased a 2006 270 cruiser with a 6.2 MPI engine. I now want to add a GPS/fishfinder combo. The Lowrance HDS 7 Gen2 unit is what I am leaning towards. I think the GPS unit is capable of displaying the fuel flow rate with some kind of integration with the Smartcraft system, but the whole Smartcraft / NMEA stuff is still unclear to me.

Are there any good resources that can explain these systems and how they integrate?

I've been doing quite a lot of internet research and though that's filled in some of the blanks, it's raised as many questions as it's answered.

 

Kirk