Raymarine i40. This is also available with a transom mount transducer.
Depth Sounder
- Thread starter Slartibartfass
- Start date
On my boats, the only use for a depth sounder I've found:
- probing depth by going very slowly, so you can do something if it ends up being too shallow;
- figuring anchor scope;
- picking a spot to anchor.
I would think even more important for blue water sailing. Maybe not so much of you leave and return to the same port every time but, I think most blue water sailing is done to get somewhere far away; more likely to sail into unfamiliar coastal waters.
Sorry, I have no experience with electric depth sounders. I AM planning on installing one in my mariner 19 sometime in the future (thinking seriously about the fish finder direction, no joke. Can get a single unit by Garmin that includes a gps. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/592107/pn/010-01873-00#specs). Always used a plumb line in the past.
- Will (Dragonfly)
Plenty options out there as you know, depth only, depth/plotter, depth/plotter/fishfinder...we went with a Lowrance Hook5 (depth/plotter/fish/GPS), no addnl software to buy (fresh & coastal included), mounted on bulkhead, very nice to have it for navigating where we sail as depths are shallow, good visability in sunny cockpit, fairly eze install. Included transducer works fine in v-berth thru plumbers putty (although vendor suggested I buy an addnl one made for that specific application-no need).
Biggest consideration IMO is not simply which model to buy but where/how to mount it...suggest you shop around, get demo's at your West Marine or local chandlery...and give plenty thought to drilling holes in your boat!
A great list. The one item I'd add would be to check the chart depths while sailing. If there is a big delta, something's not right. Again more important in shallow / unknown waters.
+1, and it's not so much what's under the boat at the moment (it's too late then!), but current depth v. the chartplotter/course (or paper charts) so you are certain of your position. What I like about this one (or many others) w/gps is you see your current boat's location as an icon on the "chart", current depth, as well as SOG, all on one screen, and therefore know if you're heading into trouble. Not unusual here to be cruising in good depth, then the bottom comes up to 2', which is shown to you ahead of time on the plotter given your current course allowing time to adjust your heading...(it also has a "compass screen" which can be handy if you don't have a real compass on board and wish to steer by that when not concerned w/depth).
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Will you are correct about the desire to know the depths of the harbor you are entering. Most of the time blue water sailing is just that water deeper than the sounder can identify. Harbors are an individual selection but most are charted. It is the coastal sailor that most often finds himself/herself in "thin water" trying to see what is in this or that bay/cove.
For your 19ft I'd buy the small fishfinder/depth sounder/gps/chart combo. I bought a Lowrance 4 Elite for my Montgomery 15. Then I sold the boat before I could install it. It was more than I needed but great for what it provided and at $90, not too much of an expense.
For your 19ft I'd buy the small fishfinder/depth sounder/gps/chart combo. I bought a Lowrance 4 Elite for my Montgomery 15. Then I sold the boat before I could install it. It was more than I needed but great for what it provided and at $90, not too much of an expense.
before GPS's - a sounder was invaluable here in the PNW when traveling in the fog --- NOT to avoid grounding (which is important) - but to follow depth lines on charts - and knowing where you are !
Depth finders are essential to some of us and almost all of the Raymarine units are crap, including the one on my boat. I assure you, when you're at the helm at night, even on our 22' boat, you will have a difficult time discerning between 12.1' and 121' on Raymarine's inadequately lit displays. The lake where I sail can vary between 140' and aground in a relatively short time. A 5th grader would have enough sense to superscript or subscript fractional feet, or better yet, have the ability to disable them. Why does Raymarine insist that we need fractional feet?
Don't get a Raymarine. End of rant.
Is it 121' or 12.1'? Are you positive??
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