Fishfinder vs Depth/Speed - Which do YOU use? RECOMMENDATIONS??
- Thread starter damoses1
- Start date
- Status
I use an Eagle Fish Id Plus with the speed, distance, and water temp functions that I bought off eBay for under $200.00. I like it because I can compare speed over the bottom (GPS) to boatspeed to get arrive at the effects of the current.
I use an Eagle Fish Id Plus with the speed, distance, and water temp functions that I bought off eBay for under $200.00. I like it because I can compare speed over the bottom (GPS) to boatspeed to get arrive at the effects of the current.
I have a Garmin on my boat. I don't care much about the fish finder thing but it's kind of fun to see the bottom and how deep Lake Washington is. 200+ feet in some places. Very nice for anchoring overnight!
Here is my setup - http://home.comcast.net/~tegwilym/delphinus/depth.html
Tom
Here is my setup - http://home.comcast.net/~tegwilym/delphinus/depth.html
Tom
Well to answer my own question if anyone is interested. I called Eagle and the tech guy (seemed to know what he was talking about) said that you could not send waypoints to it from navigation software such as SeaClear II or Open CPN.
It will output the GPS position to say a computer with navigation software or a VHF with DSC (and I'm hoping both).
Also if you were using the NMEA data cable you then gave up accessories such as a speed or temp sensors. You would still have GPS speed SOG and would give up the option for a speed sensor that would give you STW. I think you would still have temp from the sonar transducer, but if it was in the boat you wouldn't have temp.
For us I think it is still a good deal. I'd mount it shooting thru the hull, so I'll have to tie a thermometer on a string and throw it overboard for water temp
. If I can wire it to the VHF with DSC and to the computer/chartplotter it will eliminate having to run a gps puck and another gps for the VHF. Also we shouldn't need to use one of our handheld Map76's in the cockpit unless we want to download a complicated route with a number of waypoints from the SeaClear.So it will give us GPS position in the cockpit, along with a GPS signal for the computer and VHF. Also speed and depth and all from just one device that Ruth will be able to see easily from her position on the tiller. For route planning we will have the chartplotter and paper charts in the cabin.
Not as nice as some of the more expensive cockpit chartplotters, but I think it will handle our needs nicely,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
Temperature, I doubt that the temperature inside a hull is much different than the temperature outside the hull. Fiberglass is not a very good insulator. I noticed that the temperature indicated by my fish finder changed during the day and was colder in the river than in the bay. I did not compare the displayed temperature to a thermometer immersed directly in the water.
Yep, I need to see if I need the wet suit on or not
. Just had to use the suit once so far.....http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/MacgregorTrips-3-Powell09/09-10-8-Powell-09.html
...but glad I had it. After that experience I now have a marker float on the anchor all the time.
Also on the temp I guess it is just human nature to want to know what it is or we wouldn't have them on the side of the house and inside and look at the bank temp sign, etc., etc.....
Like I said a thermometer on a string overboard will work for us
,Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
There is much that we don't need to know but enjoy knowing anyway. How old are you? How much rain did we get last night? How hot it is it outside? What's for supper? There isn't anything we can change about any of this but we still like to know.
If you're sailing in the Atlantic, it can also tell you when you've crossed into and out of the Gulf Stream, since the water will often be warmer when you enter the Gulf Stream and cooler otherwise.
In regards to the temp being the same inside the hull vs the water. that is not true. You will notice trends (like indicated above with the gulf stream). You will see the temp rise and cool but the number is not accurate. I have the transducer of my cuda 250 shooting through the hull of my kayak (1/8" plastic) and the temp is off. Also, it takes a solid hour for the temp to level out after putting the yak in the water. If you leave your boat in the water Im sure it will be a little more accurate but there is still quite a delay.
I know that back during the winter the inside of my sailboat stayed about the same temperature as the water especially down in the bilge. Below freezing outside but warm enough inside. But I agree that there probably is some small difference. As to temperature it was an unexpected bonus on my fishfinder. Coming down the river I thought that shooting through the hull reduced sensitivity so that I could not see fish. But once I was in the bay I started seeing fish!!!! It may have something with saltwater being more dense.
no comparison
the advantage of having a finder over a depth gage is that it lets you know what type of bottom is underneath you , is it rock ,sand ,gravel ,or whatever and it will still show you fish . A depth gage will only show you depth and there`s all kinds on finders on the market for under $200.00 that are really good .
the advantage of having a finder over a depth gage is that it lets you know what type of bottom is underneath you , is it rock ,sand ,gravel ,or whatever and it will still show you fish . A depth gage will only show you depth and there`s all kinds on finders on the market for under $200.00 that are really good .
How is the Cuda 350 mounted. Is it through the hull and if so how is that done??? I'm interested in this but dont want to go punching holes in the hull just yet.
I set my transducer on the inside of the hull. I set it in a plumber's wax ring. I got a wax ring from HD and shaped it with my hands into a fat pancake. I then pressed it onto the inside of the hull making sure that there weren't any air bubbles in the wax. It stuck well, it has been in the same location for over a year without any problem. I then pressed the transducer into the wax and the job was complete. The pictures that I see on the screen are clear without any problem. It doesn't sound like it would work but it works great.
That is the way the present one in our boat is mounted. It was in there when we bought the boat and seems to work fine. I think I'll try the same mounting on the new one. Nice to know it is working for someone else,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
It sounds so simple and easy. I'm used to things being way more difficult to finish than they seemed at the start. This is great to hear. I have a sand bar to clear at the entrance to our creek/lagoon which would almost ground us at max low tide. This will be a great help on the Barnegat bay, NJ which is notorious for sandbars and shoals especially in the southern half. Thanks guys.
On the other hand
Not sure what you have for currents in San Fran bay but up in Long Island sound I've sailed at 5 knots and watched the same house on the shore in exactly the same bearing to my boat for over an hour.
Speed is an extremely important piece of information when you are dead reckoning in pea soup fog. Without it you don't have any idea where you are.
A nice hand bearing compass will do the same thing for SOG if you are near land. Just plot your position over a fixed period of time and compare the two positions on the chart with a set of dividers and you easily get speed over ground. A Davis HBC is maybe 25 bucks.
Not sure what you have for currents in San Fran bay but up in Long Island sound I've sailed at 5 knots and watched the same house on the shore in exactly the same bearing to my boat for over an hour.
Speed is an extremely important piece of information when you are dead reckoning in pea soup fog. Without it you don't have any idea where you are.
- Status