am looking for an
in-hull depth finder. I’m trying to decide between
something simple for now or one that has
depth/speed.
Hi Aileen.
Let's keep this simple (and cheap)
There are 3 thing that you want from a depth sounder for your type of boat.
1, Accuracy.
2, An alarm
3, BIG, figures.
Everything else, (pretty colors, little fishy symbols, water temperature. ) is just baggage that you will fiddle with once and never use again.
1. They are all accurate to within a few inches when the transducer is mounted correctly.
2, They all have alarms.
3. Well, unfortunately BIG figures are not available anymore , even on expensive units.
I have an old black and white screen Hook unit and the figures could be enlarged to fill the whole (tiny) screen.
This Garmin
GARMIN STRIKER™ 4 Fishfinder/GPS Combo with Dual Beam Transducer | West Marine
or this Hook
Check out our HOOK² 4x Fishfinder with Bullet Skimmer Transducer and more from West Marine!
www.westmarine.com
will do just fine. You can see on the Garmin that the most important information (the depth) is represented as small figures tucked away in the top corner. The Hook will be the same.
Plumbers putty is the easiest (removable) mounting medium.
Here is how I fitted my new fish finder.
As for speed, I use the Boat Speed app on my phone.
Free, only needs a GPS connection and has BIG figures. Heeling (not necessary ) can be canceled and you end up with what you need. Also has a audio setting and a little lady in your phone will tell you your speed.
The Sailing App
play.google.com
all the best
Gary