Ok well I'm down to just a couple of thing left before I can put my boat back in the water. I just finished up my bottom paint job and although it was a total pain in the butt, its done and looks great. I don't think I would want to tackle anything bigger than my 21'er.
So I spent today sorting and replacing the wiring. The two SR Mariner gauges have not worked since I got the boat. Fortunately, my local lake is very deep and I've spent 20 years on it so I know where not to go. I managed to resurrect the knot meter by taking it apart and putting it back together. Maybe just some fresh wiring connections was all it needed. But the depth sounder is toast. I confirmed the connections on SR Mariners website manual, got 13 volts at the back of the gauge. Although its not in the water, I still don't think its working. I cant hear any pings coming from the transducer and the gauge is dead as dirt.
So I've got this 4" hole in my cockpit and Id like to fill it up with a new depth finder. So far I've found that Moor and Signet make a large gauge, all the others seem to be only 2". I was just a few clicks from ordering the Moor when I thought maybe I should check out the fishfinders.
Wow, I came across the Raymarine Dragonfly 4Pro and I think I'm in love. Its practically the same cost as the Moor, but also includes GPS chartplotter and an amazing resolution with 3D like graphics. The display is the perfect size, and only seems to draw minimal power. In a perfect world I would prefer to have the depth sounder and use the Dragonfly as a redundant instrument. But, since I've been working on this B.O.A.T. for a few months now. My budget will only allow me to buy one right now.
So, has anyone else installed the Dragonfly on their boat? How do you like it. And, is it reliable enough to replace an analog depth sounder? I'm not planning on any ocean sailing just yet. My primary sailing territory will be in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound.
So I spent today sorting and replacing the wiring. The two SR Mariner gauges have not worked since I got the boat. Fortunately, my local lake is very deep and I've spent 20 years on it so I know where not to go. I managed to resurrect the knot meter by taking it apart and putting it back together. Maybe just some fresh wiring connections was all it needed. But the depth sounder is toast. I confirmed the connections on SR Mariners website manual, got 13 volts at the back of the gauge. Although its not in the water, I still don't think its working. I cant hear any pings coming from the transducer and the gauge is dead as dirt.
So I've got this 4" hole in my cockpit and Id like to fill it up with a new depth finder. So far I've found that Moor and Signet make a large gauge, all the others seem to be only 2". I was just a few clicks from ordering the Moor when I thought maybe I should check out the fishfinders.
Wow, I came across the Raymarine Dragonfly 4Pro and I think I'm in love. Its practically the same cost as the Moor, but also includes GPS chartplotter and an amazing resolution with 3D like graphics. The display is the perfect size, and only seems to draw minimal power. In a perfect world I would prefer to have the depth sounder and use the Dragonfly as a redundant instrument. But, since I've been working on this B.O.A.T. for a few months now. My budget will only allow me to buy one right now.
So, has anyone else installed the Dragonfly on their boat? How do you like it. And, is it reliable enough to replace an analog depth sounder? I'm not planning on any ocean sailing just yet. My primary sailing territory will be in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound.