Sailing without a depth finder

kappykaplan · Jul 6, 2022

Sure - it all depends on how much risk of accidental grounding you're willing to accept. You do need to be able to stay clear of big ships that have to use those well-travelled channels.

Indysailor · Jul 6, 2022

I don't know the sailing area, but how about making sure you have something like Navionics so you at least know generally the areas to steer clear of? Alternatively, if you're really worried about having a depth sounder, why not just install one now? My boat came with an in hull transducer that had long ago stopped working and I just put in a through the hull puck in a blob of silicone just forward of the keel, after cleaning the fiberglass really well and it has worked flawless for three years. It took about a half an hour to install.

jssailem · Jul 6, 2022

Crusty. Your a Navy man. You should be on the sea. Break out your charts and identify the areas to avoid. Your 280 should draft 5ft. If you stick to waters charted at 6ft or deeper you’ll never know the sea bottom is there.
There is deep water and shallow water off Hampton Roads. You should be able to sail down the Hampton river out into the James river turn east and along NAS Norfolk out towards the opening of the Chesapeake and back with no problem.

https://www.geographic.org/nautical_charts/image.php?image=12245_1.png

Watch for the big ships and stay out of there way.

You can navigate in the deep waters and avoid the shoals. Just don’t cut corners. Be sure you have your auxiliary ready to go should you get a bad feeling. The dark water is usually deep the muddy brown water not so much.

dlochner · Jul 6, 2022

There are transducers designed to be mounted inside of the hull. They work well unless the hull is cored with balsa or foam.

AIRMAR

garymalmgren · Jul 6, 2022

Sailing with a depth finder
Can it be done?

Yes, Quite easily. Just switch it on.

But seriously.
Why would you want to avoid spending $134,99
and a 30 minute installation?

https://www.amazon.com/Lowrance-HOOK2-4X-4-inch-Plotter/dp/B078561F1B/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=depth+sounder&qid=1657114489&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFRTERGV0lRNEw4R1AmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2NDIyNjYxSDA4VVNVQUhHTDE1JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzNTkyNTQyTVBSTFNaWEtJSlBSJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

stickinthemud57 · Jul 6, 2022

As hinted at in previous replies, it depends on how you plan to use your boat. Sailing in well-travelled waters (by which I take to mean places where you see other sailboats your size sailing without trouble, and populated by other boats that can assist if need be), you should have no problem avoiding grounding providing you pay attention to tidal variations. Worse case scenario would have you seeking help from passing motorboaters or the Coast Guard, ignominy notwithstanding, of course. Should you chose to sail or anchor off the beaten path, then having a depth finder would be of significant value, for peace of mind if nothing else.

I have no need, given the waters I sail and the forgiving nature of my swing centerboard rig, but if I were to get a depth finder, I would ideally want one that looks forward. This might not be affordable for you, so otherwise (and at the risk of stating the obvious) you would probably want to set your "stop and turn around" threshold a few feet deeper than your draft.

Definitely wait until sailing season is over before you haul out. Otherwise you might be tempted to rush the job to your ultimate detriment.

Allan12210 · Jul 6, 2022

For the old school navigators, our depth sounder gives us an additional Line of Position (LOP). Once we were coming up the coast from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay in fog so thick you could not see more than 100 feet in any direction. We had no radar and on that particular day the Loran system was down. GPS didn't exist yet in the early '90s. We were far enough offshore (but well inside the shipping channel) that we couldn't take bearings on any land objects. All we had was our trusty autopilot and the depth sounder. We knew from the time and speed we were making that when we reached just off Pigeon Point we needed to adjust our course by around 15 degrees. That was at 180 feet depth. We crossed that line on the chart at the time we expected and adjusted course. A couple of hours later we heard a bell. Looming out of the fog was the 1S buoy dead ahead. It was our first known point of position in 32 miles. What a relief. Then the sun came out as we were close to land again and we motored in to the anchorage. My wife and I felt a real sense of accomplishment. Much later a GPS plotter made it so much easier, but I still like to navigate with paper charts. It's like a game for us. The depth sounder is important for another reason than just keeping us off the bottom in shallow water.

jssailem · Jul 6, 2022

Allan12210 said:
I still like to navigate with paper charts.

If you have an accurate chart and a depth sounder, you can cruise the coastal waters pretty much without drama. In Fog.... Well that is it's own drama.

capta · Jul 6, 2022

I mainly use a depth finder to know when I am going from deep water to shallow in the murky green waters of the NE.
In the tropics the color of the water can be a much better depth indicator, as the depth finder can't see as far ahead as you can.

Ralph Johnstone · Jul 6, 2022

Don't even consider installing a transducer as an in-hull transducer (meaning requires holes).

I believe every depth transducer made can be mounted as a thru hull transducer. An encyclopedia of material can be found here in the archives on how to test for position and mounting.

Davidasailor26 · Jul 6, 2022

I’ve heard the arguments before about having a depth finder locating your position based on depth. I’m sure that works well in some places with distinct depth contours. In the Chesapeake I think that would be of pretty limited value. The bay has such uniform depth, and so many subtle nooks and crannies affecting the depth, that a sounding or set of soundings is just not enough information to distinguish position. There’s also plenty of landmarks and navigation markers, so it would be hard to get lost for very long if you have a chart.

dlochner · Jul 6, 2022

A depth finder is most useful for setting an anchor and knowing how much scope to let out and roughly the tide stage. Otherwise sailboats have a built in depth sounder which works very well.

shemandr · Jul 6, 2022

I bought and sailed my Ranger 29 without a depth meter. It came from Lake Michigan, I think, where there wasn't much call for depth monitoring. But in Peconic Bay while racing in club level races it was common to push a tack into the beach (Also sporty because of rocks). Also we would sail up the Sand Bar South of Robins Island by crabbing up the bar. Knowing where the shallow water is was important. I installed one of those shoot thru the hull transducers which worked pretty well. It did spase out from time to time.

arf145 · Jul 6, 2022

Gosh, I wouldn't be without one on the Chesapeake! Even in the channel going into my marina, shoals form from time to time from silt build up. And as others have mentioned, forget hull work--just mount a transducer inside as a shoot through the hull type.

thinwater · Jul 6, 2022

I sailed the Chesapeake for decades without one. The charts are good, and when in doubt, go slow so you can back off. Much depends on your draft. Drawing 5', you will have to pay close attention.

But yeah, put in in this fall.

Sailing without a depth finder

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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