Seeking Depth Sounder Input

[John Stone]

If I’m putting an engine in the boat and adding LED nav lights it makes sense to add an electronic depth sounder. The only thing I know for sure is I have no desire for a through-hull transducer—it needs to be transducer I can mount inside the hull and shoots through the fiberglass.

Anyone have experience or a strong opinion about a brand or model depth-sounder they recommend or I should avoid? I think I would be happy with a simple but reliable smallish digital read out. I have zero desire for a chartplotter combo.

Any input is appreciated.

[tjr818]

Have you seen this one:

https://hawkeyeelectronics.com/products ... f8EALw_wcB

I was going to get this one, but I got a deal on a Garmin fishfinder that will let me know exactly what it is that I hit bottom on. Oh the curse of shallow water sailers

[Paul D.]

John,

Here's Raymarine's in hull transducer. It would allow you to use a few different display options. Key is thinking about the 22 degree dead rise angle regarding placement. I consider the depth sounder an important navigation instrument because it is realtime so it is worthwhile to me to have one that reads to 600'. Good luck.

http://www.raymarine.com/view/index-id=1479.html

[John Stone]

Have you seen this one:

https://hawkeyeelectronics.com/products ... f8EALw_wcB

I was going to get this one, but I got a deal on a Garmin fishfinder that will let me know exactly what it is that I hit bottom on. Oh the curse of shallow water sailers

Thanks TJR. I’ll have to contact the tech dept and see if they think it’ll shoot through 3/4” of fiberglass. I can make a box for mineral oil or go with an epoxy plug.

[John Stone]

John,

Here's Raymarine's in hull transducer. It would allow you to use a few different display options. Key is thinking about the 22 degree dead rise angle regarding placement. I consider the depth sounder an important navigation instrument because it is realtime so it is worthwhile to me to have one that reads to 600'. Good luck.

http://www.raymarine.com/view/index-id=1479.html

Hi Paul, thanks. Do you have a Raymarine depth sounder? I looked at the i40 and the i50. I know Raymarine is high end but I wonder how reliable it is. It’s not inexpensive. I thought I remember some people on the forum complaining about one of the radar manufactures saying their equipment was not reliable and tech support was poor? Might have been Furuno?

I’ll talk to the tech dept and see what options I have for in hull transducers. Not sure I can find a 22° deadrise without coming further aft. I’ll just have to look and see.

Where do folks mount these so they still get reliable reading when beating through ugly chop and there is lots of water turbulence?

[Frenchy]

John, here's some anecdotal on the Hawkeye. Both my brother and I had the transducer epoxied in the
inner hull on our old boats. Generally, they worked well but seemed to cut out for a few minutes at a
time for no apparent reason. Maybe it was because the boat was over a soft mud bottom and the unit couldn't
get a good return- I don't know. My present Signet sounder does that very rarely.
It could be that the Signet is through hull and the Hawkeye was beaming through about 3/4" of
epoxy, plus the hull thickness.

[John Stone]

John, here's some anecdotal on the Hawkeye. Both my brother and I had the transducer epoxied in the
inner hull on our old boats. Generally, they worked well but seemed to cut out for a few minutes at a
time for no apparent reason. Maybe it was because the boat was over a soft mud bottom and the unit couldn't
get a good return- I don't know. My present Signet sounder does that very rarely.
It could be that the Signet is through hull and the Hawkeye was beaming through about 3/4" of
epoxy, plus the hull thickness.

Hey Jean
Thanks much. I read a similar comment on-line somewhere. They posited that the Hawkeye is not as powerful as other units and so sometime there is an issue for in-hull mounted transducers. What do I know? Not much. I don’t have any experience with this stuff. It makes no sense to purchase something that does not work right. It annoys me because all I want is something reliable and well made. It’s the whole challenge of making the boat more complicated. How hard can it be to select a purpose made device that does one thing well. I don’t need it to interface with a chartplotter, an iPad, or the international space station.

How do you like the Signit?

[Paul D.]

John,

I don't think there is a statistical difference in reliability between the major sailing/cruising focused brands of Raymarine, Garmin, B&G, Maretron, Faruno etc. Tech support with Raymarine is generally poor but you basically just need them to tell you whether it is a software glitch or send back to the shop. When dealing with electronics, I think a main point is to use the same brand, especially if you are having them talk to each other, which I don't.

I installed Raymarine ST60 depth and speed and their wireless wind (Formerly Tacktick) and have had no problems. I like that the depth reliably reads to 600' with no glitches (Note: I have a through hull transducer) my only issue is that in water over 600' deep the damn thing flashes 15. I reckon this is a marine electronic designers joke. The 1982 Datamarine I replaced did much the same and it would freak me out for a second in the middle of Lake Superior when you should know you're in the clear. A quick look at my paper chart though and all is well. In fact, the depth sounder was the last of Femme's original electronics to go, 27 years ain't bad. I didn't replace any until that went as I can look over the side and gauge our speed and look at the water and how the boat's handling to gauge the wind speed. When I had five non working electronics on board I figured it was time to go shopping so I got the ST60's for less when their new models were coming in. I also got their Evolution autopilot (works great!) display and CPU to replace my below decks Benmar Cetec, but that's another story. For the moment, all my electronics work.

In soundings, the ST60 reliably follows the charts. After years of this, I feel comfortable using depth readings in fog along with GPS. We do not have radar. However - I know one day it could stop, or in a lightning strike etc.

Because of this, I don't mind paying a bit more for a good depth sounder.

[John Stone]

John,

I don't think there is a statistical difference in reliability between the major sailing/cruising focused brands of Raymarine, Garmin, B&G, Maretron, Faruno etc. Tech support with Raymarine is generally poor but you basically just need them to tell you whether it is a software glitch or send back to the shop. When dealing with electronics, I think a main point is to use the same brand, especially if you are having them talk to each other, which I don't.

I installed Raymarine ST60 depth and speed and their wireless wind (Formerly Tacktick) and have had no problems. I like that the depth reliably reads to 600' with no glitches (Note: I have a through hull transducer) my only issue is that in water over 600' deep the damn thing flashes 15. I reckon this is a marine electronic designers joke. The 1982 Datamarine I replaced did much the same and it would freak me out for a second in the middle of Lake Superior when you should know you're in the clear. A quick look at my paper chart though and all is well. In fact, the depth sounder was the last of Femme's original electronics to go, 27 years ain't bad. I didn't replace any until that went as I can look over the side and gauge our speed and look at the water and how the boat's handling to gauge the wind speed. When I had five non working electronics on board I figured it was time to go shopping so I got the ST60's for less when their new models were coming in. I also got their Evolution autopilot (works great!) display and CPU to replace my below decks Benmar Cetec, but that's another story. For the moment, all my electronics work.

In soundings, the ST60 reliably follows the charts. After years of this, I feel comfortable using depth readings in fog along with GPS. We do not have radar. However - I know one day it could stop, or in a lightning strike etc.

Because of this, I don't mind paying a bit more for a good depth sounder.

I miss my lead line already.

[Doug Gibson]

I have a P-79 in-hull Raymarine transducer which Paul references in my CD 36. It feeds a Ray Marine Multi-function GPS/Fish Finder unit and has worked well for past 15 years. There is room in the plastic fixture which I epoxied to the hull to fill with mineral oil. I've found that as long as I keep the mineral oil topped off (typically once a season), it works great and has been very reliable. It is mounted just aft of the main head bulkhead, under the port settee locker. The 22 degree angle seems to match pretty closely to the hull profile at that point and points the transducer pretty close to vertical. I would assume the hull thickness is about 3/4" at that location, so you should have not problem mounting it anywhere near the turn of the bilge.

[Steve Laume]

I had a monster, transducer block on Raven's hull when I bought her. When the depth sounder died, I was in your exact situation with similar concerns. While I consider the depth sounder to be essential. I didn't intend to spend a fortune on it and I definitely wanted it to be a stand alone unit.

I pulled out the transducer and glassed over the hole making sure not to include any air bubbles in the layup. I then used a plastic food container, cut to the angle of the hull and removed the bottom to create a short, truncated cone, into which I made multiple pours of epoxy until it was level. No need for an angled transducer. Side note: don't try to make one thick pour as the epoxy will cook as it cures. I bought a small and rather inexpensive, Hummingbird, depth sounder. It came with some sort of adhesive to glue the transducer to my internal epoxy block or directly to the hull. I am pretty sure you could use regular epoxy. Any sort of an oil filled vessel just seems like more maintenance and an opportunity for a mess as well as being un necessary.

This simple little sounder has worked flawlessly and reads to 600'. If my plotter goes down or I turn it off, I can still read the depth. The unit can be adjust for hull offset, has a red nite light and alarms. I am not sure what more you could ask for all at less than $100.

I did a quick check and Defender doesn't seem to carry the Hummingbird but this looks like the same unit. It could be a buy out and name change. Unless you are an avid fisherman I don't see the need for anything more. Drilling a hole in your boat and mounting a big transducer on the outside is completely un necessary as is spending hundreds of dollars and messing around with mineral oil.

I am all for keeping it simple and separate, Steve.
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?n ... 08930

[John Stone]

I had a monster, transducer block on Raven's hull when I bought her. When the depth sounder died, I was in your exact situation with similar concerns. While I consider the depth sounder to be essential. I didn't intend to spend a fortune on it and I definitely wanted it to be a stand alone unit.

I pulled out the transducer and glassed over the hole making sure not to include any air bubbles in the layup. I then used a plastic food container, cut to the angle of the hull and removed the bottom to create a short, truncated cone, into which I made multiple pours of epoxy until it was level. No need for an angled transducer. Side note: don't try to make one thick pour as the epoxy will cook as it cures. I bought a small and rather inexpensive, Hummingbird, depth sounder. It came with some sort of adhesive to glue the transducer to my internal epoxy block or directly to the hull. I am pretty sure you could use regular epoxy. Any sort of an oil filled vessel just seems like more maintenance and an opportunity for a mess as well as being un necessary.

This simple little sounder has worked flawlessly and reads to 600'. If my plotter goes down or I turn it off, I can still read the depth. The unit can be adjust for hull offset, has a red nite light and alarms. I am not sure what more you could ask for all at less than $100.

I did a quick check and Defender doesn't seem to carry the Hummingbird but this looks like the same unit. It could be a buy out and name change. Unless you are an avid fisherman I don't see the need for anything more. Drilling a hole in your boat and mounting a big transducer on the outside is completely un necessary as is spending hundreds of dollars and messing around with mineral oil.

I am all for keeping it simple and separate, Steve.
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?n ... 08930

Steve
That’s the same unit recommended by Tim. Thanks for the description of how you mounted it. Did you use the transducer it came with or purchase the optional Airmar P19 transducer? How large are the number? Can you read them easily in the sunlight or with sunglasses on?

Sounds like the solution I’m looking for....

[gonesail]

I have had 2 in hull transducers in the past. Both were epoxied to the inside of the hulls. You can test if they work by coating with vaseline and holding them in place. I used standard horizon.

[Frenchy]

John, you asked about the Signet- It's okay, but I wouldn't recommend it. The transducer seems
to be very sensitive to slime. If you clean it every couple of weeks or so, it works fine. The reason
I went for it was to cover the large hole that the previous unit necessitated.

[bottomscraper]

We have a Garmin GPSMAP 742xs with a Garmin GT15M-IH transducer. The transducer can be used with a hull deadrise angle between 0 and 25 degrees. Our transducer is mounted below the nav station which is one of the few spots with a deadrise angle that would work without doing any serious modifications. The Garmin GPSMAP 942xs is a larger version that also works with this transducer. The fish finder function is infinitely more interesting than a plain depth sounder.