Catalina - Capri - 25s International Assocaition Logo(2006)  
Assn Members Area · Join
h.jpg Home.
a.jpg Association Forum
s.jpg Ships Store
c.jpg Cruising
r.jpg Racing
t.jpg Technical Tips
g.jpg Photo Gallery - New
o.jpg Boat Search - Updated
m.jpg Manuals & Brochures
3rdrpt.jpg Swap Meet
l.jpg Links
f.jpg Officer Flag Line & Staff
b.jpg Bylaws & Constitution
 
1.jpg Members Area
1.jpg Join the Association
 
Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
 
Association Forum
Association Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Forum Users | Search | FAQ
Username:
 Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
 General Sailing Forum
 depth finder, fish finder		  New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

Dan86
Navigator

Member Avatar

130 Posts
Initially Posted - 01/20/2004 :  22:58:56  Show Profile
Looking for advice on the tyes of fishfinder and depth finder that are on the market. i have seen several models listed here, but the names / numbers do not match any of the models I can pull up in my searches so far! Am interested in finding one that I can mount with the transducer in the hull near the v berth area if possible. thanks Dan 86 TR/FK
Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts
Response Posted - 01/20/2004 :  23:41:43  Show Profile
Well, what features are important to you?

Cruisers like things like shallow/deep alarms, anchor watch alarms, speed/distance logs, good depth range and usually prefer simple digital readouts... the bigger and easier to read the better.

Racers often like instruments that have interfaces and can be networked with other devices or repeated at different stations... speed is as important as depth.

Lake sailors often opt for less expensive fishfinders. The problem with most fishfinders is rigging up a mounting that will be readable from the cockpit, yet doesn't occupy valuable real estate. Most of these units don't have features like anchor alarms.

My own choice was the Raymarine (Raytheon_ "ST-40 Bidata" Speed/Depth unit. Big readout, has speed-depth-temp + logs, shallow/deep/anchor alarms and can interface (SeaTalk) with other units later on should I want to expand my electronics. So far (6 months) it works great.

http://www.sailnet.com/store/item.cfm?pid=21644

If your budget is lower, the Standard Horizon units (DS30,DS35,DS100 etc.) are very economical. I had one in my previous boat and it worked just fine. They have most of the 'cruisers' features..

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SiteSearch?keyword=depth%20sounders&advanced=YES&searchDeptId=3
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2980 Posts
Response Posted - 01/21/2004 :  07:49:41  Show Profile  Visit Arlyn Stewart's Homepage
I'm hooked on fish finders

The ability to see the bottom structure helps greatly the cruiser who generally anchors.

While a great many say no to the concept, I like the sounder/gps combo unit. But, thats because of the nature of my cruising which requires a gps on all the time. The combo gives me the two screens needed, but with only the clutter of one. It also provides just one instrument that needs scanned and only one external buzzer is needed for a very loud alarm from either a depth or gps issue.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 01/21/2004 :  08:49:12  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Arlyn Stewart</i>
<br />I'm hooked on fish finders
It also provides just one instrument that needs scanned and only one external buzzer is needed for a very loud alarm from either a depth or gps issue.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

What models do you recommend?
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2980 Posts
Response Posted - 01/21/2004 :  18:50:23  Show Profile  Visit Arlyn Stewart's Homepage
Looking for an answer to Frank's question... I note the world of gps /sounder combos has changed.

I have the Garmin 125 which is gps/sounder. It doesn't appear that there is a gps/sounder combo available anymore. The combo units have all gone gpsmap/sounder and run considerably more especially when adding software into the mix.

So, the combo units no longer look like a viable aternative unless one is also looking for chartplotting, which isn't of interest to me. I also noted that the GPSMAP/Sounder 168 does not have an external buzzer ability which, in my opinion was one of the strong reasons for mixing the two together. That a very loud external buzzer could provide the necessary audio volume to warn of a depth issue or of an approaching waypoint is important to me. It seems however that evidently it wasn't important to fishermen who were the primary buyers of the combo units.



Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Dan86
Navigator

Members Avatar

130 Posts
Response Posted - 01/22/2004 :  21:47:59  Show Profile
Thanks for the information. I have some confusion, and you'll have to excuse the ignorace, but, when I looked at transducers, they stated that they were through hull. Is that requiring a hole in the hull (thru hull) or, do the transducers actually see through the hull, similar to those that Leon and others have talked about mounting? Again, pardon the ignorance Dan 86
Edited by - Dan86 on 01/22/2004 21:49:28
Go to Top of Page

jsummerfield
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
96 Posts
Response Posted - 01/22/2004 :  22:28:33  Show Profile
I have the Garmin Fishfinder 100 Blue. This is a dual beam with both wide and narrow coverage cones. The wide cone accommodates heeling and the narrow cone provides good bottom identification. I used the transducer that came with the unit and shoot through the fiberglass bottom with a temporary installation aft of the keel. The advanced features like speed and water temperature are not applicable inless mounted in the water. On Clear Lake and Galveston Bay I only worry about shallow water; and do not care about deep water. I plan to add the GPS separately and both speed and depth are covered with the combination units.

I also have an old through-hull digital depth finder. I no longer bother to turn it on. Through hull transducers have holes drilled through the fiberglass. Other descriptions apply to mounting the transducer inside the boat with the sound traveling through the fiberglass. The old depth finder has a through hull transducer. The fishfinder transducer is inside the boat.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

JimB517
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
3285 Posts
Response Posted - 01/23/2004 :  18:47:40  Show Profile  Visit JimB517's Homepage
Humminbird SX100 fishfinder, under $70 at West Marine, the transducer is glued to the inside of my hull and works great.

Non traditional install, but I'm happy with my mini nav center (fish finder, GPS and autopilot)
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Association Forum © since 1999 Catalina Capri 25s International Association Go To Top Of Page
Powered By: Snitz Forums 2000 Version 3.4.06
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.