Depth Sounder

[Lazy Flamingo]

Depth Sounder ....
This is something that the dealer says it is up to me

25 years in the business and he still has mixed feelings about them.
Fishermen use them because they have a purpose for them he says.
His mixed feelings are about people like me, the casual boater.

Pro: - he says is you get a discount on your insurance ....
Catch .... you spend $100.00+ to save $10 to $15 on insurance

Con: - he says is that the casual boater like me would be on top of
something, too late to do anything about it when the alarm sounds

Advice and opinions appreciated .... :?

[Salmon Troller]

I never have a problem with too much information. I figure my chart plotter will tell me when I'm getting shallow, which tells me to slow down. The depth finder helps me sneak into a reasonable anchorage depth, set a proper scope, or avoice other close quarter obstacles. The $100 cost (more like $250 with a decent transducer) for the unit will not even cover the deductible on my insurance, so it's a no brainer for me. Besides, it's one more gaget to play with!

[heymagic]

Your dealer is a brick or two short....yes you may hit bottom before advoidance can happen but, you can watch trends. When you see 10 ft depths then you better beware, 6 ft even more so. You can follow the depth contours on a chart and guestimate your position. In Olympia the channel to our marina is dredged, get off line a tad and you're walking. A cheap $100 Humminbird works fine, try to get one you can see in daylihgt well. Gene

[Lazy Flamingo]

Gene,

I understand what your saying, and I have another question ....

If I were get one, shouldn'tt I get a good one, and not pick up a cheap one
just for the sake of having one?

It has to be like anything else, you get what you pay for .... :?
To me, if you going to spend XX for a basic unit, spend XXX and get a
good reliable one.

I am not a fisherman, so I feel it is stupid for me to get a combo unit, and
that puts me back to just the depth sounder.

Keep in mind that the boat is the 195 Bayliner runabout that will basically
be used on the river here, and some of the larger lakes.

I know that when we decide which boat we want for Florida (305 or 325),
then we will need some serious equipment, the good stuff ....

[Pegasis]

An inexpensive echo sounder will do just fine for following shallow channels (my assumption is you aren't going 35+ MPH in shallow water) and setting anchor. You only need more expensive unit if you want it to track when depth goes over around 150' or want to see suspended fish.

Echo Sounder for me is a required piece of equipment on my boat when it comes to selecting a spot to anchor, specially if I've never been into the area where you're going to anchor.

[Randygh]

I agree 100% with Gene's comments. Dad bought an old style round flasher depth finder for our family boat back in the late '60s. It was very helpful when going in/out of the channel at Ilwaco for salmon fishing.

I had a Eagle on the Tolly and now have a Garmin 250c on "Del-Sea". Not very expensive and definitely a necessity for my boat. Right after starting the engine, I turn on the fishfinder. We are still "exploring" new areas of Puget Sound and I feel much more confident knowing I've got some water beneath the keel. It's nice to see the bottom's contour and composition when cruising or anchoring.

[Seapuppy]

out here in the pacnorwest the tides and bottom contours it's a necessity to have a decent depth finder and gps...in the great lakes most of the waters there don't have the kind of tides we have...so a decent depth finder would be a good thing to have...imho...having a decent one on any boat when your in waters that your unfamiliar with or just not sure of is a must....it's kinda like being in the dark and having a flashlight or being in the dark and not having one.....your gonna bump into something real fast and soon... :argh arrr...

[heymagic]

I've had a $100 Humminbird read past 400 ft in PS ( salt water) and a $300 Lowrance fade at 300 feet. For general use more money doesn't mean better. If you're fishing though the big buck units show much more detail aand structure.

Yeah... you're not gonna have ton of dash space on that 195 either. I think a small fishfinder like the hummingbird is the way to go. It'll show you contour over time, which is something you won't see with a straight sounder (even a pricey one)

Besides... you can see all fishies down there... :)

[Seapuppy]

phiranha makes a neat little fish finder ....I was thinking of getting one of those sometime soon...and they can be had for about a 100 bucks....not color...but I can transfer to b/w in a heartbeat.......... :argh arrr

[Go Aweigh2452]

Well, I'm going for the 3D RayMarine depth sounder/fish finder when it comes out this summer. A lot more $$ however... but its high tech... lol

[Lazy Flamingo]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions on the depth sounder
question, it is appreciated, and helped me alot.

[chuck4788]

All you really need is one of those little digital depth gauges. But they cost more than a typical fishfinder, and the fishfinder provide you with so much more useful information about the type of bottom and a short history that lets you see dept trend at a glance. I have used both and feel that ANY daylight readable fishfinder is preferable to a depth gauge.

[Lazy Flamingo]

Lowrance X51 - $90.00
New, still in the box, all original, nothing missing

The deal was too good to pass up, so I purchased the unit and
installed it ....

Got Depth Sounder/Temperature/Bottom Contour
all for less than the price of a 2" guage (oh yea, also fish finder)

Thanks for all the input, it was appreciated .. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/drink/trink39.gif

I like Lowrance units. I had an older Eagle (lowrance) on my previous boat. It was inexpoensive and worked great. I bought a more expensive Furuno LS4100 for my current boat and discovered the Eagle worked better and was more visible in bright sunlight.

Raul