Forward looking Sonar

[rustie]

Hey...any of you guys ever bought one of these little gems???

I'll be running my 247 LSV in some shallow water areas along the Colorado River (about 10/15/20ft max), and thought this item might be of some help.

Although, since I'll be in fairly shallow water, the mfgr says the forward range may only reach 500 feet or so.

It might also just be TMI (Too Much Info) with all the other input (boarders/passengers/traffic), but I also fly multi-engine aircraft and turbine helicopters....so, I do have a limited amount of multi-tasking abilities, but would still like to hear some your input:

http://www.interphase-tech.com/iScanV90.htm

Edited April 28, 2009 by rustie

[spinxt]

Hey...any of you guys ever bought one of these little gems???

I'll be running my 247 LSV in some shallow water areas along the Colorado River (about 10/15/20ft max), and thought this item might be of some help.

http://www.interphase-tech.com/iScanV90.htm

Not discounting your water depth or anything, but we run our boats in 12-15' max...at the shallowest I've read 3.2 ft on my depth gauge. As long as you are familiar with the bottom and know where rocks are you should be good. I don't think that sonar system would give you enough time to react at skiing/wakeboarding speed. JMHO.

[rustie]

I don't think that sonar system would give you enough time to react at skiing/wakeboarding speed. JMHO.

That was kinda my thoughts too.....especially if you have a lot of activity going on behind you.

Still, a very cool idea if you can keep up with all the input....and IF the shallow water range could be extended somehow (giving you more time to react).

[DONTW8]

Low Tech Answer.

I installed a Humminbird 200DX fishfinder with temperature probe about 8 years ago. It is mounted on my dash and is readable from 4-6 feet away. The finder shows what kind of bottom; grass, rocky, etc. and has a built in beeper/alarm to alert me of shallow depth. The temp display is nice also. The 3" x 2" screen is adequate for this purpose. The depth and temp are displayed in big letters. My passengers get a kick out of seeing the fish and bottom below and knowing how warm the water will be. It draws little current and we have it on all day long.

I especially like it when we go to new waterways. We have not had a prop ding since installing this baby. The total weight of this package is under 3 pounds I imagine. I think it was well under $200 with temp probe.

This has been a wonderful toy on our boat. I reccommend a screen display fish finder with temp probe to all boaters.

[rustie]

Low Tech Answer.

HA...I love answers like that! Low OR high tech.....

It's info like yours that helps so much in making up one's mind on such a purchase no matter the cost...

[felanges]

Low Tech Answer.

I installed a Humminbird 200DX fishfinder with temperature probe about 8 years ago. It is mounted on my dash and is readable from 4-6 feet away. The finder shows what kind of bottom; grass, rocky, etc. and has a built in beeper/alarm to alert me of shallow depth. The temp display is nice also. The 3" x 2" screen is adequate for this purpose. The depth and temp are displayed in big letters. My passengers get a kick out of seeing the fish and bottom below and knowing how warm the water will be. It draws little current and we have it on all day long.

I especially like it when we go to new waterways. We have not had a prop ding since installing this baby. The total weight of this package is under 3 pounds I imagine. I think it was well under $200 with temp probe.

This has been a wonderful toy on our boat. I reccommend a screen display fish finder with temp probe to all boaters.

the sonar thing i guess could work but we all have these on our boats, it shows you the depth everywhere in any lake and rivers etc... gps plotters... no guessing whatsoever in depths etc....

http://standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd...mp;isArchived=0

[rustie]

....the sonar thing i guess could work but we all have these on our boats, it shows you the depth everywhere in any lake and rivers etc....

Yes, I'm totally aware of our onboard depth gauge. But, it only shows what's directly under you, and it tells you far too late should you have run aground on a sandbar (or worse...a rock bar!) I was just looking to see what was available to show the depth sufficiently ahead of you so you could change course prior to entering a hidden shallow area....or hitting anything submerged (or stop altogether).

Edited April 28, 2009 by rustie

[zad0030]

Low Tech Answer.

HA...I love answers like that! Low OR high tech.....

It's info like yours that helps so much in making up one's mind on such a purchase no matter the cost...

Low tech answer would be to jump in and if you can't touch its deep enough.

[dlussier]

I'd recommend a GPS chartplotter over the sonar. As long as you have map data for the waterway your navigating, you can see rocks and other obstacles far in advance. The map is also easy to read even while towing a rider and watching out for other boats. Plus navigating back to the dock in the dark after a late evening set becomes dead simple!

[Chia]

i suppose you would have to mount the transducer in front of the tracking fins. should work. i recommend you make the purchase.

that is one substantial transducer at 9.5" long.

[WakeGirl]

i suppose you would have to mount the transducer in front of the tracking fins. should work. i recommend you make the purchase.

that is one substantial transducer at 9.5" long.

[MalibuTime]

i suppose you would have to mount the transducer in front of the tracking fins. should work. i recommend you make the purchase.

that is one substantial transducer at 9.5" long.

See if you can find any saltwater boating forums with people commenting on the use. I think with up to 1200' forward looking, or even 500' that will give you enough time to cut back on the throttle, especially if there is an alarm function. Places we boat in like the Columbia river, and any river really, sand bar and shallows can change after each flood. I try to recon any new areas I am not familiar with before hitting them at speed with a boarder or skier.

[MalibuTime]

i suppose you would have to mount the transducer in front of the tracking fins. should work. i recommend you make the purchase.

that is one substantial transducer at 9.5" long.

Size does matter with transducers.

[WakeGirl]

It's not that (although that's a good one, gotta admit), it's what that transducer will do to other things on the hull, such the paddlewheel. Water flow over components such as that is very important, more specifically clean water flow. It takes very little to dirty it up, even something as small as the lip from a thru-hull that's been incorrectly placed in front of it. Throw a 9.5" rod down in front of all of that....you're begging for problems. And to top it off, that transducer is going to want clean water flow of its own, so you've got multiple items that are competing for that. Like I said, begging for problems.

Oh & if you're concerned about prop damage on the road while trailering, that's nothing compared with what will happen from a little spring runoff debris. That transducer would have no chance.

But yeah, go for it. I'd love to see how it turns out.

[rustie]

Low tech answer would be to jump in and if you can't touch its deep enough.

Actually, I was considering dragging one of the kids along side, and only when they started complaining about hitting bottom, then I'd turn around...

[rustie]

Oh & if you're concerned about prop damage on the road while trailering, that's nothing compared with what will happen from a little spring runoff debris. That transducer would have no chance.

Yep....you're abo-lutely keerect on thatun. In our part of the Colorado River (20 miles above Blythe), the sand (and rock) bars change constantly...otherwise, the GPS idea would have been fantastic. So, my thoughts about keeping the prop free of road debris may be wiped out in one short contact with a rock bar (my biggest fear).

The "skid plate" idea for road debris is the best so far, and what I certainly will be doing (bending up some .187" aluminum). Like most of you had mentioned, no need to crawl under the boat at every launch if another method ends up being superior.

With the road debris problem solved, it would indeed be moot on the first contact with any river rocks (ya think!) So, I'm considering that Forward Looking Sonar with the 1200 ft Range (degraded to 500 ft at shallow depths). They even have a transom mounted transducer with the same range and capabilities as the "through-the-hull" forward mounted unit (you just loose the length of the hull...about 20ft on a 247). Plus, it wouldn't require any holes in the hull to pass the transducer cable (except for mounting screws).

Another option would be to attach a transducer mount to one of the swim step aluminum mounts. Then should it not work out, the work necessary to return the hull to stock would be simplified, with no mounting or cable holes drilled through the hull. All cables would pass up the transom (behind the transom pad) and under the engine covers. Not the best looking idea, but certainly the least invasive should it not work as intended....

Edited April 28, 2009 by rustie

[LS-One]

I had a Hummingbird fish finder/depth sounder in my Euro skier. I mounted the transducer just forward of pylon inside the boat, it worked just fine through the hull.

[Chia]

It's not that (although that's a good one, gotta admit), it's what that transducer will do to other things on the hull, such the paddlewheel. Water flow over components such as that is very important, more specifically clean water flow. It takes very little to dirty it up, even something as small as the lip from a thru-hull that's been incorrectly placed in front of it. Throw a 9.5" rod down in front of all of that....you're begging for problems. And to top it off, that transducer is going to want clean water flow of its own, so you've got multiple items that are competing for that. Like I said, begging for problems.

Oh & if you're concerned about prop damage on the road while trailering, that's nothing compared with what will happen from a little spring runoff debris. That transducer would have no chance.

But yeah, go for it. I'd love to see how it turns out.

i used to do a lot of fishing and had a really good color fish finder with a heavy duty transducer. These things are a heavy, solid brass like material and will take any kind of beating the river could throw at it. I would be more concerned about the tracking fins than the transducer that is flush mounted to the hull.

Oh & if you're concerned about prop damage on the road while trailering, that's nothing compared with what will happen from a little spring runoff debris. That transducer would have no chance.

Yep....you're abo-lutely keerect on thatun. In our part of the Colorado River (20 miles above Blythe), the sand (and rock) bars change constantly...otherwise, the GPS idea would have been fantastic. So, my thoughts about keeping the prop free of road debris may be wiped out in one short contact with a rock bar (my biggest fear).

The "skid plate" idea for road debris is the best so far, and what I certainly will be doing (bending up some .187" aluminum). Like most of you had mentioned, no need to crawl under the boat at every launch if another method ends up being superior.

With the road debris problem solved, it would indeed be moot on the first contact with any river rocks (ya think!) So, I'm considering that Forward Looking Sonar with the 1200 ft Range (degraded to 500 ft at shallow depths). They even have a transom mounted transducer with the same range and capabilities as the "through-the-hull" forward mounted unit (you just loose the length of the hull...about 20ft on a 247). Plus, it wouldn't require any holes in the hull to pass the transducer cable (except for mounting screws).

Another option would be to attach a transducer mount to one of the swim step aluminum mounts. Then should it not work out, the work necessary to return the hull to stock would be simplified, with no mounting or cable holes drilled through the hull. All cables would pass up the transom (behind the transom pad) and under the engine covers. Not the best looking idea, but certainly the least invasive should it not work as intended....

If you are going to do it. do it right. mount the thing in front of the tracking fins to give it the best chance to do what you expect it to do. it is only fiberglass.

[WakeGirl]

Water flow is an issue though, whether or not the transducer can take a beating is secondary to that IMO.

[rustie]

Water flow is an issue though, whether or not the transducer can take a beating is secondary to that IMO.

Well, after spending a considerable amount of time talking with Interphase, they said that the transom mount is absolutely a "NO-GO" on any inboard V-drive boat.

Seems that even though the transducer projects "pings" at about a 5:1 ratio (ie: 5ft out, the beam is 1ft wide), it can still "see" the mass of bubbles produced by a prop spinning in front and to the side of it....even if the transducer is mounted out at the far edge of the hull. Turns out that it can still detect any turbulence or bubbles immediately to either side, even though it's beyond the 5:1 beam width projection. So, the transom mount with a V-drive is out.

Turns out that the only way to make a Forward Looking Sonar function properly on a V-drive hull is to drill the requisite 1" hole through the hull at the bow, in "clean water". Drilling a hole is not something I wanted to consider, and there are no "forward looking" transducers that mount only on the inside of the hull (it would only "see" fiberglass). Keeeerap......

[rustie]

So, game over....unless any of you guys have any other ideas or solutions (actual or theory).....

[JUST-IN-TIME]

you can get a shoot thru transducer, if BU do not have corred hulls

AMAIR makes all transducers for most chartploters, from furuno to garmin

Furuno makes the best one hands down, but garmin is more user friendly

you can also do a thru-hull, as where u can drill a hole in the hull, this is better and more accurate