Budget echo sounder

bluey01

bluey01

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Hi

My 1970's 20' bilge keller has no instruments, I would like explore the options of adding an echo sounder.

Ebay search shows digital and the older style (like the Nasa stingray etc) units.

I would prefer a transducer that can be fixed to the inside of the hull as opposed a through the hull type.

Being low on funds, what would be the best option to get the reader unit, lead and transducer?

Not to keen on the fish finder type units that have a transducer off the stern.

Any advise really welcome, thanks
 
The NASA Target depth sounder was one of the cheapest when we were getting one a few years ago. Simple, but does the job very adequately. Transducer stuck to the inside of the hull with a bit of sikaflex manages (on a good day) to hear echos from 99m down (which, since it only has a two digit display, is as deep as it goes).

Once you get one you won't want to go back - felt very uncomfortable sailing with no sounder a few years ago when this one's predecessor (different make) died!

Cheers
Patrick
 
I had a target depth sounder on my last boat & drilled a hole through the bottom for the transducer but after a few years it started giving dodgy readings below 2 meters so I would'nt buy another one.Probably spend a few more pounds & go a bit up market.(my current boat has a Seafarer & God only knows what that is like but at least for now the dial thing goes wiring round) :)
 
YachtAllegro said:
Once you get one you won't want to go back - felt very uncomfortable sailing with no sounder a few years ago when this one's predecessor (different make) died!
Click to expand...

+1 - for most of my sailing these days, any other instrument failing wouldn't really matter, but losing the sounder would have me worried.

Even driving a mate's speedboat, idling round in circles in the river while he parked the car and trailer, felt vulnerable without a depth display.

Pete
 
More than happy with the NASA depth sounder I had. I also bought the transducer mounting kit to mount the transducer without drilling a hole in the bottom.
 
I have a cheap Garmin unit with the transducer thats supposed to work off the transom.
I epoxied it into the hull, and it fires through the hull easily. I used slow cure epoxy to ensure no bubbles in the mix. I build a cardboard and duct tape wall round it and poured the epoxy in around the transducer. Been 5 years now without any problems.
 
Bought & fitted a Nasa about 4 years ago - failed while under guarantee & they were really snotty about repair/replacement. Eventually repaired & returned after extorting £10 for return postage & with a note saying "failure due to customer misuse" (?!) Fine for about 2 years but now very erratic. Wish I'd used a leadline til I could afford something better.
 
neale said:
A standalone fishfinder is probably the cheapest way to get a depth instrument on your boat. The transom mounted transducers can be mounted in hull using a big blob of silicone.
Click to expand...

I have done that as a backup. I never got round to fixing the transducer with silicone (though I think epoxy adhesive would be better) but just stuck it down with blu-tack! It works fine in depths up to 20 metres, and I am not at all concerned if the water is deeper.
 
I also have a Sefarer 3. ... with its little rotating LED

I seldom see any need to use it but when I do it would be nice if was readable in bright light.

I have thought about replacing the LED with a more modern and brighter one but I'll never get round to it so I guess it will have to see me out as it is.

Its easy enough to mount the transducers inside the hull. Mine is in a tube of castor oil but a blob of Sikaflex or silicone would do the trick provided one is careful not to get air bubbles trapped. I cannot therefore see the point of transom mounting brackets, at least not where the inside of the hull moulding is accessible

I'd cockpit mount one with a LCD digital display if I were to replace the Seafarer, rather than fit another with a spinning LED.
 
Or you could look at the Raymarine ST40, which is their smaller boat model. I've had one for 10 years and it's going strong - tho I did have the pcb replaced under guarantee. It's very easy to use.
Incidentally I sailed for 3 months with a defective ie not working sounder. Horrible period. I just could'nt relax as my home water was Thames Estuary!
 
+another 1 for a fishfinder; I have 2 sounders, 1 below & 1 in the cockpit, the saloon one failed last year so I fitted a Garmin fishfinder for about £92.00.

The transom type transducer works fine araldited inside the bilge.

As well as the advantage of seeing the depth contours ( better than a lot of the programmes on Sky ! ) it has 2 alarms, 1 shallow 1 deep - as most modern sounders do.

This can be used to set 'anchor watch', the shallow alarm set in case the boat may ground, the deep alarm in case the tide comes in more than expected and the anchor may drag.

There is a backlight; I'd make sure to place any sounder within view from the cockpit.

Power consumption on an LCD thing like this is minimal.
 
neale said:
A standalone fishfinder is probably the cheapest way to get a depth instrument on your boat. The transom mounted transducers can be mounted in hull using a big blob of silicone.
Click to expand...

I've got a fishfinder on my boat - it has some advantages - you can "see" the bottom, you get a visual "trend" of the depth you are getting into - and you can use it to find fish!

It came with a transom mounted transducer which occasionally worked when glued inside the hull (because of the hull shape it was difficult to find a less than oblique angle to mount it at). It works better now I've wired the old transducer (in a pocket in the leading edge of the keel) into it.

However- it has a battery meter on the display that tells me just how incredibly power hungry it is. I have 2 80 AH batteries and I can watch the volts go down by the minute.

It will be worse if you only have one battery.

I tend to use it only when motoring or for short periods under sail if I'm expecting to find shallow water.

Seajets post says different re power - maybe its just mine! - it's a backlit, colour screen Garmin unit.
Second edit - manual says 7 watts @ 12v DC
 
Last edited:
A 2m bamboo cane?

A Lead line? A few fishing weights and a length of string? Get technical make it square and put some tallow on it, then you know what your going to hit before you go aground :D

If you are going to get one make sure it has a depth alarm...
The only times going aground without an echo-sounder caused a problem was was when I was not expecting to :D so would not of been looking at it!

Personally I spent 8 years tickling the creaks of the Solent without one...

If you have an echo sounder or not there are some simple rules:
1) Never play with going aground on falling tide (you will not get off).
2) Calculate what time you can pass a shallow.
3) If tide is rising weather is good and your early go in slowly, if you go aground you will float quickly.
4) If weather is bad you cannot tickle bottom wait till YOU KNOW there is enough water you do not want to damage your boat.

Doing this feeling your way in and out of the creaks very quickly it becomes second nature, you learn to find local gauges.
 
....thats interesting, so one of these fishfinders (which do not draw much current in none colour version) I can use the standard off the stern transducer inside the hull aslong as i'm careful about air bubbles?

Id really like one of the below but as 'budget' was the main criteria, the FF might be the best option, also as mentioned by Seajet gives you a good idea of the contours around you.

really helpful replies - thank you

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NASA-Targ...7859&pid=100015&prg=1006&rk=1&#ht_1082wt_1165
 
mikemonty said:
I've got a fishfinder on my boat - it has some advantages...
However- it has a battery meter on the display that tells me just how incredibly power hungry it is. I have 2 80 AH batteries and I can watch the volts go down by the minute.
Click to expand...

Interesting re battery usage. Our Nasa Target tends to be on pretty much all the time we're onboard, including overnight with deep and shallow alarms set for anchor watch. It never seems to have a noticeable impact on the batteries, and that's with the same 2x 80Ah setup as above. Indeed, we used to use a very similar one on our Corribee with a tiny solar recharged 10Ah battery, and it also didn't seem to be a significant current drain.

Cheers
Patrick
 
Seajet said:
Power consumption on an LCD thing like this is minimal.
Click to expand...

Certainly the power needs of the "head unit" will be minimal, but the transducer needs to kick out a certain amount of energy as pulses into the water so will use more than most "passive" instruments.

My depth and speed (and originally wind, but the previous owner removed it as the "damn whirly thing" interfered with his flags) instruments are part of an early integrated system similar in concept to Seatalk. Like Seatalk, power is carried along the backbone along with data, but in this system the sounder module also has a separate supply for the transducer because it needs more than the backbone provides. The manual also suggests fitting a switch in this supply (I haven't) so that in deep water you can save power by turning off the transducer. The display unit expects this and shows "OFF", not an error.

Pete
 
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