Techy xmas presents!

[seafox67]

I came across some interesting sailing tech from a British inventor called EchoZilla!

It's a bluetooth depth sounder with a tablet/phone app! What looks especially fun for the techy is that the bluetooth communication is open source. There is even a simulator so you don't even need the EchoZilla device to initially test your project!

Mostly singlehanded, I'm building a watch type device based on esp-32 chip that will allow me to read the depth from the bow when anchoring!

 

[Sandy]

How quickly does the depth change when you are anchoring?

I have asked Mr Claus of the North Pole for a new set of binoculars with an internal compass.

 

[seafox67]

How quickly does the depth change when you are anchoring?

I have asked Mr Claus of the North Pole for a new set of binoculars with an internal compass.

I have had the depth change quite quickly in some anchorages... I have a bilge keel and like to squeeze in close to the shore BUT not too much! lol... In the past I have found by the time I spot a good depth in the cockpit and gone up to the bow to release the anchor, I have moved off my target spot! Having a display on my wrist showing the depth will allow me to have the boat drifting slowly while at the bow and then drop the anchor at my chosen depth!

 

[dunedin]

I have had the depth change quite quickly in some anchorages... I have a bilge keel and like to squeeze in close to the shore BUT not too much! lol... In the past I have found by the time I spot a good depth in the cockpit and gone up to the bow to release the anchor, I have moved off my target spot! Having a display on my wrist showing the depth will allow me to have the boat drifting slowly while at the bow and then drop the anchor at my chosen depth!

Sounds like a device to drop the anchor when at the helm might be a better piece of tech (which many of us with electric windlasses have, but on a smaller boat a pin on a string might be more cost effective solution).