Replacing B&G Depth/Speed Sensor with New Triton DST

[Sandero]

The wonderful boat yard broke my old B&G thru hull which had a weed deflector and used a small spinning impeller... I had to have the Hornet board modified and they installed an Airmar DST800.

It doesn't seem as sensitive nor as accurate. Perhaps it's the software modification. It also seems to foul rather easily. I've not had good success with the valve assembly which is supposed to limit the water coming in when removing the paddle wheel assembly. Color me completely unimpressed.

One small detail is COLOR... why not make them WHITE instead of blacl so you can see things better inside a darkish bilge with little light? The B&G was white. I miss that.

What has been the experience of others with the Airmar DST800 paddle wheel?

[Melbourne Park]

Originally Posted by Sandero

The wonderful boat yard broke my old B&G thru hull which had a weed deflector and used a small spinning impeller... I had to have the Hornet board modified and they installed an Airmar DST800.

It doesn't seem as sensitive nor as accurate. Perhaps it's the software modification. It also seems to foul rather easily. I've not had good success with the valve assembly which is supposed to limit the water coming in when removing the paddle wheel assembly. Color me completely unimpressed.

One small detail is COLOR... why not make them WHITE instead of blacl so you can see things better inside a darkish bilge with little light? The B&G was white. I miss that.

What has been the experience of others with the Airmar DST800 paddle wheel?

On the colour, there is a stainless version. But its top is also black. You could however, paint the hand grip and the top white, or even dayglow!

As for fouling - they are not anti fouled. I only have it inserted when sailing. This would take much longer if your anti flap valve doesn't work well. How well it works is I guess relative to what you had before. I've checked videos and I think mine lets in more water than some - but certainly is still a very restricted flow compared to if there was no valve, which would provide a pretty massisve flow.

Accuracy - I am unsure how less responsive the analogue output is, which I presume your's is. It should be better than than your previous setup.

The DX900+ has no paddle wheel, has no moving parts, and provides 360 degree motion input. It can communicate via bluetooth too. While its three times the price, you might be happier with it. My boat should have one for more serious racing.