Hello Fellow Forum participants!
I have a 40ft wooden Al Mason that will be hauled out soon. I purchased that
boat with only a speedometer. The old
fishfinder and the windgage are non working and obsolete.
I am asking for
advice on how to save a buck here. I sail between
Puget Sound and the San Juans. I have no desire to integrate into the auto
helm. I require a
depth finder and windgage. A new speedometer would be nice but not required. The
Raymarine ST40 is nice, but do I do better with 2 independent units since I have no need to integrate? Uniden make a bare bones
depth finder for $89. (Although I haev a thick wooden
hull, not sure if they are meant to be thru-hull transducers). It has been hard to figure out what I need for these
raymarine products...some ads are for gage only, some pricing includes gage and
transducer or
sensor.
Installation to the dash is important. Since it is a wooden
boat, the dashboard of the
helm has to be completely redone. Removing the old non working gages, incorporating the
engine gages along with the new gages. Aesthetics are important. This is not a requirement for "matching" gages, only that I have to plan the dashboard layout.
What has been your experience?