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Old 25-11-2015, 22:43   #31
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

My nose is fine.
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Old 25-11-2015, 23:44   #32
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

Has anyone had any experience with underwater TV. No good in dirty water but a lot of the offshore reefs in northern Australia have pretty clean water.
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Old 26-11-2015, 08:17   #33
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

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Has anyone had any experience with underwater TV. No good in dirty water but a lot of the offshore reefs in northern Australia have pretty clean water.
I've operated my mini ROV from a boat to check the bottom, how well the anchor is set, etc. It's useful in some situations, but often times the current or poor visibility here in SoCal makes it of limited use. In good visibility, and assuming you know how to use it, I think it can be a very useful tool.

On the subject of sonars, etc, I have a lifetime at sea under my keel and agree with some of the points people have made. I think a prudent mariner will use whatever sources of information he can get, but needs to understand the limitations of each of those sources. I would not assume a route is clear purely by what a sonar shows me. Nor would I make any other assumptions based on one source of information.
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Old 26-11-2015, 13:05   #34
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

In muddy water, our Probe helped keep us off a rock reef in the Solomon Is. It was pretty tense. We were fairly well off the beaten track at that point, and I felt really thankful that Jim had fitted it.

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Old 12-11-2019, 15:02   #35
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

Bumping the thread...

By now people should have more experience with B&G forward scan and alternatives. Raymarine also came up with a 3d sonar recently.

Any cheaper Echopilot models around? I guess apples-to apples 2d model was comparable to the B&G model in price.
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Old 12-11-2019, 16:52   #36
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

Earlier this year I did a delivery down the east coast of Florida, reading the survey it was cool that the boat had forward scanning sonar. Then I ran the boat.

What I found was that when the turbidity of the water was high (silt in the water), the sonar gave false readings. For example cutting through the barge canal, there was a wicked wind out of the south blowing across the flats into the channel. The depth was amble, but the forward scan was reporting shallow water ahead. After doing a fast double and triple check, I motored forward into what the instruments said was a sure grounding. The sonar was wrong. In fact a few minutes later, when the turbidity dropped, it was reporting plenty of water.

The equipment was 3 years old. Could it have improved since then? Not sure. Being inherently frugal, I would skip on the forward scan and buy AIS or radar.

YMMV
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Old 12-11-2019, 17:01   #37
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

FLS is useful when poking around an unknown anchorage at dead slow speeds. Readings, good or bad, as you cross channels at normal speeds are pretty much irrelevant.

Being able to see the bottom ahead in an anchorage and seeing that it is flat for a few boat lengths, gradually sloping or turns into a wall in 30ft is handy.
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Old 12-11-2019, 17:15   #38
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

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Originally Posted by smac999 View Post
I bet garmin will have one soon.
Harmon already has forward sonar. I have the 7607 and it has option for forward sonar.....
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Old 02-09-2021, 16:42   #39
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

We have Interphase on our vessel, run to a computer monitor which is only just visible through the companionway. Were hoping to integrate it with our new B & G multifunction display in the cockpit however need a VGA to 7 pin video converter and these seem to run on AC power only...? Any advice/experience out there? BTW new vessel draws 2.1m fin keel etc etc
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Old 02-09-2021, 17:14   #40
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Re: Forward Looking Sonar

just getting the forward scan sounder is going to set you back a few grand...plus it really sticks out from the hull....
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