Sailboat depth transducer - useful?

[sail sfbay]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

Most of the boats I been to and sail didn't have underwater transducer, I think it might not be a necessity. How many of you have transducer installed in your boat? Would you find it useful or even necessary?

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Agree with Dogscout!! I would not have a boat without one, unless you only sail in navigation channels butt once out of the channel you are at tremendous risk of running aground and damaging r sinking your boat. Consider it cheap insurance.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

Most of the boats I been to and sail didn't have underwater transducer, I think it might not be a necessity.
How many of you have transducer installed in your boat?
Would you find it useful or even necessary?

You not mention what type of boat is involved. 19' Lightening? Hobie? No need for one. Anything bigger should.

I will only move a vessel that does not have a working depth gauge with a 'hold harmless' agreement. I have stopped for repairs when a vessels depth gauge stopped working. There are too many ways together in trouble without one.

As far as forward scan sonar/depth gauges, they look good and if the water is not silty, they work fine. Coming down the ICW, several times I did an "emergency stop" on a boat I was delivering because the forward scan said the depth ahead (mid channel) was 4'. Turned out to be silt/suspended solids, in the water, giving a false return. IMHO, if a device gives false alarms, it is useless. IF you are ignoring the alarms because you don't trust it, why have it?

Finally, nearshore, depth is another way to determine longitude.

[patrickbarbary]

As useful as an anchor.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

Most of the boats I been to and sail didn't have underwater transducer, I think it might not be a necessity.
How many of you have transducer installed in your boat?
Would you find it useful or even necessary?

For any boat larger than a dinghy it is a basic instrument...PERIOD.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[OS2Dude]

People sailed for hundreds of years without them, so no they are not NECESSARY. And if the minimum water depth in your area is at least 30' they are not necessary.

We sail on a manmade lake in S.E. US. Water level varies depending on rainfall and how much they let out to keep down-stream levels constant. I find a depth gauge very helpful to avoid grounding in areas that are borderline depth-wise, as well as areas I'm not that familiar with. We also have to deal with submerged objects that were here before the lake. (Tress were cut just 20' below projected full pool.) I would prefer a forward looking transducer so I'd have a heads up on what I'm heading into instead of what I've gotten myself into already, but any transducer beats telling the depth by how hard you grounded...

[chasmains]

A necessity for a swing keel boat. If the grounding breaks the swing keel pivot pin thru hole, down you go.

[Clivevon]

If you only sail in crystal clear water AND your boat will float in 2 foot of water - probably not essential. Otherwise, its an essential - as in "Dont leave home without it". I also carry a leadline, on the basis that the spares I carry will never be needed..

[Cheechako]

You can get by without it on that shallow draft.... you'll see bottom before you run aground probably. On normal draft a depth sounder has kept me from running aground many times.

[Stress Recess]

Chevy Lee 36, singlehanded for four years, the Caribbean, Abacos, USVI, Grand Caymans, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Merida, South Padre Island to Corpus Christi, then straight to New Orleans, Mobile Bay, to Tampa the Keys, and up and down the East Coast as far as Rocky Neck Massachusetts. No further dodging lobster pots. I also had 16 mile Radar, and in 1994, when LORAN C was the go to, I installed a Sitex Navad chart plotter, and auto pilot interfaced.
I sailed at night and sailed in the daytime with catnaps n the daytime, with radar set on 6 mile alarm.
John

[Sailmonkey]

Depends.

In our home waters, just sailing n the same area, not required.

Venturing out, essential

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

People sailed for hundreds of years without them, so no they are not NECESSARY.

Yeah, but where there would have been concern, they used a leadline. So a depth-measuring device has at times been necessary during those hundreds of years.

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by chasmains

A necessity for a swing keel boat. If the grounding breaks the swing keel pivot pin thru hole, down you go.

I have heard some swing keel owners describe their keel as their depth gauge! If you hit the bottom, the keel swings back, so no harsh impact. And, you can unstick yourself by raising the keel. I would not want to make a habit of that though; it can't be good for the keel surface, the pivot, or the lifting hardware.

My swing keel came with an inoperable depth sounder, and I have not felt an urgent need to fix it. But then, I am cruising leisurely around the fairly well charted Chesapeake Bay, and I use a leadline as I move slowly towards shore for anchoring. In a bigger boat, I would definitely want one. Traveling where charts may be less accurate, I would definitely want one.

[MarkSF]

"People sailed for hundreds of years without them, so no they are not NECESSARY."

Sailing ships thought depth information was sufficiently important, when navigating near shore, to have a guy taking soundings continuously with a weighted line.

Do you have someone you can dedicate to this task?

[NorthCoastJoe]

In the San Francisco bay, there are huge areas of shallow water. With our Pearson 30 with a depth sounder in front of our keel, we at least know how close to the bottom we are. The channels around here need to be dredged years ago. Going into some marinas is limited by tides at times and if you are near the limits it's nice to know how much water you have under the keel.

I have a cheap fish finder on my swing keel Macgregor 25 with the transducer mounted in front of the keel. That boat draws 18" with the keel up, 6' with keel down.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by Wckoek

Thanks for all the opinions, I originally think it wasn't so much a necessity for a boat with 1.5m of draft, I will think about it again in the refitting process.

Depends very much how the boat is used. If you are daysailing a known harbor probably not necessary.

But if cruising very useful. When you enter an unknown bay the chart won't necessarily tell you all you need to know.

When you drop the anchor it is important to know whether the depth is 20 feet or 200 feet.