Opinion on a tricky situation...

Like I said before, if I slowed down at those depths, I would never go fast.
I admit, I know my bay and that helps alot.
We have alot of shoals. They are soft. It's not uncommon when cruising in the channel to see the depthfinder go from 7' to 3'.

I think this comes down to what you said earlier about knowing your waters and if you don't know them, don't go fast.
I agree with that and i don't rely on depthfinders, charts or anything else as much as I rely on my eyes.
When I cruise at speed in a channel, my rule of thumb is I don't go fast unless I can see the next set of buoys.
So not the ones I am coming up on, the ones after that.
I use my plotter, just to know where they are and where I should look.
I admit, I trust channels probably too much, but my point is slowing down because depthfinder says water level dropped is not a good tactic in some bodies of waters!
 
Pull out your phone and get him on video stating he is aware the equipment is inoperable and he agrees to not hold you liable if a grounding occurs.
 
"My buddy bought his first ever cruiser - a 40' Sea Ray.........It's a Raytheon St50 and I guess he was quoted a lot to get it fixed."
He should have bought a 36' and he could pay to fix the sounder.(smile face here)
 
quote:
Originally posted by jmcnab

Georgian Bay boaters know what I'm talking about... you can be in 200' of water one minute and 6' the next.

Click to expand...


Been there done that in Honey Harbor. Saw lots of big boats sitting on rocks there
 
The problem is that the fault is likely to be the xducer. What are the symptoms? Sounder powers up but doesn't acquire the bottom? That would be the xducer which means he most likely needs to haul out to replace it. So $100 for a xducer but $800/$900 for a short haul...

If the unit doesn't power up at all, then get a new one and swap. Quick and easy
 
While I think the OP is being somewhat over cautious, Georgian Bay is unique. The Niagara escarpment submerges at Tobermory but then pops back up unexpectedly. You can be miles from land standing in knee deep water walk 10 feet and be in 100 feet of water. It is one of the most beautiful areas in the world. I need to get back there for some great boating.
 
quote:
Originally posted by CurrentSea

I do venture but no where near what you do.
I do two things. One, I study the route before i do it. Charting it.
Knowing where the bad spots can be and noting where I want to be on plane and where I want to be off plane.

The second thing I do is gather local knowledge. Boatered. Call Seatow. Friends. Whatever it takes.

This discussion is more about navigation skills and less about "do I need a depthfinder", that is all I am saying!

If your boating/navigation skills rely on a depthfinder, then your missing a large part of how to stay safe.
Sure it's an important device, but for me, only if I messed up the more important one of knowing where I am!

Click to expand...


I have not boated in the Bahamas like Pasqual "yet", but I have piloted my boat from NY to Florida. Unfortunately, the ICW is not maintained as well as you would think. There are areas that shoal quickly. I touched bottom in Florida and I was in the middle of the channel. Sometimes the depth sounder helped me find the deeper side of the channel. I'd rather run in 8' side of th channel than the 5' side in waters I don't know. With the sun overhead, you can sometimes read the water, but unfortunately the sun and clouds don't always cooperate. I had good weather going and coming from Florida, when I was near Georgia, so I ran outside. From what I have read, due to lack of money, the Georgia ICW is not maintained very well.

In short, in my home waters I could probably live without a depth gauge, but no way in new waters.
 
General area conditions determine the usefulness of s DF. Most of my local waters, for most of the boats here, would qualify as "already aground". Typical max depth 15', average "deep water depth" around 12 ft, and over 40% of the useful boating area <6 ft. And what you see on the DF is already under your hull.

While a DF does provide useful information, usually that information is "nice to have, but not critical". Bottoms are commonly soft or at least "ahem, moveable" ( as in loose pack oyster reef ) You need to really try to go hard aground. But there are obstacles: stumps are common, as are crab traps i shallow water. But a DF is useless for those.

Frankly, any "mostly vertical" obstacle will not be observed with a DF, or if it is, you have either hit it or passed it.

So, imho, local knowledge and "latest" chars, plus prudent course management out trumps a DF.

Just my opinion, however. In other areas, my view may be in error.

---

As an aside I agree w/ Pascal regarding what constitutes "skinny water". In a boat his size, keel +3 is a good rule of thumb. For smaller boats say < 30 ft or so, then resting draft plus two is good enough. I say "resting" because when you come off of a plane to a stop you will be "resting", and when you attempt to go from stop to a plane you will draw more during portions of the acceleration curve.
 
As a workaround for a very reasonable price you can get a portable depthfinder/fishfinder intended for use on small boats ( dinghy/ flatboats ) they are good to 100 ft, can be suction cupped to the stern ( use a safety lanyard... ) and are internally battery operated.

After the trip you can use if as a fishfinder on inland fishing trips.
 
quote:
Originally posted by CurrentSea

I do venture but no where near what you do.
I do two things. One, I study the route before i do it. Charting it.
Knowing where the bad spots can be and noting where I want to be on plane and where I want to be off plane.

The second thing I do is gather local knowledge. Boatered. Call Seatow. Friends. Whatever it takes.

This discussion is more about navigation skills and less about "do I need a depthfinder", that is all I am saying!

If your boating/navigation skills rely on a depthfinder, then your missing a large part of how to stay safe.
Sure it's an important device, but for me, only if I messed up the more important one of knowing where I am!

Click to expand...


I have not boated in the Bahamas like Pasqual "yet", but I have piloted my boat from NY to Florida. Unfortunately, the ICW is not maintained as well as you would think. There are areas that shoal quickly. I touched bottom in Florida and I was in the middle of the channel. Sometimes the depth sounder helped me find the deeper side of the channel. I'd rather run in 8' side of th channel than the 5' side in waters I don't know. With the sun overhead, you can sometimes read the water, but unfortunately the sun and clouds don't always cooperate. I had good weather going and coming from Florida, when I was near Georgia, so I ran outside. From what I have read, due to lack of money, the Georgia ICW is not maintained very well.

In short, in my home waters I could probably live without a depth gauge, but no way in new waters.
 
I think that a depth sounder is important and would always be sure I had an operable on onboard.

However, I would much rather trust one in known waters than I would in new waters. Unless you have a sounder with the "look ahead" capability it does not seem to me to help that much in new waters.

As noted above, depth sounders are a relatively new device in the world of private boating. We got along for eons without a sounder.

Another thing about this thread that id disturbing is all of the writing about who is liable and who is responsible. It is a shame this world has gotten to the point that this has to be such as important point.

George
 
quote:
Originally posted by gcolton

Another thing about this thread that id disturbing is all of the writing about who is liable and who is responsible. It is a shame this world has gotten to the point that this has to be such as important point.

Click to expand...


In today's society the boat manufacturer, sounder manufacturer, owner of the nearest shoreline, person who sold the boat to the owner, marina, engine manufacturer that powered the boat, and the guy docked next to the boat who gave him a friendly wave as he departed are all responsible ( in decreasing amounts based on their net worth or policy limits)

The only ones not responsible are the boat owner and the captain (unless he has a commercial ticket, then it's totally his fault)
 
Your comfort level is YOUR comfort level. Do not let anyone here talk you out of it. Pressure to operate is usually a prelude to bad things. Sometimes you got to say no and stick by it no matter what others may say. As a pilot I have lost jobs because I said, "NO". You know what, those people are not in business anymore anyway so who gives a flip.
 
When I have been asked to assist a new boater move a boat, I highly recommended they hire a certified Captain for the day. He can train them at the same time as they are moving the boat. The time I did assist, I made it clear that he was the Captain for the trip and I would be there to assist he he was solely responsible. I also had him drive the boat and only took over to give him a break as it was a long trip.
 
No depth finder, no go.
I've got the one that came with my new to me boat, and have already got a sounder and transducer to network in with my chart plotter and radar as a back up. I'm not comfortable running without a depthfinder and because it's so shallow where we normally boat I like to have a backup.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

The problem is that the fault is likely to be the xducer. What are the symptoms? Sounder powers up but doesn't acquire the bottom? That would be the xducer which means he most likely needs to haul out to replace it. So $100 for a xducer but $800/$900 for a short haul...

If the unit doesn't power up at all, then get a new one and swap. Quick and easy

Click to expand...

The problem with the unit is the LCD panel. The problem with the owner is that the original owner told him he doesn't need the sounder for proper navigation. I don't agree. Personally I constantly watch my depth and match it up with my chart to double check my location. I never trust my chartplotter 100% and always have paper charts too.
 
Seems silly to me that someone would not want to have a working depth finder. For the cost of a depth finder in the scope of all the costs of boating, IMHO, cheap insurance.
 
Transducer work with most sounders, find out what model xducer it is and get a new sounder. 20 minute job, under $200

No brainer
 
I guess I am somewhat amazed that so many people put so much value on a depth sounder in real time. Unless you have a forward looking model, all they can do is tell you the conditions directly under you. And by that time it is too late if the ground is too close to the top of the water. Most sounders cannot tell you what the conditions will be 5 seconds from now.

Personally I would trust the digital charts that come with the chart plotter more than I would the paper charts. The digital charts are more likely to be a later survey than the paper charts.

George

George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top