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Old 05-21-2018, 02:11 PM   #1
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Dinghy Depth Sounders

We have a small 10’ dinghy with a pull start outboard and are looking for depth sounder suggestions.

The intention is to use the dinghy for “charting” skinny entrances and uncharted water with an iPad before bringing Badger in to anchor. Would also be handy for anchoring the dinghy with our big-ish tide range and for sneaking up rivers.

Any wisdom/experience out there on these topics?
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:39 PM   #2
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Also thinking the same thing. I’ll be watching this thread closely.
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:42 PM   #3
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I put a Raymarine Dragon 4 on my dink. It has 2 types of depth sounding and charts.

Dragonfly 4DV and 4DVS | Raymarine by FLIR
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:58 PM   #4
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Lowrance elite 5 dsi on ours
Charts and depth.
Has a removable micro SD card that can then have tracks transfered to other devices .......apparently.

Reality has been easier to take a navionics enabled tablet as well to record the way in and then bring the big boat in using the tablet while having track enabled on the seiwa plotter and opencpn laptop for later entries.
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Old 05-21-2018, 04:07 PM   #5
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There is always something simple like this:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norcr...SABEgIZZfD_BwE

Used it (or one of many clones) on my zodiac rib.
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Old 05-21-2018, 04:16 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by ssobol View Post
There is always something simple like this:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norcr...SABEgIZZfD_BwE

Used it (or one of many clones) on my zodiac rib.

When an electronics retailer went belly up here a couple of years back I bought a lifetime supply (5) of these Garmin echo 100.
Got them for $20 each.


Still doesn't help with getting waypoints to bring the big boat into an uncharted or changing area.
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Old 05-21-2018, 04:22 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskan Sea-Duction View Post
I put a Raymarine Dragon 4 on my dink. It has 2 types of depth sounding and charts.

Dragonfly 4DV and 4DVS | Raymarine by FLIR
second the Dragonfly series...
have it in a small ammo box type case with its own battery, ducer mounted on the dink...

another ducer on the trawler so I can use it on the flybridge with some other navgear.
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Old 05-21-2018, 05:56 PM   #8
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I have had a Norcross unit on my Whaler for over 10 years. Great customer service. Though from the sounds of the OP, one of their handheld units might even be better on a 10' inflatable...https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norcr...6?recordNum=16
Some guys like to use their castable "fish finder" solution off the bow of the big boat to do their surveying.
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Old 05-21-2018, 09:05 PM   #9
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power?

I used to run a 10 foot Brigg hard bottom inflatable and fished with it. I used a Humminbird chart plotter/sonar and used a Solar brand jumpstart pack as the power supply. The jump pack also ran a bilge pump and Nav lights.

I mention the Solar brand jump pack as I have used others that don't stand up. I have had solar brand units hold up for 5 or 6 years and other brands not hold up for 6 months.
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Old 05-21-2018, 09:25 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssobol View Post
There is always something simple like this:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norcr...SABEgIZZfD_BwE

Used it (or one of many clones) on my zodiac rib.
That's about as high tech as I was thinking...thanks.

I don't need anything with charts because they're all wrong in the estuaries around here anyway...there has been about 100 years of deposition from flooding mountain rivers and streams since the charts were made so things aren't what the charts say. Plan is to make waypoints with the iPad to follow with Badger.

The hand held one is cool, but I'll be adding a tiller extension to the outboard so I can stand & scout the water ahead.

Thanks everyone for your ideas so far
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Old 05-21-2018, 10:08 PM   #11
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Dinghy depthfinder

This might be too simple but I have an Achilles 10' with inflatable floor. Love it by the way. I have a Hummingbird portable depth finder I use for fishing. It has a suction cup attachable transducer off of the transom and it is run by two lantern batteries. No charting or recording capabilities but I use a hand held GPS for positioning.
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Old 05-21-2018, 10:38 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MurrayM View Post
Any wisdom/experience out there on these topics?
I just bought this Lawrence Hook 2-4 for my fishing dinghy. I haven't mounted it yet but it looks like just what I need for those San Diego Spotties! It will be mounted right under the helm wheel and it has a quick disconnect for storing inside the big boat.
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Hook 2-4.jpg   IMG_3022.jpg  
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Old 05-21-2018, 11:22 PM   #13
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My rib has a raymarine A65 and a transom mounted transducer. There are much cheaper solutions than the A65, in my case I wanted a flush mounted chart plotter.
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Old 05-22-2018, 12:57 AM   #14
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Another supporter here for Raymarine Dragonfly on the tender. Similar to the OP's intended use, we use it to chart skinny entrances before taking the larger boat in.

There are several models in the Dragonfly series to choose from, with different price points depending on how flash you want it to be.

H.
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Old 05-22-2018, 05:30 AM   #15
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I don't have any specific recommendations, other than to be sure both your dinghy sounder and main boat chart plotter can both understand each others saved tracks. There are about a zillion different file formats, and of course when I set up my dinghy I picked a chart plotter that creates files that Coastal Explorer can't digest.


Also, in an ideal world it would be nice to record you track, including position and depth along the way. Recording both adds another dimension to the file format challenge since most formats record GPS points, but not GPS and Depth. And those that do record both are more proprietary than others.


There are file format conversion utilities that can solve many of the incompatibilities, but that becomes a third step in transferring the data, so undesirable.
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Old 05-22-2018, 12:37 PM   #16
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Garmin echoMap

The map was made by a Garmin echoMap CHIRP 50 mounted in my 18 ft. Electracraft. The sensor is temporarily mounted on a wooden strut on the side of the boat. The contour maps are generated automatically by the sounder and the built in GPS. It has a very wide scan to either side of the path.Click image for larger version

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Old 05-22-2018, 12:56 PM   #17
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I have an 11' RIB with a console, and I just bought the electronics for it. I asked a similar question a few weeks ago, and then did more research, before deciding what to get.

My choice:
Garmin Echomap 64c (saltwater) with a RAM mount and a dAISy AIS receiver


I went with this solution for the following reasons:
  1. True Chartplotter capabilities. In my opinion, stay away from the Striker series of electronics made by Garmin -- they don't have any maps, but instead rely on you to "quick draw", creating your own maps.
  2. NMEA outputs and inputs for compatibility and expansion. I'll connect with the Standard Horizon fixed mount VHF, to have bi-directional DSC capability
  3. AIS (the reason I went with this model of the Dragonfly series, which was runner up for me)


I'll be spending some of this long weekend installing the electronics, and I'll let everyone know how it works.
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Old 05-22-2018, 01:45 PM   #18
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For small dinghys a trip to the local kayak or canoe store may produce small inexpensive units perfect for dingys. Especially FD boats w/o transoms. REI perhaps ..
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Old 05-22-2018, 06:00 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MurrayM View Post
That's about as high tech as I was thinking...thanks.

I don't need anything with charts because they're all wrong in the estuaries around here anyway...there has been about 100 years of deposition from flooding mountain rivers and streams since the charts were made so things aren't what the charts say. Plan is to make waypoints with the iPad to follow with Badger.

The hand held one is cool, but I'll be adding a tiller extension to the outboard so I can stand & scout the water ahead.

Thanks everyone for your ideas so far
Murray,
If your local charts are inaccurate, you could just use a hand held gps to log the contour for minimum depth required. Then it's just a matter of staying inside the line with Badger if the slope is relatively constant. If the bottom is undulating, your waypoint idea would be better.
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Old 05-22-2018, 07:14 PM   #20
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Murray,
If your local charts are inaccurate, you could just use a hand held gps to log the contour for minimum depth required. Then it's just a matter of staying inside the line with Badger if the slope is relatively constant. If the bottom is undulating, your waypoint idea would be better.
Good plan, but I don’t have a hand held GPS device. (Been turned around a few times in the bush, but never enough to spend an unplanned night out).

If I can get away with about a hundred bucks for the transducer and a depth display I’d be happy.

Found information on kayak fishing sites that a 12v 7ah batteriy should be sufficient for the limited amount of time it’ll be used. Sound about right?

Now looking for a small yet robust solar panel for charging.
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