Dinghy electronics recommendations

[kolive]

Looking to Add a depth/fish finder on our Avon 3.4 RIB this winter and wondering what others have on their dinghy. Considering a small chart plotter but do not really need much, something to mark crab pots and possibly waypoints. The dink is mostly used in sight of our boat but occasionally ventures further out for fishing etc.

What do others have aboard?

 

[N4712]

Garmin 441s, great little proven units.

 

[bligh]

i just got a lowrance 5 series. I didnt spend much time picking it out, I just went with the recommendation from the electronics shop. I spent about 500 and its a combo gps/fishfinder with a transducer.

 

[Pau Hana]

Raymarine Dragonfly is an excellent stand alone unit that will do all you are requiring, and has a high resolution CHIRP sonar to boot.

 

[FF]

A long 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 pole for sounding and pushing off when aground never needs batteries, and is water proof.

Paint depth lines on the pole for yacht grade living.

 

[High Wire]

Garmin 441s, great little proven units.

X2 for the Garmin combo unit. For depth only, the $90 Humminbird at Walmart is hard to beat.

 

[caltexflanc]

The little Humminbird units, either straight depth/fishfinder or comboplotter, are effective and economical. I just have a Norcross Hawkeye depth finder on my Whaler, simple little < 100 unit, company has great service. We take it pretty far afield, as much as 20 miles from the mothership, but I get by with the relevant area of the local chart in a sheet protector, if that. We love to explore by dinghy, and we have always viewed the big boat as delivery vehicle for the Whaler or other dinghy (kind of like the space shuttle on the back of a 747), it has never occurred to me to install a plotter. It would be nice in some places like the mangrove mazes in 10,000 islands in SW FL, but that's the only place on either coast I can think of off hand where it would be really useful. I have used the dinghy a few times to survey a potential passage or anchorage for the big boat (again, SW FL being a good example), so that's one application where a sounder beats a lead line or oar-in-the-water method.

 

[jleonard]

I use a hummingbird portable on my dinghy. Suction cup transducer. Works great and I find most of the time using the dink I don't bother taking it along. For nav I use my I phone if needed.

 

[kolive]

Thanks everyone. I will start looking at all of these and see which would work best for us.

 

[hollywood8118]

A long 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 pole for sounding and pushing off when aground never needs batteries, and is water proof.

Paint depth lines on the pole for yacht grade living.

And it can be used to push yourself back to the boat when the prop gets trashed because the depth wasn't known...

HOLLYWOOD

 

[rwidman]

I have a portable electronic depth sounder that looks a bit like a flashlight but I seldom bother with it. I have an old handheld GPS but it's meant for hiking, not marine use. I don't bother with it either. I don't go far enough in the dinghy that I can't find my way back.

 

[Conrad]

Standard Horizon at one time offered a combo GPS/plotter & depth sounder & VHF which was aimed at the dinghy users. Sounded nifty to me but don't know anything more about it. And if you go onto their site they hint at it but don't actually have any info.

 

[windmill29130]

Add a flybridge, that will give you better distance vision.

 

[ben2go]

Add a flybridge, that will give you better distance vision.