Forward scan sonar revolution is coming

[CaptWho]

Originally Posted by Otia

The revolution I'm waiting for is a FLS to detect containers or whales ahead. Any hope for this in the foreseeable future?

One has to wonder how much of an ecological bombshell this tech is? What will it do to sea life with tens of thousands of these devices pinging around the waterways?

[GrowleyMonster]

The price needs to come down before the general boating public will spring for it. Me, I am not in the early adopter crowd when it comes to tech stuff. Cutting edge cuts into my budget too deeply. I will say this tho... it looks like a very good AUGMENTATION to simply being aware, going slow, and posting a lookout as needed. Or just not going there. When a complete setup costs significantly less than a basic radar, I might spring for it, yeah.


Minimum idle speed should not be a limiting factor on how slow you can go. You can always bump it in and out of gear. Or use an electric outboard, which has no minimum idle speed. I often ghost into my slip at 50 RPM or less, with my inboard electric motor. It's very nice, for that. When you want to proceed at 1kt or so, electric really shines.

[sailordon]

We have been using Echopilot for 10 years now and it's so good we recently upgraded to the newer colour model. We do a lot of anchoring around the Great Barrier Reef and it's great to have another set of eyes under the water especially at night. Also backs up the depth sounder for redundancy.

[David Mathis]

I like the Garmin Panoptix system but the transducer makes me hesitate before buying it. The way it protrudes makes it a magnet for anything floating. With a cruising speed of 23-25 knots, how many hours before something hits it and breakes it off? I'll wait for an improved transducer design.

[wackerb]

I got the B&G in anticipation of anchoring in S Pacific atolls. A complete waste of money. Very jittery, seldom agrees with the depth sounder.

I've seen some internet marketing from Raymarine with excellent 3D rendering aimed at the fishing market, but looked pretty useful to me. Anyone have experience with Raymarine?

[jkindredpdx]

Although not forward-scan, I have a Garmin Echomap chartplotter/fishfinder in addition to my other nav gear. It was reasonably priced, the image is pretty good, and the depth is accurate. I expect the quality, performance, and features of these units will improve while the prices continue to drop in the next few years.

My transducer is mounted in the bilge well...