fish finders that measure boat speed

[Grandv8]

just wondering how common of a feature this is. I would like to get one with boat speed. also about what price range do you have to get to on finders to get this feature thanks...

 

[BigJ08]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Most are capable but require a special paddlewheel that goes on the transom of the boat. These are not very accurate. Get one with gps for the most accurate speeds and a lot of other cool features that I think you'll find helpful. I have a humminbird matrix 12 with gps trackplotting (which includes speed), and I have less than $250 in it. Lowrance, Garmin are also good brands.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Buying a combo GPS/Locator just to get a speed readout is a terrible waste of funds. Paddle wheel speed sensors work just fine. If one or two MPH of inaccuracy is going to ruin your day you need to find a different activity. If accuracy is of the utmost importance -- buy a handheld GPS that you can also use while hiking, biking, in your car, geocasheing etc. And it will be a lot cheaper.

 

[jhebert]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

...about what price range do you have to get to on finders to get this feature thanks...

The only SONAR that I know of that measures boat speed with a SONAR technique is the FURUNO DS-30. It is quite expensive, probably totally out of the range of anything appropriate for a recreational boat application. It's $80,000.

You are probably confusing speed measurement using a water paddlewheel with measurement by SONAR Doppler techniques. Use of SONAR Doppler speed measurement in recreational SONAR devices is completely unheard of.

You probably are looking for a speed paddlewheel sensor add-on. They usually are a few dollars extra; perhaps another $50 over the basic SONAR transducer.

 

[Grandv8]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

I don't believe I asked for a sonar reading. I am just wondering the minimum price at which this becomes a feature on the fish finder. I was always under the ideal that it would be a paddle wheel sensor. I have just a simple fish boat and don't want to clutter up the dash. I do not want to install a speedo, but would still like to have a speed readout to use for reference. The finder having it on it will just keep the dash layout that much more simple

 

[Silvertip]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Eagle, Lowrance and Humminbird all have locators with speed options at less than $200.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

I have a Lowrance X75 that i added the speed/temp option to & it reads within 1 1/2 mph of my GPS I bet the newer models are even better

 

[jhebert]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

I don't believe I asked for a sonar reading.

Speed measurement using a paddlewheel is not related to the echo sounding function of a "fish finder." It's just a separate speedometer instrument included in the case of the fish finder device. Actually many fish finders units have a speedometer built into them, and they only need to have the sensor connected to enable it. The only extra cost is the price of a paddlewheel sensor.

But, again, it is not the fish finder or SONAR that is measuring the speed, it's a separate speedometer instrument built into the same housing.

 

[Seon]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

I just sold my son's boat with a Raymarine FF with a speed sensor paddle wheel/sonar transducer all in one. Sorry I didn't notice what model it was but couldn't cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

 

[John_S]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Price the unit with the paddle-wheel and compare to what a unit with gps costs. Some can be $40-50 for the paddle-wheel. While a paddle-wheel is good for water speed for trolling purposes, the gps land speed will come with many other features that may be more important for you.

I haven't had a paddle-wheel on a high-speed boat, but they have been accurate upto 30mph wot of my fishing boat. Also, some newer models have adjustment factors in the S/W to dial them in.

 

[j_martin]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Eagle, Lowrance and Humminbird all have locators with speed options at less than $200.

Add another 50 bucks and you can have a late technology depth finder/gps with all the trimmings, including mapping and extremely accurate speed indication.

 

[jkust]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

My Bottomline fishfinder retailed for 90$ and was recently purchased at the Cabela's bargain cave as a closeout for 30$. It is capable of sensing speed with the paddlewheel attachment. For 30$ it does everything I need, just not in dramatic fashion. For a more accurate speed reading than my speedo I use the GPS from my car. I will just say I prefer the speedo reading.

 

[Crater]

Re: fish finders that measure boat speed

Just bought Loweance HDS-5 $650.00 GPS reads speed just fine also if I could figure out how to hook it up MPG,RPMS,TEMP and a host of other goodies but was quite expensive.