Forward facing sonar

[Seevee]

This topic has been beaten up in the past, but would like to explore what's available for a forward facing sonar for a small cruiser today. Goal if only to avoid grounding in shallow water. Would love a unit that could look out ahead of the boat, perhaps 50 feet or even less and tell me the bottom depth. Would also be nice to have a down looking mode, too, to eliminate my depth finder.

What's out there?

This is for s 280 Sundancer in shallow water, Florida west coast.

 

[gm280]

Seevee, I know the make side scan setups, so maybe contact the manufacturer and ask them about positioning it forward and what you can expect? That would be my suggestion. JMHO!

 

[alldodge]

While you might get a sonar to look a bit forward, I don't think it will give you that much added time. Even at maybe 20 degree forward, the bottom can come up real fast cruising along. Your best method of staying away from shallow spots is with a good set of charts and knowing the tide.

 

[fhhuber]

Best bet: A good chart with depths.
Plot your course to avoid the shallows.

You can get that on your smartphone now.
http://www.navionics.com/en/tags/android

 

[dingbat]

Hummingbird just started making recreational 360 sonar. Furuno has been making a for quite a while but your well into 5 figures when all is said and done. Both are geared towards locating fish, not navigation hazards

They spent a lot of money and effort to build the navigation system it is today. Staying on the "road" or in deep water will keep you out of trouble. A good set of charts and regular hazards to navigation updates will Keep you afloat most other places.

 

[rallyart]

25 MPH is 37 Feet/Second. If you could see 50 feet in front of your hull, while on plane, you would barely have time to cut throttle before you had covered that distance, much less slow to avoidance speeds or stop. That's assuming you are paying attention and can guess what a sonar is showing.

It's a neat idea, but hard to execute without a Major investment.

 

[fhhuber]

US Navy has a sonar on their submarines that could warn you in time...
But their budget is larger.

BTW... they still use the charts.

 

[Teamster]

A friend of mine put some kind of forward looking sonar on his yacht, He's retired and sailing around the world,...

He uses it to help see floating shipping containers that have gone overboard,...

I don't know how much it cost, Just that it was expensive,...

He's avoided at least one container in the open ocean, He said that was worth the cost,....