Hi all

I've been sailing my 30' yacht in Port Phillip Bay for six years now, but I'm finally getting to the stage where I'll have time to make tentative forays into Bass Strait and beyond. When I'm more comfortable with ocean conditions I hope to head to Western Port, the Gippland Lakes, King Island and Tassie ... and eventually up to NSW and Qld. I'm a solo sailor, so building up skills slowly has always been my approach.

As part of this learning curve I'm upgrading my navigation gear - the last lot belonged in a museum and my make-do solution has been to use a small handheld garmin unit. It does the job, but I'd prefer a better system for ease of use.

At present I'm planning a wireless masthead wind speed/direction instrument, and a through-hull depth/speed/temp transducer both linked to a 9" B&G Vulcan chartplotter. Might also look at AIS later.

However as I've done my research, I've been impressed by the ForwardScan transducers which do forward-looking sonar. This is something I'm considering in addition to the more conventional depth/speed/temp sensor.

The kits for this transducer are about $1000 (see example link below) and it seems that installing it at the right angle and in the right part of the hull are really important. They project out of the hull more than most sensors, so there is also the issue of them getting covered in barnacles etc or getting knocked off altogether by a passing chunk of driftwood.

www.bluebottlemarine.com/products/forwardscan-transducer-kit.html?sku=000-11674-001&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17437305970&gbraid=0AAAAAB4-pTdd9f6J1Ve6H1RQFw76CZWbt&gclid=CjwKCAjw8uTQBhAdEiwAVvtJyr6v3rwMHflpNRc3d5kMKA7BLHNecbbvP_2NpqIXMx_UWo_JzKq0VhoC4YgQAvD_BwE

So my question is: does anyone have experience of forward-looking sonar? I'm thinking it would be of particular use on the west coast of Tassie.

Also, I'm aware that many people are using their own navigation set-ups based around tablets, laptops, phones and Navionics - in my case that's not of interest because anything that can ease my stress levels when conditions are really nasty (i.e. a dedicated, robust, and highly visible system) is, for a solo voyager, worth the extra expense.

Any thoughts on installation or use of this kind of system would be appreciated.

Hi BwB,
I haven't and I don't know any yacht that has. I'm not really sure what benefit it would give you.
Let's take the example from your link....ForwardScan generally offers a forward view of 4-5 times your current depth; for example in 3 metres (10 feet) of water, see the bottom 12-15 metres (40-50 feet) ahead. Under ideal conditions ForwardScan can see even further, looking ahead up to 8 times your current depth.

In 3mtrs of water, you can (allegedly) see 12-15 metres ahead.
At 6 knots, you're moving at approx 3mtrs per second. So you will have 4-5 seconds to do ...what exactly?
--Ain't no reverse on a sailboat, so that's out.
-- It's a 2d image, so which way is safe water besides behind?
--Crash tacking or a big bear away tends to get a bit spicy, and could add more problems than you fix .
-- Dump sails? Not in 5 seconds.
-- You're heeled at 20 degrees. The further out the scan range, and the deeper the water, the more windward bias it has, and you're making leeway. Calculating that hurts my brain.

I'd spend the money on an RYA Day Skipper/Coastal Skipper course. They are awesome fun, it will pay for itself every time you hoist a sail and reward you for years to come.
Take MB's comment about regular plots on a paper chart. That's excellent advice and is what professional training can bring you.

OP might find value in ORCV's "Beyond the Bay" training program :
www.orcv.org.au/training/beyond-the-bay

wongaga said..
OP might find value in ORCV's "Beyond the Bay" training program :
www.orcv.org.au/training/beyond-the-bay

Thanks Wongaga - that looks really good

shaggybaxter said..
Hi BwB,
I haven't and I don't know any yacht that has. I'm not really sure what benefit it would give you.
Let's take the example from your link....ForwardScan generally offers a forward view of 4-5 times your current depth; for example in 3 metres (10 feet) of water, see the bottom 12-15 metres (40-50 feet) ahead. Under ideal conditions ForwardScan can see even further, looking ahead up to 8 times your current depth.

In 3mtrs of water, you can (allegedly) see 12-15 metres ahead.
At 6 knots, you're moving at approx 3mtrs per second. So you will have 4-5 seconds to do ...what exactly?
--Ain't no reverse on a sailboat, so that's out.
-- It's a 2d image, so which way is safe water besides behind?
--Crash tacking or a big bear away tends to get a bit spicy, and could add more problems than you fix .
-- Dump sails? Not in 5 seconds.
-- You're heeled at 20 degrees. The further out the scan range, and the deeper the water, the more windward bias it has, and you're making leeway. Calculating that hurts my brain.

I'd spend the money on an RYA Day Skipper/Coastal Skipper course. They are awesome fun, it will pay for itself every time you hoist a sail and reward you for years to come.
Take MB's comment about regular plots on a paper chart. That's excellent advice and is what professional training can bring you.

I agree shaggybaxter - I was thinking more for slow progress through reefs and channels under power, not under sail. I guess it would open up more anchorage possibilities than depth sounder alone, and help me get through channels without crew watching out for obstacles

My Olympic 40 had one and was very useful for anchoring and shallow channels but wouldn’t be a high priority these days. A useful luxury though.