My last few boats (not just trailerable ones either) have ended up with cheap fishfinders as depth sounders, usually firing through the fiberglass hull. My current non-trailerable has a Garmin Striker 4 from 2018 with an adapter to use the already-installed bronze transducer. I'm looking for suggestions for my new-to-me Marshall Sanderling, and plan on installingn the transducer inside the hull. It looks like prices have gone up over the last few years just like everything else. So what have folks bought recently that they have been happy with? Thanks.
My experience is that the price has not really gone up, the technology has gone way up and the price for the top of the line models is more than the top of the line models 5 years ago. If you compare the top of the line model 5 years ago to a very similar unit today, they're quite a bit cheaper. I couldn't quote the models, but I have a Humminbird chirp for my kayak, great fishfinder, I paid around $475 about 4 years ago. I just bought the same fishfinder with a GPS built in for the sailboat, for $369. Not the best GPS but it's good. I can always upgrade the GPS with charts down the road, but for the lakes I sail locally it works perfectly. I tend to use my Iphone maps more anyway, because I can search for restaurants, parks, the boat ramp, etc, while seeing my position. Cant' wait to see what they're doing in 5 more years for the same money.
Side note, I bought a Lowrance unit about 12-14 years ago with fishfinder/gps, was over $1000 as I remember, the gps was over 300 feet off, took over half an hour of circling before I found a wreck I was looking for. Same with other targets, not just that wreck. Further, the menu was not user friendly, and I've come to hear Lowrance is famous for that. Over the course of about 30 trips, I learned how to use it, but the learning curve was very steep. Did not like that unit at all.
Certainly the cost of technology has come down, but I bought a low end unit for $99 a few years ago. That same unit is still being sold, but it's $140 now. I'm not complaining, just looking for suggestions on a cheapish unit that folks have used & been happy with.
The only one I've ever used was a Hummingbird way back when things were still black and white. It worked well, had no other features, and was relatively cheap IIRC. What you got was numbers and an indication if there was anything on the bottom. In certain conditions such as a big saline layer or weeds and drifting flotsam, it would get funky but overall it worked great. I did not use it as a fish finder per se, but a porthole to look at the bottom depth. In very shallow water it would also act funky and read incorrect, but you already KNEW you were getting too shallow. Very good for finding those underwater points that are invisible to the eye and give you a depth reading. Not so good at showing fish as those more expensive models. It was a transom mount and I had to replace the transducer cable once. That's pretty expensive (relatively).
If helpful...
After testing out about 5 depth finders in 2021 I ended up with
Humminbird HDR 650 https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors.com/us/shop/accessories/miscellaneous/hdr-650-dash-digital-depth-sounder
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Qn3bCXK0L._AC_AIweblab1006854,T4_FMavif_SF700,700-2x,TopRight,-10,10_PQ69_.jpg)
2" hole IIRC
Though still available around $100 today which is what I paid in 2021, the retail price now is $170 but available for much less many places.
The Hummingbird tech support was easy to connect with and helpful.
The depth alarm is SUPER helpful and it's easy to set.
Of the ones I tested, I found this unit had the most accurate and responsive reading. Also it read accurately down to my 18" (dagger board up) draft where as others didn't start reading accurately until 3' or deeper which was frustrating since it is the about-to-hit depth I most wanted.
Mine is epoxied to the inside of my fiberglass hull and shoots through the mounting epoxy and then the fiberglass hull.
No matter what you get you can test it through the hull if submerged in water. Often placing the transducer in a plastic bag and placing the bag on the hull works, and for better testing you can temporarily (or permanently) attach a piece of 3" or 4" PVC tube or some other fluid container. For a temp install of the container, hot glue can work as well as Butyl tape. Once you verified your transducer location epoxy it in with 2 part slow cure epoxy (keep bubbles out from under the transducer)
The only other one I remember of the 5 I checked out was the Hawkeye (avail at West Marine as well as elsewhere). I found it unreliable and the tech service unresponsive.
PS, it doesn't come with a storage cap for the display so I 3d printed one. If you end up with one I can print one for you free if you cover shipping.
Let us know what you end with.