Whether you call it a bottom machine, a depth-finder, a fish- finder, or sonar probably depends on your experience and what you use this equipment for. Obviously, fishermen use it to find good structure and specific sea floor conditions, schools of fish, or even individual fish while cruisers are usually trying to figure out if they are going to have enough water to traverse a certain area. If you call it a bottom machine, you likely have less experience using one whereas, if you call it sonar, you were probably in the navy!
All of our Freedom boats come equipped with one of these devices, however, not everyone knows how to use them or the extent of their capabilities. This sometimes leads to a lot of button pushing and unintended changes to the system. These are rather sensitive electronic gadgets with one piece at the helm and the other piece in the water or in the bilge. Therefore, on most of our vessels, they take a beating from driving rain and rough handling above the waterline and “the salt life” below the waterline. Keeping them in good working condition is a challenge to say the least. To replace the entire unit requires us to remove the boat from service as soon as it has a day free of reservations and our service technicians can get to it.
With all that in mind, here are a few tips direct from the field that may prove helpful:
Usage
While the depth-finder on your vessel is a useful tool for finding a reef or a specific hole on the sea floor for fishing, using a depth-finder to save you from running aground in an area in which you are unfamiliar is not recommended. Not only is the depth being transmitted from behind you, at the stern of the boat, but it may not even be reading correctly. Often, bubbles from your movement, marine growth on the transducer, or random bits of seaweed can obscure the signal being sent to/from the bottom. Also, we’ve noted that many members try to experiment with the “settings” buttons. Actually, the best tool you have for unknown, shallow water is your eyes. If you are new to an area and you wish to travel outside of marked channels (island hopping, for example), you should be able to see the bottom at approximately three to five feet, depending on conditions. When you can see only about three feet of water, that is your cue to bring the boat to idle speed and maybe even begin tilting the engine up slightly. If you plan on fishing, however, I suggest contacting the dockmaster during your confirmation process to ensure that specific electronic devices are working properly on the particular boat you have reserved.
Troubleshooting
If you do find that your depth-finder is not working properly and you need it to find fishing areas, here are a few things to try that may work (keeping in mind we have several different types of depth-finders):
1. Check to make sure the wire plugs are securely inserted in the back of the display unit as the engine vibration can wiggle them loose
2. Check that the “simulation mode” is off!
3. Return all adjustments to “Default” in the “Settings” menu
4. Check to see that the transducer, if outside the hull, is attached to the transom, clean, and facing directly parallel to the waterline. I have found that the majority of our depth finders are not corroding at the wiring, but are having the transducers knocked loose/off or have been obscured by ever-encroaching sea life. Our attempts to protect the transducers from being ripped away from the hull due to running aground has met with some setbacks (eg- mussels or algae growing inside the protective housing).
5. If none of these seems to be the problem, the helm computer will have to be replaced by our marine tech division asap.
I hope this helps with your understanding and expectations of one of the tools used in boating. Personally, I never trust the depth-finder and rarely use it unless fishing. If I don’t know the area I’m in very well, I stay in the channels until I see what the locals are doing. If I have to diverge, I go idle speed and evaluate what’s visible from the deck.
