Rib Virgin goes deep

Ok - as you know we have finally bought a boat but we need a couple of things for her - a depth sounder and a compass.

There is already a mounting block for a compass so this shouldn't be too bad - looking at a Plastimo Offshore 75 or 90 but I would like it to be as flat as possible as it will sit on the console. Any good or bad things about these compasses I should bear in mind?

Depth sounders are more difficult. I am not keen on drilling holes in the bottom of the boat - if it don't leak, don't drill - are there reliable transom mounted transducers or what other options are available? I only really know about the drilled hole variety for yachts, are there things to be born in mind when buying them for a rib?

Many thanks

Hi Sarah
I have a raymarine depth gauge and it works well
In one of the boaty mags last month there was a group test on them..you might want to check it out :cool:

Hi Sarah
I have a raymarine depth gauge and it works well
In one of the boaty mags last month there was a group test on them..you might want to check it out :cool:

Thanks Tony - I'll pop down to WHSmith. How have you attached yours?

Sarah

Hi

I have recently refitted my electronics to swap from Garmin to Raymarine, and for both sets have used Transom mount transducers. If you do a search you'll find even these can be glued inside the hull.

For various reasons I don't have enough access to my hull outer skin so am forced to use them screwed to the transom.

One point to make sure of is that the screws are sealed with a little sealant to avoid any water ingress between the fibreglass and plywood.

In all the miles I did with the small garmin transducer I found it worked well at nearly all speeds and always stayed put.
The much larger Raymarine transducer however kicked up on its first trip out and so didn't work at speed which I'm looking for a solution for.

Nasher.

I have recently refitted my electronics to swap from Garmin to Raymarine, and for both sets have used Transom mount transducers. If you do a search you'll find even these can be glued inside the hull.

For various reasons I don't have enough access to my hull outer skin so am forced to use them screwed to the transom.

One point to make sure of is that the screws are sealed with a little sealant to avoid any water ingress between the fibreglass and plywood.

In all the miles I did with the small garmin transducer I found it worked well at nearly all speeds and always stayed put.
The much larger Raymarine transducer however kicked up on its first trip out and so didn't work at speed which I'm looking for a solution for.

Nasher.

Thanks Nasher. This is what I wanted to hear. The hull has a sharp V and I cannot see that a drilled transducer would work very well.

Thanks for the advice about the sealant as well.

What GPS/Chartplotter is fitted?
You may find it can take a depth "add in", some will.

This may save you bucks on buying something just for depth.

If not the other option would be to get something that is GPS/Chart/Depth and stick the old kit on E-bay or here.
Garmin, Raymarine and us all do combo units.
This, whilst may be a bit more expensive, will save you dash space.

Cheers

Sarah, do a bit of ribnet searching. There's tons of stuff stored here.

Congratulations on your purchase btw. :thumbs:

What GPS/Chartplotter is fitted?
You may find it can take a depth "add in", some will.

This may save you bucks on buying something just for depth.

If not the other option would be to get something that is GPS/Chart/Depth and stick the old kit on E-bay or here.
Garmin, Raymarine and us all do combo units.
This, whilst may be a bit more expensive, will save you dash space.

Cheers

I can't remember the name of the GPS - not a name I am familiar with. I think it was the original one with the boat making it over 8 years old. I can discribe it, it was hung on a bracket rather than inbuilt, it was a portrait display, single colour - like a calculator - you can set points and it has a compass type digital display, underneath it gave speed in knots on the left - can't remember on the right - pretty ancient I think and rather big.

I'm interested in the combo units - GPS has moved on so much since the boat was built and if we could get one that would do everything - am I right in thinking you can get ones that will relay your exact position to a digital VHF radio - how fab is that?

Sarah, do a bit of ribnet searching. There's tons of stuff stored here.

Congratulations on your purchase btw. :thumbs:

Thanks JW

This forum has opened my eyes - what a fab community...

Sarah,

With the make and model it would be easy to find if depth can be added.

The new DSC VHF's units can be connected to your GPS so if you are in distress and you press the button to send a MAYDAY your lat and long is sent at the same time.

Some of the more modern plotters can display incomming distress calls.
They can also plot locations of other vessels fitted with DSC by using the "position request" setting on the DSC VHF.

So yes they have come a long way in ten or so years.

These are great little units that give you depth sounder with temperature as well as GPS chart plotter. The 178c is the one with the colour display whilst the 178 is black and white. As Garmin decided to discontinue the B&W one there were a number of retailers knocking them out for under £200. If you search on here for 178c you'll see just how many people have (and like) them. Again the sounder is transom mount and works a treat.

Carry on at this rate and you have to upgrade from Rib Virgin to Rib Debutante :D

Andrew

These are great little units that give you depth sounder with temperature as well as GPS chart plotter. The 178c is the one with the colour display whilst the 178 is black and white. As Garmin decided to discontinue the B&W one there were a number of retailers knocking them out for under £200. If you search on here for 178c you'll see just how many people have (and like) them. Again the sounder is transom mount and works a treat.

Carry on at this rate and you have to upgrade from Rib Virgin to Rib Debutante :D

Andrew

Thanks Andrew - I'll have a route around the various threads. We get the boat this weekend so I can really look at the electrics and see what we need - what needs upgrading.

Brill ;o)

There is already a mounting block for a compass so this shouldn't be too bad - looking at a Plastimo Offshore 75 or 90 but I would like it to be as flat as possible as it will sit on the console. Any good or bad things about these compasses I should bear in mind?

The Plastimo Offshore compasses are pretty good - easy to read and stable even when bouncing in waves. I've got a 105, and I also use other boats with 105's and 90's. Remember when fitting the compass keep it as far as possible away from wires/electronics/metal etc to keep deviation to a minimum. Check it with a handheld compass once fitted as well to make sure it’s not horribly out..


Depth sounders are more difficult. I am not keen on drilling holes in the bottom of the boat - if it don't leak, don't drill - are there reliable transom mounted transducers or what other options are available? I only really know about the drilled hole variety for yachts, are there things to be born in mind when buying them for a rib?

If you fit a transom mount transducer correctly you shouldn't have any problems with it - I never have. The instructions will tell all this but - make sure that its positioned away from spray rails and not to close the engine leg. Also make sure that it sticks below the bottom of the hull by a fair amount with a slight angle (back end should be lower than the front). The main problem with transom mount transducers is their vulnerable location.

Otherwise as said stick them in the bilge well or somewhere similar. Make sure the hull is solid underneath though - won't work if there’s a cavity

The Plastimo Offshore compasses are pretty good - easy to read and stable even when bouncing in waves. I've got a 105, and I also use other boats with 105's and 90's. Remember when fitting the compass keep it as far as possible away from wires/electronics/metal etc to keep deviation to a minimum. Check it with a handheld compass once fitted as well to make sure it’s not horribly out..



If you fit a transom mount transducer correctly you shouldn't have any problems with it - I never have. The instructions will tell all this but - make sure that its positioned away from spray rails and not to close the engine leg. Also make sure that it sticks below the bottom of the hull by a fair amount with a slight angle (back end should be lower than the front). The main problem with transom mount transducers is their vulnerable location.

Otherwise as said stick them in the bilge well or somewhere similar. Make sure the hull is solid underneath though - won't work if there’s a cavity

Brill pointers thank you especially about checking the compass once fitted - you tend to forget about that.

Once we get the boat back, I can look to see the best place for the transducer - maybe do some photos and post them here for advice when we are ready.

Thanks again

sounders http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13334&highlight=cuda

we check our compasses nearly every boatcourse as we have some handy leading lights we run down to exit or enter the port (remember to allow for variation) and another couple of courses virtually at right angles to the lights that we have students steer along. If they miss the target its either the compass or perhaps, possibly but surely not,the student :] or the instructor :D

sounders http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13334&highlight=cuda

we check our compasses nearly every boatcourse as we have some handy leading lights we run down to exit or enter the port (remember to allow for variation) and another couple of courses virtually at right angles to the lights that we have students steer along. If they miss the target its either the compass or perhaps, possibly but surely not,the student :] or the instructor :D

Poor old dad is going to be really busy when he installs it - ;o) but that is what dads are there for.