I found some really cool Humminbird Side Imaging screen shots that show fish really well. I can't believe how clear some of these pictures are. These are some of the best I've seen. There are also some shots with the split screen showing 2D, SI and DI all at once.
(looks better in larger size)
There are more here - more Humminbird pics and they are larger images also. You can see the individual fish.
I was looking at these last week in my Local west Marine.
Salesman there seemed to think they work fine in freshwater but considerably less in salt water
Also if the water is choppy the image is degraded.
I was looking at trading up from my present humminbird, but really need to get some actual users feedback before shelling out $900
cheers Dal
Using above unit on a Cheetah Catamaran, not a rib. I have also had it fitted on an Alaska 500, Orkney 19' and 7.5m Tornado. It is currently fitted to inside edge of starboard hull with the single outboard on port hull. Will try and get pics of setup and also a pic of the wreck to show just how awesome the sonar image is.
The unit requires quite detailed understanding of sonar and side scan to interpret and get the best results, using it for a few hours on areas you know will help you immensely. The HB forums are great for discussing settings etc.
The one thing I have on my current boat which makes a huge difference is a separate chart plotter and autopilot that I can setup a survey grid on with say 25m spacings. You can grid a wpt on the unit but down at 25m spacings the grid is not big enough if you want to search say 500m radius from your target!
This allows me to look at the side scan and not concentrate on steering or position of the boat. The straighter the course the boat is on the better the side image.
On the tornado it was a temporary fit so the transducer was screwed to a bit of wood which was G clamped to transom. Worked sufficiently at slow speeds and quick to remove when moving between sites.
Looks like Johnson Outdoors (own Humminbird) are filing a patent infringement suit against Lowrance LSS1 unit. Will be interesting to see what happens. Hope Lowrance can continue with their unit as it'll just be a plug in upgrade for ours.
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New boat is here, very happy!
Simon www.luec.org
The picture of the wreck is not great as it is a photo of an impression that was quite faded. The smoke stack on the wheelhouse has collapsed to the seabed so is not on the sounder.
