A blank canvas

I have been following a post on Facebook where someone without any instrumentation on his boat has been asking for suggestions about what to purchase/install. While Frost does have functioning wind and depth instruments, it’s not far off of that blank canvas. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, the depth gauge we have is next to useless.

Even though the numbers shown by our depth gauge seems to be accurate enough, the display is basically unreadable in any kind of light. I find it extremely frustrating to be inching our way into an anchorage, looking for a suitable spot to drop the hook, without the ability to easily see how skinny the water is getting. For this reason, it is the first piece of the instrumentation puzzle that we have decided to replace. Of course, the fact that we are out of the water now and the new depth system will require a different transducer (the piece installed in the hull which actually measures the depth) was no small motivator for getting the job done here in Trinidad.

What did we decide to install? We ordered a Raymarine i50 Depth System with Thru-Hull Transducer. It’s going to cost us a bit more than if we had purchased it from the link I just shared but that’s life in the Caribbean. I am told that it should arrive here by today so hopefully we can get on with the installation tomorrow. I’d really love to have Frost back in the water by the end of the week!

On the subject of depth gauges, how do you like to set yours, so that it displays the actual depth of the water, or the water below your keel(s)? We typically opt for the latter although I can understand why some people choose to do otherwise (the depth on the gauge matches the chart).