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and simplecontrols rangeand but display in deptharelimited. Thisis not a problem time shallow waters limits warning but the for spotting obstructions ahead. Only vertical The is scanning possible. transducer plastic is the tropicsto the Arctic,Balena- our 42ft gaffcutterwith a 5ft draught- hasrun into an and reouires 45mm holeto be cut in the a boat.Echopilot alsomarkets Platinum a version lOst,rction at least once a year. Forward-scanning for f1,499(seepanelright). sonarseemed useful a tool to warn of lurkingdangers poorly in 2. Interphase, basedin the USA, offersunits (or that scanvertically horizontally both)with or charted waters when navigating narrow or a The for maximumrangeof up to 240 fathoms. channelI looked two units at suitable yachts. transducer mostlybronzeand only requires is a l. The mosteconomical the British-desisned 2 6 m mh o l ei n t h e h u l l . is Color Echopilot Bronze, i ng L441 lt hasa clear cost . We opted for the Interphase

Twinscope, costingf I ,857.Modern boatswith flat sections probablymount a transducer can just scanning to one side usedfor horizontal and slightly backfrom the forwardedgeof the keel. The bestoption for an unobstructed view aboardlong-keeled vessels Baleno like is installation the stem, just to one side. in or Interphase offersa two-transducer option,one for eachsideof the keel, I wasnot willing but to drilltwo holesin the hull. SONARTRIALS we with Afterwe installed sonar, practiced the it in Norway, whererockscan appearnear

M.yachtingmonthly.com

. FEBRUARY 2007

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41.

RIGHT: Horizontal scan of headland(pictured below) showing it projectsfurther underwater. The cursor shows range and depth but not if it will get shallowerthan 20m
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ABOVE:Navigatingthrough a narrow channel: steeplyshelvingwater ahead to port (red return)and probably gently shallowingto starboard. The arc of display has been reduced to speed up the refreshtime

Echopilot This award-winning Britishcompany has a full range of forward-looking sounders, from the square-shaped to monochrome Bronze,with plastictransducer, an NMEA compatible,colour TFT Platinumwidescreen model, which has 200m rangeand video output for multifunction screens. Bronzef441;Silver t62O; Gold f840; Platinum Prices: f'|,499.A Platinum engine is also availablefor f949 which plugs directly into multifunction screens. Ltd Contact:Echopilot Marine Electronics Tel'.01 425 47 62'll ; www.echopilot.com
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Interphase (American based) Andy fitted the Colour Twinscope.Interphasealso has '180 which boastsa full | 80" forward horizontal an iScan scan.The Probe is their monochrome budget model, but is forward looking only. Prices: Colour Twinscope '1,857.68; Probe f898.88 f

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Contact:Mantsbrite Marine Electronics T e l : 0 ) 1 6 2 '8 5 3 0 0 3 ; 1 wwwmantsbrite.com; www.i nterphase-tech.com

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'Ata rangeof 32m, I can seewherea mud bottom {helvesupwardsor rockslie in wqit'
eventhoughthe surroundlng the surface Thecharts deep. of wateris hundreds metres so areexcellent, therewasno greatriskof the to grounding whilelearntng interPret was Power consurnPtion aboutI A. display. channel navigable We founda shallow, backand forth and sailed with knowndangers Likeradar, options. display tryrng different out to skilland experience interPret. sonarneeds of Radar worksin a range mi eswhilethe either and requires worksin metres Twinscope judgement. or veryslow boatspeed rapid to it's the When reading display, important a keepin mindthatsoftmud gives weaker sloping reflection thanrockand an upward echothan a aheadreturns stronger seabed gives the slope A a leveseabed. downward on The echo,or no return. colours weakest strength to are the display graduated lndrcate aid.I wasimpressed whrchisa great of return in and foundthe sonaruseful the following sttua|ons. Survey of a new anchorage helped the detail, sonar Wherea chartlacks ln alertusto obstructions. only3m and at a of range 32m,I canseewherea mud bottom or upwards rocksie tn walt.In deeper shelves waterthe rangets mucn greater. Finding deep water and It's fairly mpleto seewheredeeper s scan. the lie waters using horizontal shallower it depthahead, is necessary actuaL To determine and checkwith the to facethe areaof interest or vertical view Whencomingup to headlands an how far undenrvater we seamarks, can assess in a Following coastline, extends. obstruction viewshows the the darkfor instance, horizontal water s. whereshallow exactly Warning of rocks and reefs ahead we scanning and Usinghorizontal vertical When prcked dangers over320m ahead. up beam,a rockwith firstmet by the horizontal

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y. 20 FEBRUARY 07. www.yachtingmonthcom 45

t-3 0 mo v e ri t w o u l dl o o kt h es a m ea so n ew i t h
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the shalowerone would movecloser. We prefer vertical the view for spotting bottom l s n g e ' sd l e . t l y a h e a da s ' t c l e a r l s h o w s l - e , y t
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Warning of surface dangers ahead l n W i r i v e ' t i c as c a ns h p s p a s s g a i e a d a r r i e , imit of our range show up asa surface echo, evel tl-ewash'Ton a fasr-ovrng power . b o a lc a r b e s e e nW e h a v et ' , e dd e l i b e r a t e l y
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What comes in the box - the transducer, manual,and control/displayhead.

Preparingthe transducer

of range and it showsup immediately and creany. WHAT ARE THE PRACTICAL TIMITATIONS? I. Theangle the horizontal that of beammeans r s r r :e sa l e v e , e a b e d t a d i - t a n c a h e a d I l a e o a p p o " i - a t e l y[ i v et o s i xt i m e s h ed e p t l -S o l . o y t h er a n g esl , - i t e d . s p e c i a lrlns l a l l o w a t e r i w andtherecan be a problem decrding how deepan obstructron is. 2. Scanning time imitsthe speed which at t h ed i s p r aiy L , p d a d .O b e c r s a ns u d d e r l y e s c
c h : n o e n n s i f n r o r ' l - e r er e g pw l - e ^ r h e b o a r i i . m n v ; n po l l r . l n i n pl- , \ e l" \' . a n s e l e c a s m " l l e t ' " _ t b b
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Andy chiselsa recess the transducer for

arcto scanor usea shorter range, which speeds the scannrng up rate 3. Surface clutter and noise a problem. is With high gainsettings long ranges, and thereis
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aheadof the boat and rn roughweatherit's

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Ulla and Andy fit and sealthe recess the transducerwith epoxy and a layer of glasscloth for

surface. HOW COUTD THE TWINSCOPE BE BETTER? Alarm is too quiet Thein-built alarmisso quietyou needto f t a n e x l e r n a l a r m l l - ec o r r r o l : o s e t t g t h e f n a . a aTm rather aTe crudeand only allowfor
colo- nn .t a, c|n'l dcnrh n Velti-al View ot
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forward drstance horizontal in view. t wou d

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t,Uflaappfiesbottom paint to the installedand faired transducerin Bal@na'sstem

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of the scanto be monitored the a arm by function. Changing range T r e c o ^ s r a r n e e cr o c ^ d r g e d ^ g ea 1 o r e a d t u s ra i r w o - r d o o i m o o v e c o y a r g a u t o m a t ro p t o n . c Gain control B e c a u sg a i ^h a s- o o e a d j u s r e" e q l e r L v e c a r d t l e d J t o m d t i s e t t i n gso f t e n ' a rf ' o i c i d e a lI, w o u l dl i k et o s e ea n o p t i o nf o r a g a r n c o r t r o lt h a t sa l w a y i m m e da e l ya v a r l ap . s b
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'Surfaceclutter and noiseis a problem and in rough weather it'sdifficult to distinguishobjectsclose the surface' to
rnqd. .p rr: r boat. A t h o nrn t " ."n "o e " t e n d t h e s h a f u " ''i for fitt ng through the thick stem of a wooden

Depth function I e p a l I B e c a u so f r r e r a n g e ^ d g a i r ^ r o b l e m s h e u n I d d n t - a t c l u p r o o u rs - p l e f i s h ' r d e . a sa d e p t ns o u n d e r

(439m). 240 fathoms Thismeans that users 'see' of fathoms can I I 9m further aheadthan thosewho choosemetres. Thisrnstrument s r ' n d r . e c d r - h e I l ( A r v h c r p e t rc a to n i s nt i m used. Display ratio In shallow waterthe vertical imageis
rr:mmcd r r n : o - i n . r t h 'c r .n n n f r h c r i i < n l : r , -r -o: -r

The InterphaseColour Twinscopeis in daily use aboard Balena. I believethat conventionaldepth sounderswill rapidly give way to forward-looking sonar. The Interphasehas a greater range but Echopilot claimsa much quicker update,which could be usefulfor rock hopping. I j

I s"l".tion of units

and can be diff cultto read, unless you doeraaca tho r:noo r. . h i,r h , r n a y m e a ^ ar , _ ,
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w I I r e m a ' i m l m u p p ^ r- a n g e t h d l l e rr g - n t r e i s( a p p ' o . i m a ne t r p sr b a c ( e t s M e t r e - : r ): Feet: I,200ft(366m) and Fathoms

Transducer would aveked more treamlined h i a s

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