Depth Finder replacement for Eriscon 27

I am very new to boating and has been restoring my Ericson 27 sailboat for about a year. I am looking to replace its depth finder with a new one which can fit into its existing opening.

Also I am thinking of in-haul transducer (I did watched few online videos and it seems to be fairly straight forward process).

I am looking for suggestions and ideas.

Thank you all in advance.

The "shoot through the hull" depth transducers work really well and are so easy to install. Even the less expensive ones work well. If you can not identify the make and model of the existing unit, or if the unit is no longer available, I would forget trying to find a replacement.

My (Signet) depth finder (age unknown but may be the original one) has been unreliable at times so I might be looking for a replacement too, possibly with an in-hull transducer. There seemed to be a lack of a clear winner so I'd welcome anyone who has a recommendation as well.

Might consider a chartplotter, most include sonar (they call it a "fishfinder.")

You can't go wrong with an in-hull transducer. I just left this boat's ancient through-hull transducer in place.

Great suggestions, thanks Christian!

Thalassa said:

Great suggestions, thanks Christian!

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I believe “Airmar” is a very common provider (Airmar transducers are sold in kits with Raymarine products). I would measure the diameter of your existing transducer carefully. Also, take a minute to think about how the data will be displayed. Is the replacement using the same protocol as your existing screens or are you planning to update the displays at the same time?

I had an analog knotmeter in the bulkhead but no transducers when I got my E25. I removed the forward thruhull/plug and installed a new Airmar DST800 and thruhull and a lightly used Raymarine ST60 tridata display (speed, depth, temp) on the bulkhead. I left the other thru hull behind the centerboard with the plug glued in alone until this off season, when I removed it and glassed over that hole. I likely would have gone the chartplotter route and in hull transducer if I sailed on the coast, but I just don't need navigation where I sail and intend to sail and decided I wanted the paddle wheel (we'll see if that was a wise choice as time passes). On leaving old transducers installed, I think that would be fine until your next haul out, but consider how old the thru hull is and whether it is in good enough condition. Both of mine were likely from original or the early 80s and one came apart and out through the hole in the hull with very little effort and little to no goo on it. The other one was somewhat stubborn and would have been fine left for a while.

Our recently acquired 74 E27 has an old, inoperable Standard Horizon depth gauge. The gauge itself is enormous, so leaving that alone until I have a good plan for big hole it's mounted in.

The PO also left me a Garmin Stryker 4 which has GPS and a through hull transducer. Works very well with the transducer mounted under the quarter berth next to the batteries.

It was crudely wired and surface mounted in the cabin, so I did a more permanent cockpit install where an old (and leaking and inoperable) compass used to be. Also got a cover to protect it from the elements. Not a bad solution for less than $200 of gear.

Our E27 had a Silva Nexus instrument pack which we really liked. Depth Sounder, speed log, wind transducer, and a pair of displays in the cockpit. When that system finally gave up the ghost, we replaced it with the Garmin version thereof (Garmin bought Silva years ago). Thus far it’s been working great. As an added bonus, the GNX wired Sailpack 43 fit the old through-hulls so we could swap it out wth the boat still in the water.

The other nice thing is that since it’s all NMEA 2000 now, it’s hapilly wired in to our Tillerpilot which makes single handed sailing that much easier. I can let the robot steer the boat to wind and/or tack the boat, while I handle and adjust the sails.