Shallow Water Depth Info

[Allezcat]

I have the Raymarine E120 with Dm300 depth module. The depth readout quits at 4.3 ft. I installed a P79 transducer and tried plugging it into the Dm300. Same problem. I would really like to be able to read shallow depths as I live in a canal community with very shallow entry channel. Is there some software adjustment or programming I can do to get this info? Has anyone else had this problem? How did you solve it?

Thanks,
Chet
Allezcat II / MV34

[James Power]

Hey Chet,

I've installed a few Raymarine St 60 + depth sounders with the P79 transducer lately with good results. I think the trick is to have it as a stand alone unit and not integrated into the seatalk / DSM / chart plotter system. The P79 transducer will read to a minimum depth of around 2 to 3 feet, much better then the funky read outs thru the DSM. The trade off is that you loose the fish finding and bottom contouring function, a small price to pay for dependable read outs. The best way to get accurate depth readings with a DSM, is to tie it onto the end of your lead line...

James

[billp]

James installed A Raymarine ST60 in the port hull of our 41 to complement the fishfinder module of the E120 in the starboard hull. Now we have depth in shallow water.
The added benefit is that we also know where we are in a narrow channel, such as the Rock Pile on the ICW. Seeing 9.8 feet on one side and 12.3 feet on the other is really helpful info.

From what I've heard the fishfinder module was never intended to be a shallow water depth sounder.