OK, here's an update on the T-pod portable sounder thing I ordered to use exclusively for locating navigable water in our RIB for anchoring possibilities in our boat. I had the idea to just use a piece of pvc pipe to tow the pod out ahead of the RIB. The RIB is on the hard now in storage so I lashed the pipe one of the bow cleats on our Carolina skiff. The pipe extended past the bow 3-4' & initially I tied the pod with no slack in the line as soon as it was in the water. I was disappointed with the readings because the thing did tend to skip over the water and loose the bottom. I payed out a couple of feet of line and it did much better, staying locked on the bottom and giving depth readings consistently. The skiff tends to idle a little faster than optimum for the pod but it did ok. I think that ,in the RIB, being much closer to the water and able to putt along at a lower speed, I'll be more than happy with it's performance. I think the thing is designed for being towed behind a self-powered boat at slower speeds of less than 3 knots.
Anyway, for an investment of less than $75 , and having a tender without a console or a 12v battery supply, this is a good option for finding a depth. As a bonus and as opposed to a digital sounder, this gives a depiction of the bottom regarding hardness (sand, mud, etc) or debris ,so as to help with the anchoring decision (in the bottom screenshot I took while in our creek, you can clearly see the harder sand bottom that transitioned to more mud.
I'll improve on the pole mounting and use probably velcro when we start using it.
