Norcross Hawkeye Sonar

Rugged unit puts depth-sounding and fishfinding at your fingertips.

When cruising off the beaten path, you’re likely to come across harbors, channels, and other waterways that aren’t well charted. In these areas, a portable depth sounder becomes a necessary tool for safe navigation and anchoring. PS testers and well-known cruiser-authors Evans Starzinger and Beth Leonard recently had the opportunity to test and compare two such devices while voyaging the remote channels of Chile, where they often needed to sound an uncharted anchorage from the dinghy. The two products they tested were the Norcross HawkEye Portable Sonar System (DF2200PX) and Speedtech Instruments’ handheld depth sounder. Both are designed for use aboard a dinghy, through a fiberglass or wood hull, or through ice. The multi-purpose Norcross can read depths from 2.5 to 200 feet, and also has a sensor that measures the temperature of the water, the air, or any object the sensor is placed against. It can also be used as a fishfinder. A fish icon appears on the screen with the depth when the sonar detects something other than the bottom in its field. The Hawkeye floats and is waterproof to 200 feet.