Shallow Water Warning System?

The depth finder on my pontoon boat has an audible alarm that you can set according to the draft you need.....as far as approaching shallow spots are concerned you'd probably need some kind of sonar/ digital display   

Depthfinders don't give you any foresight when cruising along faster than idle. By the time it picks up a shallow depth you'll already be stopped.

Ken what about the Hummingbird Keith has listed in the "Featured Products" page?

Apparently accurate to 70 mph, with an audible shallow alarm. I've actually thought of purchasing one myself. I will say that other than Keith's review I haven't heard anything good bad or indifferent about it's performance.

BTW, glad you and your wife didn't suffer any serious injuries during your rock riding experience!! Looks like the Nauti faired pretty well considering. All things considered, could have been much worse. d

Ken,
I've got one of those Hummingbirds and they work Ok but it would never work as an early warning system. I rely on it mostly when I'm putting around checking out my surroundings but there's no way it could detect shallow water and give you a warning in time if you're pulling a skier at 30mph.

I use mine in a dredged river to let me know when I'm still in the channel. We ski outside the channel closer to shore to get out of traffic areas and that's when I pay close attention to it. Usually in 5-6 ' of water, if I was to come up on a wing dam(Submerged rock jetty) my tracking fins would detect it before the depthfinder. I pay close attention to where everyone else is running and I will probably be learning the river for many years to come.

I think you just had some bad luck in unfamiliar waters last week Ken, that could happen to any one of us.