Fresh for 2021, Furuno has rolled out a new, higher-resolution split-beam sounder, the FCV38.

Matt Wood, Furuno’s national sales manager, said the FCV38 is representative of Furuno’s product line in that it borrows from the past  — using the same transducer array and many of the same sensors as its predecessors — but combines it with more powerful signal processing, which provides for a finer-grain presentation of schools.

“Being able to do fish school analysis and fish size analysis is kind of the holy grail of commercial fishing. Multibeam and split-beam sounders have always been at the leading edge of being able to see both the size of the school and the size of fish within that school,” Wood said.

Wood added that several upgrades have made the FCV38 more user-friendly than its immediate predecessor, the FCV30. These upgrades include shifting the most meaningful data to be more prominently displayed on the screen as well as a new control mechanism that mimics a conventional PC mouse.

“It’s an easier-to-use package, with the updated controller, the updated display unit, and a much higher resolution presentation,” Wood said, adding that the user interface and control mechanism have been harmonized and are more reminiscent of computers that people use on a day-to-day basis.

And while split-beam sounders involve a significant install and have been more common on larger fishing vessels, Wood said that smaller and smaller components mean boats all the way down to the 40- to 50-foot range can get the technology.

“We’re really trying to come up with product sizing that will fit a broader array of boats. So we’re really pleased that overall size of the components of the FCV38 have come down enough to allow them to fit factory trawlers all the way down to seiners or even trollers,” Wood said.