SONAR WARS

In a multimillion-dollar bluewater battlewagon, fighting for hundreds of thousands—perhaps even millions—in prize money, it seems that no price is too high for a competitive edge.

Ten years ago, when full chirp sonar technology came to recreational boating, skippers reacted like they were whistling-gopher priced.

“What’s that go fer?”

“$4,500.”

And then they’d let out a shrill whistle.

Today, you wouldn’t build a serious offshore boat without dual-frequency chirp capability, and builders design their hulls to accept the boxy transducers.

Now there is a new whistling-gopher sonar on the market, and the price tag makes the original chirp tech look cheap.