I have had that compass for 3 years now and it has worked well. Guess it
depends on your needs, if you do go fish finder then I'd go compass. If no
fish finder then the depth sounder would be the way to go. I have a fish
finder but it is one of those small sqaure ones you can mount in the dash
area. Not really doing much fishing I didn't want a bigger one sticking up.
Looks like the area around your opening is too small for one of those
though. I prefer the hour meter back on the engine instead of the dash.
It's not an item you need to check while underway.

"*JimH*" wrote in message
...
I have a blank 2"~ 2 1/8"" opening on my dash.

http://tinyurl.com/abnwu

I just bought the boat (as of tomorrow assuming a good sea trial). It
does not have a compass or depth sounder. I can put either in that spot
( http://www.marine.com/product_info.php/products_id/653 or
http://www.westmarine.com/images/full/530298.jpg ) but can also leave the
hole blank, mounting a surface mount compass and moderately priced fish
finder with depth sounder on top of the dash.

Pricing is comparable (a bit higher on dash surface mounts) although the
units installed on top of the dash would be easier to read while at the
helm and will offer (as in the case of the fish finder) more data on a
larger surface.

What are your ideas? I am leaning toward the larger units mounted on top
of the dash.