In hull or transom mount transducer

[kanuckle head]

I have had some middle of the road transom mount transducers but they have all given me fuzzy readings once I get to plane
Also want to try a unit with more sensitivity
Looking for a better upgrade on my GSD22 & saw a Airmar M260 @ a sweet price

The TM260 (transom mount) is more coin but having it out on the stern on a mostly trailer-ed boat can B chancy @ its price

Can anyone give me some advice on a 1kw transducer & the best application for mounting

http://www.thehulltruth.com/parts-forum/403957-airmar-m260-1-kw-transducers-new-box-550-625-a.html
http://www.airmartechnology.com/2009/products/marine-product.asp?prodid=53&manf=All

 

[Whole in the Water]

An in-hull TD will give better results than transom mounts as you can place them in areas with less water turbulence. Proper placement on your boat is the key to good performance of any transducer. In-hull mounts are usually more expensive but give better performance and are more durable (especially since there are installed in a more protected place instead of sticking out off the transom).

I would go with Airmar units they make most of the TD's for the industry and their own units are of better quality and performance then the ones you get standard when you buy a sounder. The Airmar 1kw units have great performance. You just need to find the right one for your head unit and in the price performance range you can afford. Go to the Airmar website they have a product selector that can help you find the units that are compatable with your sounder.

 

[GLG]

Another option would be to take your transom mount TD and put it in the bilge.
MyEscape did this on his boat (double eagle) and it worked for him.
To test if it will work on yours you need to mount the TD in the bilge and add water.
The water needs to be enough that the TD is always under.
The sound wave travels thru the water and thru the hull.
It then comes back from bottom and thru the hull and water to the TD.
If it works on your boat then the next thing is to epoxy it in place.
You need to make sure there are no air bubbles in the epoxy.

That said there are lots of boats that this will not work on because of the hull.
Mine being one of them as it's a tin boat.
GLG

 

[Wwunder]

I don't know too much about the higher power transducers, but I have used a transom mount transducer siliconed inside the hull as a shoot thru transducer would be. The results were fantastic even with a fairly run of the mill sounder / transducer. I could read the bottom to 400' while cruising at 20 mph. I just glued the transducer into my new boat, but I haven't tested it out yet.

This is actually what Arima (my previous boat manufacturer) recommends... They basically direct you to locate the transducer in a spot where it is a single layer of fibreglass (no foam core), cut the end off of a silicone tube and squeeze a blob on the spot. Tilt and push the transducer into the blob to reduce any bubbles. Away you go.

 

[Jockey]

What about marking fish through the hull? Can you still see as much detail?

 

[Wwunder]

I never used that particular transducer as a transom mount so I don't really have a direct comparison on the level of detail. I had only ever used entry level B/W sounders before and this one (garmin 300c) had far better detail and bottom tracking than I had seen before. I did mark some fish with it and was satisfied with the detail for what its worth, but i'm not the most sophisticated user.

Mostly I really liked having fewer holes in the transom and reading bottom at all speeds.

 

[Wwunder]

You can do a test to see how it will work. You just put the transducer in a plastic bag, fill it with water and tie it closed at the top. You can try putting the transducer in different spots to see if it will work. We also did this in my dad's campion for a rear sounder station and it seems to work well even with a cheapy $40 200kHz tranducer on a Garmin 178C.

 

[Sharphooks]

The Airmar M260 in-hull is a fantastic piece of equipment. Echoing what Whole In The Water and others have said, if you have the right floor profile (flat) and placement position in your boat (just ahead of the transom, forward of the propeller) , it's the way to go (no turbulence from the props etc). I have a boat with a flat floor (almost zero "V") and no foam combing or stringers (just a thin glass skin) , the best profile for an in-hull (Arima).

When I sold my last boat (Arima) , I pulled the M260 out and re-installed into my new boat. It was a lot of elbow grease doing the re-install but when I first turned it on and realized that what I was seeing on my screen were individual barnacles on a buoy cable, I knew that M260 was going with me if I ever sold my first Arima and went on to another boat.

I did, and it did.

I can also clearly see bait on the bottom in 200 M of water while pegging my Honda BF150 at 30 kts. Not a critical piece of information for fishing but it makes for good cocktail conversation. Do a YouTube of the M260 and you can see screen-shots taken at way faster speeds then that

Here's a screen-shot of pilchards off of Uke:

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab30/sharphooks/SARDINES.jpg

Here's two pics of the install in different stages:

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab30/sharphooks/IMG_3102.jpg


http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab30/sharphooks/transducer.jpg


I've seen M260's on eBay for as low as $ 300 ---I got mine on CL for $200 (just the X-ducer and cable). Usually, when you buy them pre-owned they won't have the yellow "wet box" included in the deal because once you install the box with 3M 5200 marine adhesive, you basically turn it into a "leveright" (as in leave her right there, Bub).

If you pick up the unit pre-owned, you can purchase the wet box, the cork liner and the funnel (for filling it with ethyl glycol or whatever medium you chose) from Airmar's retail arm:

Gemeco
803-693-0777
sales@gemeco.com
gemeco.com


Their techs are very helpful and will make sure you get what you need for your specific application.

BTW, in Pic No. 2 of the install, the transducer mounted ahead of the M260 is an Airmar 235 Khz smart sensor that is hooked into a Furuno RD30 ---very nice piece of equipment for extreme shallow water applications (where M260's aren't always so happy; they're way happier at 300 M) The 235 Khz allows for use of two x-ducers side by side without interference (if the other is 50/200 like the M260 is)

 

[cheech]

The following pic is an example of a entry level ff with the transducer epoxied in the bilge. This ff is mounted on aft bulkhead facing forward for ease of reading.
As you can see the bait is easily visible.

 

[Jughead]

I siliconed the transducer that came with my Lowrance (skimmer i think?) into my bilge. I did it out on the water so I could find a spot that would give a good reading. Worked great for awhile until I spilled a little bit of gas in the bilge and the gas began to eat away at the silicone. Then it only worked well intermittently.
I pulled it up and siliconed it down again, but I dont want to deal with this issue everytime I change my fuel filter and drip a bit of gas, so I'm about to move it back to the transom.

 

[Labman2]

Don't us Sillycon, a good epoxy is what Lowrance recommends.
Just make sure there are no air bubbles in the epoxy before you bed the transducer.
Fill a baggie about 1/2 full of winshield washer fluid, then you lay the bag where you think you want the transducer, shoot through the baggie, keep moving the baggie around until you find the sweet spot.
We use that shooting through 2' of ice out here on the lakes ice fishing, the transducer needs that little bit of fluid to perform properly.

 

[kanuckle head]

Going with a M260 as a TM260( transom mount )

One thing that sucks is after i purchased the unit was the need of a temp sensor

Not that critical for Salmon but if I can venture far I will require it for Albi's