Lets talk transducers...

[EZZ70]

hey gents, i am looking for some advise.... I think I have enough room for 2 Simrad evo3 7" in the dash or one 9" for sure, what ya all think I should do? 2 x 7" or 1 x 9"? thx

Also, what should I be looking at for transducers? I was thinking a 2 transducers a 3 in 1 and a p66, was thinking "in-hull" mounted transducers.

M260 http://www.airmar.com/productdescription.html?id=38

Plan on tuna/salmon/halibut/ground fish fishing...

 

[fishin solo]

9” and 7” at the dash and a 9” in the stern ss60 and a 3N1 active imaging.

 

[EZZ70]

9” and 7” at the dash and a 9” in the stern ss60 and a 3N1 active imaging.

No room for a 9 and 7 by the looks of things only 2 x 7's or 1 x 9 and was looking for in-hull options not thru-hull

M260 http://www.airmar.com/productdescription.html?id=38

 

[fishin solo]

P79

 

[EZZ70]

P79

Thank you

 

[pescador]

2 units for redundancy. Wire on separate circuits. Nothing like being stuck in the fog with one screen. I found out the hard way.

 

[EZZ70]

2 units for redundancy. Wire on separate circuits. Nothing like being stuck in the fog with one screen. I found out the hard way.

I will probably put a lowrance 7 on the back deck and a 7 on command bridge

all networked together

 

[EZZ70]

so looks like P79 and 3in1 in-hull is my best options to pair with Evo3 and lowrance... thx guys

 

[Oly1]

so looks like P79 and 3in1 in-hull is my best options to pair with Evo3 and lowrance... thx guys

Look at the Airmar 165HW. I think it would compliment your setup well. And two screens is always better than 1.

Oly

 

[bryce]

2-7” in cab
9” on deck
9” on sunbridge through Lowrance hub I think it is called

 

[CBsqrd]

You'll want a wide beam transducer for salmon fishing, which will also work for bottom fishing up to ~600'. M260 has too narrow of a cone for our type of fishing. You'll mark fish, but because the cone is so narrow you'll normally won't get a nice arch which will make it hard to tell baitfish from predators. I had one on my boat that I took out last summer and replaced with a B175HW and the difference is incredible.

Go Chirp if you can afford it - B175HW or TM185HW. If non-chirp, B60, P66 or P79 are the popular transducers on the coast. You'll get best performance with a through hull, easiest install but less sensitivity (and no temperature) with an in-hull and a trade off with the transom mount. If I were in your shoes (boat out of the water and stripped down to the hull for easy access), I'd go with a through hull - B175 or B60.

Could you fit a 12" screen on the dash? 1 x 12" > 2 x 7" > 1 x 9"

 

[Sharphooks]

Just to add to CB's comments, the B60 through-hull he is recommending is basically a P66 (same elements, same everything as the P66) but different mounting option-- it's a through-hull instead of a transom mount. I have the b175HW on my boat. I also have the Furuno triple-beam DFF3 and an M260. My favourite transducer? The 600 W P66.....if I didn,t have that through-hull B175HW in the way, i'd mount a B60 no question

 

[terrin]

The Airmar 260 has a 6 and 19 degree cone angle.

 

[wildthing]

in hull M- 135-m and the inhull high wide M-285-HW
there done

was looking at these if i dont go through hull on a SS-175-HW or SS-175-M

as i have SS-175-high SS-175-Low LSS-2 , P66 and a PR of SS-264 50/200 Wide coming ..
so not sure about 6- 4" dia holes in the hull....lol

 

[Sharphooks]

I got squeamish about drilling more holes; bottom of my boat started looking like Swiss cheese

Boat No. 1: (With two additional through-hulls in the Port and Starboard sponsons)



Boat No. 2: Ran out of room for more through-hulls



I finally decided to go this route when mounting my Furuno triple-beam



Both Airmar and Furuno warned me not to do that, saying these transducers were not meant for full immersion. That was two years ago...no issues yet. I took great care to wrap the transducer cable and protect the area where the cable goes into the brass housing with waterproof tape

I also installed thick ceramic washers to isolate the aluminum welded bracket from the brass housing so I wouldn’t have electrolysis issues. The bracket is welded on the trailing edge of my Armstrong outboard bracket. I get clear side-scan and down-scan readings up to 3,800 RPM, then prop wash and turbulence muddies up the picture. I was prepared for that when I welded the bracket on—-no way I could have that slab of brass hanging off the bottom of my boat when taking it on and off a trailer....

 

[wildthing]

Sharpy could you have not gone the other side of the bracket to get away from the kicker? or your main engine leg L/H rotation?
i normally run the chirp high thru hull to the evo 2 then the use a p66 into my other sounder S2009

 

[Oly1]

Both Airmar and Furuno warned me not to do that, saying these transducers were not meant for full immersion. That was two years ago...no issues yet. I took great care to wrap the transducer cable and protect the area where the cable goes into the brass housing with waterproof tape

I also installed thick ceramic washers to isolate the aluminum welded bracket from the brass housing so I wouldn’t have electrolysis issues. The bracket is welded on the trailing edge of my Armstrong outboard bracket. I get clear side-scan and down-scan readings up to 3,800 RPM, then prop wash and turbulence muddies up the picture. I was prepared for that when I welded the bracket on—-no way I could have that slab of brass hanging off the bottom of my boat when taking it on and off a trailer....[/QUOTE]

Just wondering, in a situation with a boat and pod like yours. If you had access into the top of the pod, could you mount the transducer as a through hull into the bottom of the pod? Then you would be less worried about drilling holes into your boat and you wouldn’t have to worry as much about the trailering issues. It might even be possible to put a few of them in if there is enough room. Would that be better quality returns than say a transom mount option.?

Oly

 

[Sharphooks]

Hey Oly and Wildthing—- regarding transducer placement (port or starboard on the bracket): I have a transom-mounted P66 on the starboard side so I didn’t want to risk having those two transducers too close together....also, it was more convenient to run the cables on the port side into one of the rigging tubes—-made for a cleaner installation. My kicker prop doesn’t muddy up the picture of the triple-beam so that placement seems to work as long as I’m at trolling speed. For high-speed target searches, I have a flush-mounted B175 Chirp that covers that base

OLy—if you look closely at that picture, you’ll see a weld bead on the bracket—-it’s basically a pod that I had welded on to the existing pod (to try and address crappy performance of the boat)

Short story, if I had installed the transducer inside the pod (which I did consider), I would have had to go into the pod through a small sight-hatch, cut a 4” hole in the piece of aluminum making up the floor of the original bracket that came with the boat, then cut another 4” hole in the bottom skin of the pod bracket I had welded to the existing bracket—-

I remember quite clearly—when I was doing the install, I had just read about that guy’s Cutwater that sunk at his dock in Alaska due to water intrusion from his outboard pod conversion. I decided not to mess with the pod

So I bellied up to the bar and hired a top-notch welder to tack the bracket on to the outside of the pod-''-definitely a compromise on the install, and the welding cost ended up being more then the cost of the transducer, but screwing around with what has so far been an airtight “double” pod seemed risky.

Also, having a huge brass thing (as in a lever that can cause leverage) sticking out of the bottom of a thin-skinned pod worried me—- I can imagine if you hit a log just right, and it hooked onto the transducer at speed, you could tweak the aluminum skin of the pod. With it hanging off a welded bracket, I’m thinking the impact might pull the bracket and transducer off but maybe leave the pod undamaged...probably overthinking it here but so far..so good

 

[pescador]

I got squeamish about drilling more holes; bottom of my boat started looking like Swiss cheese

Boat No. 1: (With two additional through-hulls in the Port and Starboard sponsons)

View attachment 49892

Boat No. 2: Ran out of room for more through-hulls

View attachment 49894

I finally decided to go this route when mounting my Furuno triple-beam

View attachment 49893

Both Airmar and Furuno warned me not to do that, saying these transducers were not meant for full immersion. That was two years ago...no issues yet. I took great care to wrap the transducer cable and protect the area where the cable goes into the brass housing with waterproof tape

I also installed thick ceramic washers to isolate the aluminum welded bracket from the brass housing so I wouldn’t have electrolysis issues. The bracket is welded on the trailing edge of my Armstrong outboard bracket. I get clear side-scan and down-scan readings up to 3,800 RPM, then prop wash and turbulence muddies up the picture. I was prepared for that when I welded the bracket on—-no way I could have that slab of brass hanging off the bottom of my boat when taking it on and off a trailer....

I believe transom mount transducers are subject to damage easier than in-hull mount in our Pacific Northwest environment........with all the **** in the water. I have two transom mounts. I can personally tell you I’ve hit wood a half dozen times last summer. Not always logs, sometimes small pieces of drift wood. Usually the transducer just pops up up off the bracket and you snap back in to place (which is a pain to do on the water). One time I ripped off both of my transom mounted transducers completely and needed to replace them both. Costly and a lot of work mid-season I didn’t need. I personally think in-hull may now be a better solution. I fished 60 days last year so the odds were high something would happen. I’m thinking in-hull for any future installs. Plus for the boat trailer it’ll eliminate contact issues when loading if installed right. One mans view.

 

[wildthing]

B-164 /175's SS-264's SS-175's thru hulls are almost flush and don't hang down or need a fairing block..
but there are new in hull 1k Airmar chirps M-135-med and M-185-high wide
you lose a bit of Q and depth depending on you hull glass thickness ... foam core hulls still need to be cut to the out skin to work