Transducer / sounder help for inshore fishing

 Hi,


I have an older 27' Riviera Flybridge which I have begun taking out further to about 150m deep. I have her at Port Stephens. I have a Lowrance Elite 9 Ti2 with the standard 3 in 1 transom mount tranny.

Now, I'm losing bottom at about 80m and don't like the idea of the transom mount tranny.

I'm taking her out end of this month for antifouling and was hoping to install a through hull tranny whilst out of the water.

I have been looking at the Airmar SS75M (600w) at $969 or the SS175M (1kw) at $1329. I know my Elite is only a 500w unit but also looking at upgrading further down the track.

I'm after some advice on best Tranny to get at a reasonable price which will work now with the Elite and then when I upgrade possibly HDS unit.

Is the 1kw tranny worth the extra $360 or not?

Also as I have a flybridge was hoping to be able to link the new fish finder to my Elite as a screen only so I can have one at each helm? Also, I have been told the HDS units have 2 tranny plugs which I can then keep the 3 in 1 tranny for bay fishing etc??

Or do I need a whole new setup with 2 new finders, etc. at a million dollars???

Cheers
Rod


Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

I have the mid range

Thu, 2021-08-05 16:52

airmar chirp in 1 kw M135M which is an in hull, firing through the hull.  It works great but I am using a Simrad Evo3 with it, so it is working at 1kw.  The interesting part is I use an Elite Ti with a Lowrance 200/50 skimmer transducer siliconed inside the hull next to the 1 Kw transducer, and I get great readings from this as well.  As an experiment, you might want to get a 200/50 transducer and do the same and see how it works, mine has been working fine for 10 years.  I assume you have outboard/stern drive as the transom mount works, so position it in the middle as far towards the back as you can.  Make a pyramid of silicone, and wiggle the tranducer into it to avoid air bubbles and let is set.  You should clean the area first with acetone to help the silicone stick.  If your hull is solid glass, it should work fine.  Foam layed hulls have air pockets in the foam, so don't work well.  If this works at depth, mine does, then you may want to go for the in hull 1kw to avoid a hull penetration. 

Good luck

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 07/03/19

Thanks. Sounds like a good

Thu, 2021-08-05 18:04

Thanks. Sounds like a good idea. Will have to give it a go.

Posts: 14

Date Joined: 25/06/18

 If this is siliconed in the

Fri, 2021-08-06 01:22

 If this is siliconed in the hull, does it not get hot without been submerged in water? 

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Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

You can also link a tablet

Thu, 2021-08-05 16:55

with your Elite Ti so you should be able to view that on the flybridge

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 07/03/19

(No subject)

Thu, 2021-08-05 18:11

Tim's picture

Posts: 2497

Date Joined: 26/09/06

Size

Thu, 2021-08-05 18:44

With a boat that size I would be going a fairing block mount.

You will get the best picture possible that way.

Its always about transducer placement to get the best reading

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 07/03/19

Hi,Forgive my ignorance but

Thu, 2021-08-05 20:50

Hi,

Forgive my ignorance but how does a flush mount or fairing mount make a difference with the reading. Is it because the fairing mount is wholly within the water?

Placement - what would be the best placement on a 27' fibreglass boat with a single leg? Or how would I find this info?

Thanks for your help as if I'm spending all this money I want to get it right.

Cheers

Rod

Posts: 116

Date Joined: 30/06/20

fishwrecked.com/forum/ss164-t

Thu, 2021-08-05 21:46

fishwrecked.com/forum/ss164-thruhull-transducer-sale

you might be interested in this which just popped up

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 More of a fisherman than a catcherman

Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

The 200/50 transducer is 600W

Fri, 2021-08-06 07:38

I originally siliconed mine in after reading about it in a forum, and I though that if the transducer stuffed up because of heat I have only lost $300.  In actual fact, as the hull sits in the water and is cooled by the water, the face of the transducer is cooled as well I guess, but anyway, it works.  It has been in place now for 10 years, and I hate to say it but works just about as good as the 1kw chirp.  I have them next to each other, about 100mm apart, and was concerned about interference, but there isn't any.  I guess because they operate on different frequencies, the 1 kw 85 to 135, the 600w at a fixed 200 or 50.  I have had a lot of problems in the past with transom mounts and this solves the issues.  Hope this helps.

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 07/03/19

Thanks for your help.

Fri, 2021-08-06 12:33

Since the Ti2 is only a 500w unit, I will need to upgrade so I'm looking at a Simrad evo3 in the 7" (lower price) for bottom helm connected to the SS175HW transducer and apparently this unit can be connected to the new Lowrance Elite 9 FS (similar price to evo7) to use in the flybridge.

Since the evo3 has 2 x transducer plugs I then want to plug in a downscan transducer and silicone on like you did, if it will work. Does the 200/50 transducer you siliconed on have downscan?

I would imagine the sidescan not to work as transducer sitting high on top of hull but maybe downscan might work.

Do you know if the evo3 will talk to the ti2?

Cheers

Rod

Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

I forgot,

Fri, 2021-08-06 07:49

I did try and silicone in my 3 in 1 chirp transom mount transducer that came with the Elite Ti and it did not work well at all.

Posts: 219

Date Joined: 08/03/09

I don't know if the 200/50

Fri, 2021-08-06 17:46

has downscan but I never use it anyway, I do know that the 3 in 1 transducer that came with the Elite Ti is a piece of s**t on my boat.  I have a piece of cutting board on the transom that this is mounted to, it looks like swiss cheese from all the positions I have tried to get it working well.  Lowrance have replaced it once, but there was little improvement.  I run my units as 2 standalone units so if one is stuffed the other works.  I use the Elite Ti as a GPS and sounder, the Simrad I use for engine readings and sounder, I backup my waypoints by card every so often, as the Elite Ti is used to mark the new spots, I just backup on a card and to the Simrad.

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 07/03/19

I agree

Fri, 2021-08-06 20:34

the Ti2 3in1 is crap on my boat as well. I will have to do more homework on connectivity between units. Cheers