posted 02-08-2003 02:34 PM ET (US)         

Lowrance, Lowrance, Lowrance. Best little skimmer tranducer on the market.

posted 02-08-2003 03:55 PM ET (US)         

Yes, the close-up photo shows Jim's perfect installation. As you can see, the rounded "skimmer" bottom is perfect for a Vee hull boat. It kind of planes through the water, with no spray at all, and very compact (about 2" long), and mine read even at 60 mph. I think it's patented, as nobody else has anything that even comes close on small size, easy installation and clean running at high speed.

For a long time, I have thought that one of the most overlooked features when buying a sonar is the transducer design. Believe it or not, the main reason I buy Lowrance/Eagle is for this skimmer transducer!

posted 02-09-2003 01:22 PM ET (US)            

Mount it on either the port or starboard side, it won't make much, if any, difference. The Lowrance Skimmer does not have the "mini trim tab" effect that old fashioned transducers did.

posted 02-10-2003 01:05 AM ET (US)            

If you're fishing very shallow water (less than 70')Humminbird may have an advantage with their extra wide angle, multibeam transducers. Their transducer is flat bottom but some are pretty small.

posted 02-15-2003 10:45 PM ET (US)            

doobee posted 02-10-2003 01:05 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transom mount is the only way to go. I've had great success with Lowrance. They make the best color sounder available.
If you're fishing very shallow water (less than 70')Humminbird may have an advantage with their extra wide angle, multibeam transducers. Their transducer is flat bottom but some are pretty small.

whale on

captbone posted 11-25-2002 02:23 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would NEVER drill that big of a hole in any hull below the waterline! That is a big risk, plus the benefit is not really worth it. Transom mounted transducer work fine.
JBCornwell posted 11-25-2002 03:06 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreed. Thru-hull and Whaler are incompatible.
A correctly mounted transom transducer will do anything any thru-hull will do.

Red sky at night. . .
JB

dfmcintyre posted 11-25-2002 07:10 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..."Thru-hull and Whaler are incompatible".
If that's the case, then why did the factory have a section of wood molded in the hull to accomodate one? I'm talking specifically about early 80's, maybe later ones too.

It's located to the left of center, up forward. To access it, the cover that covers the forward bilge area (it's the one that is about 3-4"? deep) needs to be opened up (probably pretty dirty in there). From what I recall, the area I'm talking about is towards the (looking aft now) in the rear right corner of the bilge.

We mounted one there. Worked "ok". At speed it would have a tendency to lose effectiveness and made an odd noise, when the surface of the water was hitting at the right ange against the mounting block (oh, did I mention that you need to fabricate a mounting block for the correct angle? Make it out of epoxyed mahogany) Nice thing about it way up forward, was at dead idle, we'd spot things before it got challenging.

Don

Fishcop posted 11-26-2002 12:16 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eagleman,
I have a Furuno thru hull on my 25OR. Glassed in by the previous owner on the keel and no problems. On my 1977 19'OR, I had a Furuno "shoot-thru" and worked fine.
My other whalers had transom mounted transducers and they also worked fine.
Just my two cents.
Andy.
Sal DiMercurio posted 12-10-2002 05:39 PM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guys, theres a simple rule to follow.
Inboards "MUST" have either a through hull, or a shoot through, keep in mind, you wont get a speed reading with either of the above, & speed can be very crucial while trolling for tuna or stripers..
Outboards use transom mounted transducers.
Transducers do not do well when mounted up front, as air breaks the reading while traveling at speed.
The water at the transom of an inboard is full of air, thus a transom mount will not work correctly.
My new Furuno LS6100 with transom mount reads the same [ perfect ] at 2 mph or 60 mph.
It is very crucial to mount a transom mounted transducer, at least 1/4" below the bottom of the boat, or you will loose bottom as soon as you get on plane.
Sal
Guts posted 12-13-2002 09:21 PM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go on do it! I did! and I also have a transum mount,also. The thru hull WILL WORK BETTER! now with that said. the b.s. about cutting holes in the hull, it's not all that hard to do. In fact furuno (or airmar)sends the how to do cored hulls with there ducers.
why do I have two ducers? I think some of you know me. I have a (montauk17)and I fish bottom. some thimes 200 fm. useing a 582L/
& 1850DF..(fruno)... I added the 1850DF after the 582L with the(F) modle I wanted to try the diffrence so I added the transun ducer. to the chart plotter. now I can use eather ducer on eather machine/and I have changed the ducers on thr 582L and THE thru hull WILL give a better picture! hands down.
now they say that you can not use two machines at the same time? I have used them at the same time and with NO feed back to the machine(582L) I do know what the feed back looks like as I have seen it from other boats crusing by, it is very destinc(S/P)on the screen.(curved waves on screen) in closing I think it depends on what are you or what type of fishing?
I'm VERY HAPPY with my thru hull. The only way to go, for me. as far as the traler I use a shorlander,not a problem. I have sent Jim H some pics. but I think he dose not like the idea of a thru hull in a BW or at least a small BWer

Guts
doobee posted 12-19-2002 08:56 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
there is NO advantage to a thru hull transducer on an outboard powered boat. you wan't to mount your transducer as deep as possible, where you have a clean flow of water. on an outboard boat that location is on the transom. with twin engines mount it dead center at the bottom. with a single engine, mount it to the left of the engine to help counter the torque from the prop. pick a spot on the transom between your trailer bunk and the outboard. if you need to, its easier to make adjustments with a transom mount transducer.
with a thru hull tansducer you will have a large fairing block hanging below the hull which may cause adverse performance such as porpoising. improper installtion can have adverse effects on the sounder's performance as well and if you don't get it right the first time, it's very hard to make adjustments.

an in hull transducer will not work unless you remove all the foam down to the outer layer of glass (easier said than done. you can not have any bubbles between the transducer and the water. if there are bubbles trapped in the outer layer of fiberglass laminate the in hull transducer will not work properly

Guts posted 12-20-2002 08:49 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

doobe I desagree with you. now in a montauk and only a montauk, that I am talking about.
I have both a thru & transum mount ducers. when the transu mont is put in place of the thru hull in stoped water (so that I can say no water disturbance)(useing a Furuno 582L in over 600feet of water)the picture IS Better with a thru hull. do you have a thru hull in a montauk? with at least a 600watt(rms) machine?

what I have been trying to say, is that more than two people this year have asked about thru hull ducers. now I have done this and think I am able to say that I know what I'm talking about. but I can not spell worth a darn! as you can see.
if done wright there is no need for adjustments.
respecfully
Guts
doobee posted 12-24-2002 12:53 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

guts,a transducer is just a ceramic element encased in lexan regardless of whether it is a transom mount, or thru hull. all other factors being equal, there should be no difference in performance while the boat is at rest. Transducers are designed to operate at specific frequencies and beam angles. if your transom transducer has a wider beam angle or a different frequency than your thru hull, that could account for the difference in performance. the difference in performance could also be due to some manufacturing defect, corrosion in the plug, a knick in the wire, scratched transducer, etc. if i remember correctly, your fish finder is a dual frequency model. are you using a dual freqency transducer in both cases? Does the transom mount performance change if you change frequency on the fish finder?
Guts posted 12-26-2002 11:07 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
doobee, maybe a cams br7 is a high performace ducer? I was not aware of that. but what I am saying the defination(s/p)IS better!!! with the turu hull, and will I will take some (dig.) pics. the next time I fish deep water(I have some of 180fm)I have fished deep water (commercialy) for a liveing ( for some 10 years)and I know what I'm looking at.
I would compair your facts as someone that is looking at specifications rather than useing this product. and I have done the test on the ducers. on 50kHz/ zoom...
so say what you want! I saying to you haven't done what I have done.

there are no nicks in the wires or any thing wrong with the wireing,I do all the work on my boat myself. so I know that there is done right.
with respect,
Guts

doobee posted 12-29-2002 09:00 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
all i'm saying is that there has to be something about your transom mount that causes it to behave differently.
i remember an electronics dealer that advertised that they custom tuned each fishfinder to match the transducer. i don't know if there's any merit to it, but perhaps that is where the difference lies.

otherwise i'd say your transom mount is either defective, or it's the wrong frequency.

bigz posted 06-10-2001 03:51 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there WF45, please don't take offence but this site is not Consumer Reports --
Fishfinders actually have little to do with the care and feeding of Boston Whalers, plus this is the PERFORMANCE topic section which has nothing to do what so ever with FISHFINDERS.

That said, here pull up this thread from the General Topic area -- lots of post and opinions enjoy --

jimh posted 06-10-2001 04:45 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think we are pretty far afield with this topic. Performance should be in regard to the hull/engine/prop/trailer and the combination of them.
--jimh

jimh posted 06-19-2001 09:26 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a subject for discussion in "Performance" I think trailers are more germane than fishfinders. According to a poll we took, about 90% of Whalers are trailer-sailed. Virtually every Whaler has a trailer.
There are several aspects of the Whaler hull that require specific trailer designs. It is important to have the proper trailer.

A well set-up trailer that easily transports, launches, recovers, and stores you Whaler is essential to proper "performance."

Trailers are adaptable for modification, improvement, re-fitting, and repair.

Let's look at the question, "What is the best fishfinders [sic] on the market?"

This is a very broad question. There are no criterea for judgement. Are we discussing best price, best performance? What depth of water? Salt or Fresh? Fishfinders don't enhance the performance of the boat, that is they don't make it run faster, use less fuel, become easier to operate, etc.

People visit the forum because, in most cases, it provides a high ratio of on-topic content to off-topic clutter. The fundamental goal of the website has been to collect and distribute high information-content, on-topic material on the various subjects.

As for bigz, he is a very valuable contributor and I think his comments are on target here.

Kim posted 04-06-2001 06:16 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fuel filter? but a water seperator(s/p) the Suzuki is a electronic fuel injection . water in the fuel may pass in carbs. but it will burn the injectors(s/p) a good thing a filter/water sepperator. sorry guys can't spell today .or any other LOL.......
kim.

Author Topic: Tranducers for Montauk-Thru-hull or transom?
kentupps posted 02-08-2003 08:03 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I,ve been really up in the air on wheather to go with a thru-hull or transom mounted transducer for a fishfinder. I would think it would be a sin to chop a hole in my Montauk. Does anyone have any experience with this in their own boat? Transom or thru hull experience? Guts posted 02-09-2003 09:24 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
is this a trick question? go on cut a hole in the boat!
Guts

doobee posted 02-10-2003 01:05 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transom mount is the only way to go. I've had great success with Lowrance. They make the best color sounder available.
If you're fishing very shallow water (less than 70')Humminbird may have an advantage with their extra wide angle, multibeam transducers. Their transducer is flat bottom but some are pretty small.

whale on

captbone posted 11-25-2002 02:23 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would NEVER drill that big of a hole in any hull below the waterline! That is a big risk, plus the benefit is not really worth it. Transom mounted transducer work fine.
JBCornwell posted 11-25-2002 03:06 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreed. Thru-hull and Whaler are incompatible.
A correctly mounted transom transducer will do anything any thru-hull will do.

Red sky at night. . .
JB

dfmcintyre posted 11-25-2002 07:10 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..."Thru-hull and Whaler are incompatible".
If that's the case, then why did the factory have a section of wood molded in the hull to accomodate one? I'm talking specifically about early 80's, maybe later ones too.

It's located to the left of center, up forward. To access it, the cover that covers the forward bilge area (it's the one that is about 3-4"? deep) needs to be opened up (probably pretty dirty in there). From what I recall, the area I'm talking about is towards the (looking aft now) in the rear right corner of the bilge.

We mounted one there. Worked "ok". At speed it would have a tendency to lose effectiveness and made an odd noise, when the surface of the water was hitting at the right ange against the mounting block (oh, did I mention that you need to fabricate a mounting block for the correct angle? Make it out of epoxyed mahogany) Nice thing about it way up forward, was at dead idle, we'd spot things before it got challenging.

Don

Fishcop posted 11-26-2002 12:16 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eagleman,
I have a Furuno thru hull on my 25OR. Glassed in by the previous owner on the keel and no problems. On my 1977 19'OR, I had a Furuno "shoot-thru" and worked fine.
My other whalers had transom mounted transducers and they also worked fine.
Just my two cents.
Andy.
Sal DiMercurio posted 12-10-2002 05:39 PM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guys, theres a simple rule to follow.
Inboards "MUST" have either a through hull, or a shoot through, keep in mind, you wont get a speed reading with either of the above, & speed can be very crucial while trolling for tuna or stripers..
Outboards use transom mounted transducers.
Transducers do not do well when mounted up front, as air breaks the reading while traveling at speed.
The water at the transom of an inboard is full of air, thus a transom mount will not work correctly.
My new Furuno LS6100 with transom mount reads the same [ perfect ] at 2 mph or 60 mph.
It is very crucial to mount a transom mounted transducer, at least 1/4" below the bottom of the boat, or you will loose bottom as soon as you get on plane.
Sal
Guts posted 12-13-2002 09:21 PM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go on do it! I did! and I also have a transum mount,also. The thru hull WILL WORK BETTER! now with that said. the b.s. about cutting holes in the hull, it's not all that hard to do. In fact furuno (or airmar)sends the how to do cored hulls with there ducers.
why do I have two ducers? I think some of you know me. I have a (montauk17)and I fish bottom. some thimes 200 fm. useing a 582L/
& 1850DF..(fruno)... I added the 1850DF after the 582L with the(F) modle I wanted to try the diffrence so I added the transun ducer. to the chart plotter. now I can use eather ducer on eather machine/and I have changed the ducers on thr 582L and THE thru hull WILL give a better picture! hands down.
now they say that you can not use two machines at the same time? I have used them at the same time and with NO feed back to the machine(582L) I do know what the feed back looks like as I have seen it from other boats crusing by, it is very destinc(S/P)on the screen.(curved waves on screen) in closing I think it depends on what are you or what type of fishing?
I'm VERY HAPPY with my thru hull. The only way to go, for me. as far as the traler I use a shorlander,not a problem. I have sent Jim H some pics. but I think he dose not like the idea of a thru hull in a BW or at least a small BWer

Guts
doobee posted 12-19-2002 08:56 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
there is NO advantage to a thru hull transducer on an outboard powered boat. you wan't to mount your transducer as deep as possible, where you have a clean flow of water. on an outboard boat that location is on the transom. with twin engines mount it dead center at the bottom. with a single engine, mount it to the left of the engine to help counter the torque from the prop. pick a spot on the transom between your trailer bunk and the outboard. if you need to, its easier to make adjustments with a transom mount transducer.
with a thru hull tansducer you will have a large fairing block hanging below the hull which may cause adverse performance such as porpoising. improper installtion can have adverse effects on the sounder's performance as well and if you don't get it right the first time, it's very hard to make adjustments.

an in hull transducer will not work unless you remove all the foam down to the outer layer of glass (easier said than done. you can not have any bubbles between the transducer and the water. if there are bubbles trapped in the outer layer of fiberglass laminate the in hull transducer will not work properly

Guts posted 12-20-2002 08:49 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

doobe I desagree with you. now in a montauk and only a montauk, that I am talking about.
I have both a thru & transum mount ducers. when the transu mont is put in place of the thru hull in stoped water (so that I can say no water disturbance)(useing a Furuno 582L in over 600feet of water)the picture IS Better with a thru hull. do you have a thru hull in a montauk? with at least a 600watt(rms) machine?

what I have been trying to say, is that more than two people this year have asked about thru hull ducers. now I have done this and think I am able to say that I know what I'm talking about. but I can not spell worth a darn! as you can see.
if done wright there is no need for adjustments.
respecfully
Guts
doobee posted 12-24-2002 12:53 AM ET (US)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

guts,a transducer is just a ceramic element encased in lexan regardless of whether it is a transom mount, or thru hull. all other factors being equal, there should be no difference in performance while the boat is at rest. Transducers are designed to operate at specific frequencies and beam angles. if your transom transducer has a wider beam angle or a different frequency than your thru hull, that could account for the difference in performance. the difference in performance could also be due to some manufacturing defect, corrosion in the plug, a knick in the wire, scratched transducer, etc. if i remember correctly, your fish finder is a dual frequency model. are you using a dual freqency transducer in both cases? Does the transom mount performance change if you change frequency on the fish finder?
Guts posted 12-26-2002 11:07 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
doobee, maybe a cams br7 is a high performace ducer? I was not aware of that. but what I am saying the defination(s/p)IS better!!! with the turu hull, and will I will take some (dig.) pics. the next time I fish deep water(I have some of 180fm)I have fished deep water (commercialy) for a liveing ( for some 10 years)and I know what I'm looking at.
I would compair your facts as someone that is looking at specifications rather than useing this product. and I have done the test on the ducers. on 50kHz/ zoom...
so say what you want! I saying to you haven't done what I have done.

there are no nicks in the wires or any thing wrong with the wireing,I do all the work on my boat myself. so I know that there is done right.
with respect,
Guts

doobee posted 12-29-2002 09:00 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
all i'm saying is that there has to be something about your transom mount that causes it to behave differently.
i remember an electronics dealer that advertised that they custom tuned each fishfinder to match the transducer. i don't know if there's any merit to it, but perhaps that is where the difference lies.

otherwise i'd say your transom mount is either defective, or it's the wrong frequency.

bigz posted 06-10-2001 03:51 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there WF45, please don't take offence but this site is not Consumer Reports --
Fishfinders actually have little to do with the care and feeding of Boston Whalers, plus this is the PERFORMANCE topic section which has nothing to do what so ever with FISHFINDERS.

That said, here pull up this thread from the General Topic area -- lots of post and opinions enjoy --

jimh posted 06-10-2001 04:45 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think we are pretty far afield with this topic. Performance should be in regard to the hull/engine/prop/trailer and the combination of them.
--jimh

jimh posted 06-19-2001 09:26 AM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a subject for discussion in "Performance" I think trailers are more germane than fishfinders. According to a poll we took, about 90% of Whalers are trailer-sailed. Virtually every Whaler has a trailer.
There are several aspects of the Whaler hull that require specific trailer designs. It is important to have the proper trailer.

A well set-up trailer that easily transports, launches, recovers, and stores you Whaler is essential to proper "performance."

Trailers are adaptable for modification, improvement, re-fitting, and repair.

Let's look at the question, "What is the best fishfinders [sic] on the market?"

This is a very broad question. There are no criterea for judgement. Are we discussing best price, best performance? What depth of water? Salt or Fresh? Fishfinders don't enhance the performance of the boat, that is they don't make it run faster, use less fuel, become easier to operate, etc.

People visit the forum because, in most cases, it provides a high ratio of on-topic content to off-topic clutter. The fundamental goal of the website has been to collect and distribute high information-content, on-topic material on the various subjects.

As for bigz, he is a very valuable contributor and I think his comments are on target here.

Kim posted 04-06-2001 06:16 PM ET (US)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fuel filter? but a water seperator(s/p) the Suzuki is a electronic fuel injection . water in the fuel may pass in carbs. but it will burn the injectors(s/p) a good thing a filter/water sepperator. sorry guys can't spell today .or any other LOL.......
kim.

posted 02-16-2003 08:08 PM ET (US)            

We appear to be under the assault of a one-man campagn to rewrite the conventional wisdom on where and how to mount a transducer.

posted 02-16-2003 10:19 PM ET (US)            

these are not true! now(a transducer is just a ceramic element encased in lexan regardless of whether it is a transom mount, or thru hull. all other factors being equal, there should be no difference in performance)they are not equal this what i an talking about. there are many factors to look at, such as the element. at the boat show i asked the furuno rep Lenard about this. after i told which tranducers i have, acamsBR7 and a 520-5pwd 50&200KHz dual. his reply was there is no way!you could get the same reading. the thru hull will be better. he also told that airmar has a tramsum mount that will work as good but it was a tube typ thing that mounted to the transum that is lowered when in use. and raised when on the way. he told me that Steve at airmar(ithink that was the name he used) is working on a new transum mount transducer that work as well as a thru hull.
now some of the things he said that efected the transum mount or should i say why the thru hull is better. one the element was bigger(but not high performace) in the camsBR7. two that a smooth surface is better than a sanded surface. three being in cased in bronz was better, now this where that the diffrence is the sending is not that much diffrent but the reciveing of the single is what makes the diffrence.
so here is what i am trying to prove. first i have a thru hull in my montauk17 and also have a transum mount. who in this group can say they have this? or have drilled the hole and glassed it up to drill the hole for the thru hull transducer?
i think every one should have a say in what they think but! not to go as far as telling some of the new people asking about a thru hull transducer.things like;(Thru-hull and Whaler are incompatible) is just NOT true!! there may be some one like me(lets hope not LOL)that wants to have a machine/sounder that will read in deep water. that is why i went with the best sounder that i could find at the time for a small boat. not one of those bath tub machines. boy that's going to tic some one off i'm sure sorry in advance.
in closeing i want to say that this forum has some GREAT people and information that can not be found any where else.with all respect for you jimh and others. but please do not be so closed minded about things, you know thur hull'
Guts/Kim
PS. i guess it was the moon i sterted going back looking for gas tank info. but got cought up in some thing that was bugging me.

posted 02-24-2003 09:12 AM ET (US)            

Lack of an edit function should not hold you back. I don't want my limitations at running this forum to affect your technical writing. Therefore I will make you this offer:

Please send me an article (with illustrations and photographs if possible) that describes your transducer installation technique and documents all the advantages it offers.

Be sure to use your best editing skills. If you send me an article that contains no misspelled words and no gramatical errors, I will post it in the Reference Section.

Send me an article filled with malapropisms, misspelled words, and undocumented results, and I will not publish it.