Techie stuff - Transducer placement on a tunnel boat
May 2, 2021 13:31:50 #
Remember back a few months when FlyGuy and I got lost in the fog and had to follow a shrimper back to port? Well I had a brand new Garmin Striker +5cv awaiting installation at the time and a while later I got around to hooking it up. Fantastic unit that does everything, but the subject of a different post for some other day. The problem I have right now is that if I am underway, even at trolling speeds, I get intermittent or nonexistent readings. My boat is a 19' Bayseaker tunnel design. The whole concept of the tunnel is to direct the flow of water into a void and to lift the hull. I followed all the manufacturer's recommends as to where the transducer should be mounted, but obviously I'm dealing with special circumstances here. I'm wondering if any of you have had similar situations and what you learned. I can always contact the pros at Garmin and I'm not hamstrung operating with it the way it is now. I'm wondering if a "thru the hull" mounting might be the ticket?
May 2, 2021 13:52:00 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
Remember back a few months when FlyGuy and I got l... (show quote)
Sorry, Tony, I can't help you. I know nothing about technology.
May 2, 2021 14:08:23 #
Sounds like an electrical connection or pinched wire close next to another wire.
Have you ever had the computer unit apart? Water or condensation behind the view screen also cause the same problem. You can dry the unit out and be good to go.
Have you ever had the computer unit apart? Water or condensation behind the view screen also cause the same problem. You can dry the unit out and be good to go.
May 2, 2021 14:49:42 #
I just mounted a Striker 7 on my pontoon they recommend that it mount on the starboard side, but my ladder is there and the last unit I had did the same thing yours is doing. So this one is mounted on the port side nothing in the way to cause any turbulence works much better and mounted a little deeper. Make sure the connections on the unit are plugged in tight also.
May 2, 2021 15:12:36 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
Remember back a few months when FlyGuy and I got l... (show quote)
Hey Tony, it's my understanding that only standard 2-D sonar can be shot thru the (fiberglass only,not aluminum) hull. So if you have side scan and or down scan, it won't work thru the hull. I would call Garmin tech support and talk to them. I've heard good things about them. My Hook²9inch, on my aluminum boat loses the bottom most of the time at about 15mph. The bottom has rivets and strakes, and is not very smooth. The wierd thing is, some lakes are worse than others. I'm figuring maybe more suspended particulates like sand or algae. Good luck.
May 2, 2021 15:14:21 #
No, my connections are good. The reason they recommend that the transducer is mounted on starboard side is because the motor prop rotates clockways and the centrifugal force tends to create turbulence. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the unit or the connections, but that the tunnel virtually creates an area that is practically in the air with no water around it.
May 2, 2021 15:25:32 #
Fredfish wrote:
Hey Tony, it's my understanding that only standard... (show quote)
You might have something there, Fred. I do most of my running in shallow water, often less than 2' and I create my own propwash. Yeah, I'm going to chat with the Garmin techies tomorrow and see what they think. The unit does have a form of side-scan sonar if you have the right transducer installed (which I do) and that's a whole new world. Almost like having a camera looking down there.
May 2, 2021 15:27:06 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
No, my connections are good. The reason they recommend that the transducer is mounted on starboard side is because the motor prop rotates clockways and the centrifugal force tends to create turbulence. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with the unit or the connections, but that the tunnel virtually creates an area that is practically in the air with no water around it.
Tony, do you have it mounted on the bottom edge of the starboard sponson?
May 2, 2021 15:35:30 #
Fredfish wrote:
Tony, do you have it mounted on the bottom edge of the starboard sponson?
Yes, but.....lol The angle is fairly acute. The shape of the hull at the stern is almost like a "W" with the bottom of the "V"'s blocked a little.
May 2, 2021 15:52:08 #
May 2, 2021 16:15:38 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
This isn't my boat but hull is similar.
Wow, that's a complex bottom. I can see why you have a problem.
This may be out of left field, but ask tech if they have a "deeper " high speed transducer model. When I bought my trihull, years ago, I couldn't get my Eagle fishfinder to work above idle speed with the skimmer transducer it came with. My hull also trapped air and caused interference. Lowrance told me about a "Deep,High Speed " that I had never heard of. I put one on, and had a bottom reading @50mph. I'll go out and get a picture of it, just for an example.
May 2, 2021 16:22:09 #
Here you go, it hangs down about 1.5 inches below the bottom and is in clean water all the time.
It's worth asking about anyway. Good luck buddy.
It's worth asking about anyway. Good luck buddy.
May 2, 2021 18:18:01 #
That definitely looks like it would work. I'll be sure to ask them. thnx Fred
May 2, 2021 18:25:46 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
That definitely looks like it would work. I'll be sure to ask them. thnx Fred
You're welcome Tony, but remember that was years ago. That was a regular 2-D sonar also. But maybe Garmin has something like that for the modern 3 way machines. It's definitely worth looking into. Good luck, I hope you find something that will work.
May 3, 2021 12:27:45 #
Slyclops
Loc: Santa Rosa, CA
I mounted my Garmin transducer to the inside my 20' SeaRay Sevell. Works great! Just make sure there are no bubbles in your epoxy. Good Luck. Also, had to turn the sensitivity up a notch or two to get readings on real small bait fish.
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