www.iFourWinns.com

Hello peoples. I know we have a wakeboard boat (Horizon 190) but we fish now and then for a value added activity. The Admiral, having a dry sense of humour in a wet environment, is inclined to opine that since we don’t necessarily catch many fish that maybe a fish finder would be a good investment as at least she would be able to see them.

Since that request I’ve had quite a problem getting a fish finder transducer to work. My local marine shop suggested that a shoot through the hull transducer would be the best choice rather than an exterior transom mount because the "stable V" hull might create too many bubbles for it to work. The shoot through the hull puck was mounted with epoxy near the bilge pump. The fish finder unit detects the transponder but we don’t get any input.

We figure the next step is to use an external transducer in a bucket of water to make sure the fish finder unit is working. If it is working then the next step would be to install a through hull transducer which would have to be mounted in a hole through the bottom of the hull (at a more than modest expense).

Before I go that far has anyone else installed a fish finder and where is the transponder located?

Thanks. The Liq.

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2007 Four Winns Horizon 190 Season Four
Frontiersman 18.5' freighter canoe with sail rig
No fuel problems if you just float. Bugger that, I'm burning fuel this season.

As for the Admiral... A happy wife is a happy life.

I fitted a fishfinder to both my 1999 225 (a Humminbird ) and to my 2004 245 (a Garmin ). Both were fitted with transom mount transducers and work well (occasionally the Garmin loses the bottom at high speed, but then I'd be way beyond any fish it detected at that speed anyhow). They work great at showing the bottom and how it's changing, I tend to use mine as more informative depth sounders than the dash mounted one.

The transducer on the 2004 boat is fitted as a mirror image to the location of the speedometer pitot tube on the starboard transom. This is about half way between the transom shield and where the "pods" start.The 1999 was the same, but on the opposite side as the speed sensor was on the starboard side. The location is on the vertical surface of V section, not by the "pods" either side. It is important that the base of the transducers are designed for high speeds ( to avoid turbulence) and are parallel to the hull keel , not angled either side to side or up and down. The Garmin instructions indicate how far below the hull the lower face should be (from memory it's flush on one side and protrudes the other).

Graham

+1 to Graham. I have an Eagle Cuda 250i, and I installed the transducer on the port side in the same position as the pitot on the starboard. Never had a problem at all - works really great, even at speed.

Like you I also looked at through-hull transducers, but most people thought they were less sensitive. I was sh1%^ing myself as I very carefully drilled the mounting holes in my beatiful new hull - the hardest part of it all.

Graham - in Manchester today - weather is awful!!

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

This weather is just like it was all last Summer! We just seem to have 2 seasons in the North West of the UK now;

Winter; windy, slightly cold, wet

Summer; windy, slightly warmer, wet.

Graham

I fit a Lowrance shoot through hull fish finder transducer into my Vista using the oil bath method, basically its a Tupperware water tight container with most of the bottom cut out leaving about 20mm around the edge this is then siliconed down to the hull, fill the container with oil, any oil will do (I used good grade cooking oil) the transducer is then fit to the inside of the lid to the required angle, the lid is fit to the container making sure the transducer is totally submerged in the oil and that's it!!

This method allows you to make adjustments to the transducer angle easily, no drilling is required and it's simple to remove if needed.

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Regards
Beyond the Blue

"If we improve with age I'm now excellent"


Ex 1998 238 Vista 5.0Gi SX DP
Lexus RX300