Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

[wvmedic]

Ok I have a Lowrance X 125 sonar unit and my transducer broke, don?t ask Lol.

Any way I need a new one and I am undecided on which one to buy, the original transom mount or the shoot thru hull type. My boat is an 18? aluminum Starcraft SS, Lowrance offers both and the shoot thru is said to work on an aluminum hull. One of my deciding factors is the temp sensor, the shoot thru obviously has no temp sensor, I have a laser thermometer and it will reed surface temp which is what the transom mount dose correct? So how important is the temp sensor?

For the folks in the know what would be the best option and why?

Thanks Jeff

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

I vote for drill through hull. I love mine and the accuracy at all speeds is unbeatable.

 

[wvmedic]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

slasmith1 are you talking about a thru hull transducer or a shoot thru hull.

Jeff

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

through hull (need to drill a hole in the bottom of your boat).

 

[dingbat]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

I started with a transom mount. Never did get it to perform the way I wanted it to. Installed a tank mount shot thru and was happy with the performance but had to increase the sensitivity by about 20%.

I installed a thru hull when I installed my Furuno 585 two years ago. It doesn?t get much better than this.

I have temp on my thru hull. Had to use a seperate paddle wheel to get my speed indication.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Ok I have a Lowrance X 125 sonar unit and my transducer broke, don?t ask Lol.....%....For the folks in the know what would be the best option and why?

A properly installed through-hull won't leak. We have other holes in our boats (drain plug, livewell pumps, etc.) that don't have a problem.

Basically you will not likely be any where near anything to break off a through-hull transducer, it still reads temp, and unless precise speeds on water with moving current is important, a GPS is a great speedometer.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

I originally had transom mounts and they just got in the way and were subject to breakage when fishing timber and in other instances.

So I started to epoxy mine inside regardless of boat material and I had two, either epoxied in the hull forward, under the forward seat (bass boat) or mounted on the trolling motor housing, and the second one right in front of the transom at the most convenient spot.

Boat material makes no difference as we are talking about an acoustic sensor and actually alum transmits sound better than glass....on glass "shoot through" installations you need to insure that there is solid glass between the transducer and the water; no air spaces, foam, balsa filler or anything like that.

On the newer systems with the thermometer included in the sensor, some worry about errors in temp. On my current boat, (alum) I have checked it several times against the one on my trolling motor and they are within 2 or less degrees after the boat has stopped moving for a few minutes. To me temp errors don't exist.

I never installed a through hull so I can't comment. Personally, it would just be something else to get hit by debris or the trailer and causing a leak.

HTH

Mark

 

[dingbat]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Here is an Airmar 1 KW tilited element thru hull transducer mounted on my boat.

The transducer housing is machined from a 3.5" diameter solid block of brass. As you can see, the transducer is pretty much flush mounted in a location where the hull is almost 1.5" thick. If I where to hit something and knock it loose I'd have a heck of a lot more to worry about than a possible leaking transducer. Most likely be looking for the bottom of the boat.

BTW: this transdcur was designed for use on trailer boats. No problem with the transducer resting on a roller or a bunk.

 

[Seon]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

I installed a "shoot thru" hull that works great. I troll exclusively for Stripers where the transome mounted ducer almost always had "bubble" interference but not with the shoot thru ducer... also won't break from floating debris.

 

[wvmedic]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Seon, is you're boat aluminum or glass?

Also thanks to everyone for there replies.

Jeff.

 

[Seon]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Seon, is you're boat aluminum or glass?

Also thanks to everyone for there replies.

Jeff.

Glass

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

I glued a puck type to the inner hull of my tinnie and am totally satisfied with performance.

 

[bassdoghouse]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

How about this one? I am new to the forum and can not figure out how to post a "Help Me Thread", to post pics of my 2001 Procraft recarpet issues, or how to get it answered. I sincerely apologize for jumping in like this. Any advice?

 

[wvmedic]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

bassdoghouse go to the resto thread, you can click this link. http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22

Then at the top of the page to the left of the page numbers there is a tab that is labeled create new post. To post pictures follow this link 2nd. post down. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=285637

Jeff

 

[tkrfxr]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Ok I have a Lowrance X 125 sonar unit and my transducer broke, don?t ask Lol.

... So how important is the temp sensor?

For the folks in the know what would be the best option and why?

Thanks Jeff

I upgraded to a Lowrance LMS-525-c, which came with a Skimmer transom-type transducer/temp sensor...while looking to spot a good site on the hull, I rigged the transducer to shoot thru the hull by putting 1/2" water in the deepest part of the engine compartment...I was pleasantly surprised to find it matches depth readings from an existing through-hull Faria transducer...I did not even epoxy or bond it to the spot.

I get very accurate bilge water temperature readings....

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

......I get very accurate bilge water temperature readings....

LOL Proper bilge water temps are important!

 

[lrice01]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Well,

My boat is has an aluminum hull so it a transom mount for me. Works fine for my Lowrance.

Lee

 

[wvmedic]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

Thanks everyone, looks like I will just buy another transom mount.

Jeff

 

[izoomie]

Re: Sonar transducer which one transom or shoot thru hull?

wow, I like that. Is it universal or specific to a brand of fish finder, and what did it cost?

edit - I just looked it up, $700 for the tranducer, ouch! Maybe on my next boat.