Best in dash depth finder

[BoatingCop]

I'm in need of a new dash mounted depth finder. It's the type that's round and about the size of a gauge. Can anyone reccomend a good one as far as accuracy and durability goes? Also, thru-hull transducer and transom mount? Thanks

 

[riptide09]

Re: Best in dash depth finder

I installed a Uniden in my boat last year. The appearance is fine and wiring it up was not an issue. There are 3 transducer options, transom, thru hull and in hull. I have this thing about not liking to drill or cut holes in my hull so I went with the in hull transducer. There have been times when I regretted that decision.

The gauge is very visible and readable in bright sun. It has a backlight so it is fine at night. It has a low depth alarm which was a must have for me. Set it for a specific depth and when you go shallower an alarm sounds. That has saved my prop many times as I do some river boating where the deepest places are 15' and most of the time it between 8' and 10'.

The transducer was easy to install. I sanded the rough areas off a location in my bilge and used some 3M glue like caulking to mount the transducer mounting bracket. I then added some mineral oil as instructed in the mounting bracket and screwed in the transducer.

90% plus of the time everything works as expected. When you get in rough water conditions and you are bumping around some you can have issues. What happens is the hull is not in constant contact with the water or you get air streams/bubbles running under the hull and the transducer loses its signal. When that happens the depth gauge will blink two zeros on the display. I have observed this a few times when I was in the mouth of the Merrimack River and the Atlantic Ocean and it was rough. I also experienced this on Sebago Lake in ME when conditions were rough. I have often thought if I had a transom mount I might not run into this problem.

Here is a URL to the product page.

http://www.uniden.com/products/productdetail.cfm?product=QT206W&filter=Depth

Here is a picture of my installation.

 

[BoatingCop]

Re: Best in dash depth finder

Thanks for the info. There are already holes in the transom where the PO had a transom mounded transducer, so I may go that route since I don't have to drill any more holes.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Best in dash depth finder

since I don't have to drill any more holes.

If you plan to attach the the transducer bracket directly to the transom, don't count on it. They're all different. Your best bet would be to mount the transducer to a piece of plastic (a piece of a plastic cutting board will work nicely), and use the current screw holes in the transom to mount the piece of plastic.