Installing sonars myself

[DEM]

I am planning on ordering a Lund ProVee 1775 this fall. It will likely come sometime during the winter. I would ideally want to pick out all electronics and have the dealer install them, have the boat cover fashioner around all my electronics, rod holders etc BUT I would like to spend the winter studying up on sonar - GPS combinations and get one early spring. Would it be hard to install this stuff myself? I have put on transducers before. It is more the wiring that I worry about.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Installing sonars myself

You can do it Don! <br /><br /> There's not really much wiring to it... With most of the stuff on the market today it's just positive and negative, and thats it... <br /><br /> Gps antenna has it's own co-ax wire and just plugs into the unit, same with the transducer...<br /><br />In all honesty, aside from mounting the transducer, the hardest part will be choosing which one to buy...

 

[DJ]

Re: Installing sonars myself

Don,<br /><br />The installations are realatively easy. However, a word of caution. Gertting the transducer angle and depth correct can be a bit tricky. I recommend mounting a Starboard plate to your transom so that you can move the transducer without drilling more holes in the boat.<br /><br />They are offered through Cabelas and Bass Pro.

 

[peterbo3]

Re: Installing sonars myself

I'm with the above 100%. Some fine tuning of your transducer location may be needed but you can do that yourself after you see how your sounder works.( Without paying the dealer a fortune!) It is NOT brain surgery. <br />Regards,<br />Peter.

 

[DEM]

Re: Installing sonars myself

OK. Thanks, you guys.<br />I plan to get the mounting board and do it myself. I have put on a number of transducers over the years...ones that I knocked off in the rocks and sand and stuff. I think I can do that. I have lived through a transition in boat wiring. My first boat was a 14 foot aluminum shell that I literally strung wires on to get navigation lights. Taped them along the side. Succeeding boats had a gradually more "sophisticated" wiring systems but all pretty crude, eventually deteriorating into a rats nest of wires and me not knowing what did what. I am hoping this new boat will have a slick wiring / fuse system and don't want to mess it up.