Sonar mounting.

Send me a message and let me know when’s a good time for you. Should take me about 30 minutes or so.


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Thanks again @Cheebers

 

That looks good.

 

Should be a good starting point by the looks of it… they take quite a bit of fine tuning (usually) to get real good high speed results!!!

 

Finally got the sonar mounted

 

Glad you got it on there solid,

 

The cutting board trick worked wonders thanks for the advice!

 

no worries!!!

 

This thread is great, going to take some info and play around with my ducers…

I’ll share what has worked for me and others i’ve shared it with.

for transducer mounting plates I use a the plastic trim 3/4” x4” from Home depot. Sand it down with a 180 grit till nice and smooth.

decide where you want it mounted on the hull. I run two long boards on either side of my motor enough room for 5 ducers/ side (i only have 1 atm)

sand down the area on the boat where the boards will be mounted.
TSP (paint prep) both the ducer board and the hull.

use a thick layer of J.B. Weld and secure the board to the hull. Move it around till the position is just right and tape in place until
It sets.

this has worked for me on my original aeroliner, my lund pro angler and my current warrior. It has never failed and i’ve never drilled a hole in my hull.

 

Out of curiosity, how did the adjustment work out with your transducer, Little Spoon? Are you getting depth readings at high speeds?

This is a really helpful thread for anyone mounting a new fish finder on their boat. I recently mounted a new Helix 9 and followed all of the instructions, but still no depth reading on plane. Does anyone here have experience or advice about mounting in accordance to the direction the prop is going. The instructions talk of mounting in the least amount of turbulent water as possible. So if your prop is spinning clockwise, the recommendation is to mount on the starboard side and vice-versa. My issue could be that the ducer is too high but I think I have room to come down, so I’ll try that.

For those with lots of experience, how would you rank these common issues? Which ones are the most important to be mindful of, and which ones can you typically “get away with”?
1. Mounting in-line with a strake.
2. Transducer being perfectly level horizontally and vertically.
3. Height in accordance to your hull. Is it imperative to be level with the bottom? Does anyone go below, even by a 1/4”?
4. Starboard vs Port side.
5. Being closer to the outer edge, or closer to center.

 

What transducer? Or what model is the Helix 9?

The SI or DI larger transducers are really tough to get reading at speed!

Usually no depth reading on plane is caused by the transducer being too high!

I have probably mounted 30 transducers in my time, the Mega SI for my Helix 12 has been the toughest to tweak so it reads at speed and not leaving a huge rooster tail. I finally gave up last year and mounted a 2D high speed transducer on the other side of the transom, used a Y adapter, so now the head unit gets it's 2D signal from the high speed and everything else for the Mega transducer.

 

1. Mounting in-line with a strake.
Do not do this, strakes cause air bubbles and will interfere with proper operation of the transducer!

2. Transducer being perfectly level horizontally and vertically.
Transducer should be level in both directions according to how your boat sits in the water, when setting up while on the trailer, it's important to tweak it as though it was in the water, the coin method is great to use and I've been using it for a very long time.


3. Height in accordance to your hull. Is it imperative to be level with the bottom? Does anyone go below, even by a 1/4”?
I've always gone slightly below the bottom of the hull, can't say I've ever measured it, too low and you get a rooster tail! I use a straight edge along the hull to determine how I'll position the transducer as far as just below the hull.

4. Starboard vs Port side.
Doesn't really matter, I run transducers on each side of the transom, I see no difference in performance. It's worth noting that it may be important to the angler depending on their fishing style......if you like vertical jigging under the transducer, what side works for you? For me in my tiller, if I choose to fish at the stern, it makes sense that a transducer (or one of them) is on the port side.

5. Being closer to the outer edge, or closer to center.
Kinda' really depends on what kind of transducer. Generally speaking, if you were to measure the distance from the keel to the edge of the hull and divide into thirds, most transducer would be mounted somewhere in the center third of the hull. Not s steadfast rule by all means.........but a good indication of where they would run best, make sure it's between the strakes or rows of rivets.

 

I’ve got the Helix 9 MSI+ CHIRP GPS G4N.

That’s really helpful info, thanks! I’ll do some tweaking with height first, if unsuccessful, I’ll take your advice on the second ducer.

 

That's exactly the transducer I gave up on! Word of advice, don't waste anymore time, install the 2D high speed with the Y adapter and call it a day. I tried for two years to get it running right. As I mentioned previously, probably mounted 30 transducers in my day, this one made me quit....LOL! My issue was probably compounded slightly due to the transom stand off my boat manufacturer installs on the transom so you never have to drill into the hull, this caused the transducer to run about 2" further away from the transom.........would probably be the same issue if someone was using one of the UHMW transducer mounting blocks.

The head unit will get the 2D signal from the high speed and everything else from the MSI transducer. Nothing to program in the head unit, nothing special to do. Install the 2D and run the cable to the Y adapter, the ends are clearly marked, remove the MSI plug from the collector plate and plug the into the other end of the Y, then install the other end into the collector plate and plug into your head unit, DONE! After I did this....I kicked myself in the ass as I should have done it MUCH sooner and not wasted all that time!

In the pics, you can see the MSI on the starboard side and the high speed on the port side.........I tend to fish under the 2D often, my Live Imaging Pole is mounted on the port side too, being a tiller boat it makes sense for me to have on the port side.

https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors....-y-helix-side-imaging-2d-sonar-splitter-cable


https://humminbird.johnsonoutdoors....xnt-9-20-t-transom-single-dualbeam-transducer

 

In most cases, yes. Though @craigm and @Patty both found mounting their ducers right behind a strake yielded the best results at high speeds. Counterintuitive and against all standard advice, though it shows you need to experiment to find the best results.

 

Interesting, I've never done it cause (according to all) it's not the place you want to install, yet alone start there only to have to relocate it later.

 

Me neither, mine are between strakes and work fine. Yet their ducers are dialled in at high speeds, and after many adjustments they found it best behind a strake. Definitely not the starting point though for initial placement.