I think I messed up. Transducer placement

[Ben Miller]

I bought a used 1548 war eagle with a hummingbird 200dx.  Then got the Humminbird® Helix™ 10 SI Sonar/GPS Combo.

So going off the same transducer drill holes, reading a lot, and following a template, I'm thinking it's low.  Parallel with the bottom off the hull.  What do yall  think? testing tomorrow and thanks for any replies....

[senile1]

You want to keep the transducer away from any strakes or anything on the bottom of the boat that will cause disturbance in the water, while positioning it where it will be in the flow of water when you are on plane.  Without seeing the rest of your transom all the way over to starboard I can't be sure of a better location, but I would be concerned that you are too close to the keel on the left and then you have your drain just to the right of your transducer.  Both of those may create disturbance.  

 

There are some on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge for transducer placement.  I found these instructions from SternMate to be very helpful.

 

http://www.sternmate.com/Where.html

[slonezp]

5 minutes ago, senile1 said:

You want to keep the transducer away from any strakes or anything on the bottom of the boat that will cause disturbance in the water, while positioning it where it will be in the flow of water when you are on plane.  Without seeing the rest of your transom all the way over to starboard I can't be sure of a better location, but I would be concerned that you are too close to the keel on the left and then you have your drain just to the right of your transducer.  Both of those will create disturbance.  

Not sure he will be able to notice the keel disturbance over the prop disturbance. I might have installed to the right of the drain.

[senile1]

14 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Not sure he will be able to notice the keel disturbance over the prop disturbance. I might have installed to the right of the drain.

I agree.  It would be right behind the prop.  I was thinking he needs to go further starboard but to pick a spot I would want to see the rest of his transom.  

[WRB]

Take the boat and test it. You had a transducer in the exact spot so know how that worked. If the TD is Flat to the bottom, use a flat board or level to check, that is the right height. If it's too deep it will cause a rooster tail at speed, but still work, too high the TD will be out of the water and not work very good.

You can move it and plug up the holes with screws, washers and nuts sealed with 3M 5200.

Tom

[iabass8]

Get a transducer mounting block and put that on the back so you can move the transducer around and not drilling a ton of holes in your boat in the process. SI transducers are trial and error. General rule of thumb is 13 in off center of the prop shaft and at the lowest point of the hull. I can't tell from the pic(I think that round piece is the drain) but I think that would put you to the right of the that. I have seen boats /w the humminbird SI transducer where you have it working just fine though. 

[Ben Miller]

Thanks guys for all responses and I'm still deciphering them.  I did try it out today, but we were down in the swap, hitting stumps, and I didn't ever get any faster than 2.5 mph.  It seemed fine at that speed except the depth was off a about 1'6".  More reading and investigating!  Thank you all!

[senile1]

I hope it works out for you, Ben.  If you do have to move it, the SternMate link I posted above is some of the best information I have found.  It is very precise and explains why old rules of thumb such as "15 inches" really don't apply any more with the different transoms that exist.  I don't think you can go wrong following their instructions.

[A-Jay]

On 1/21/2018 at 12:23 PM, senile1 said:

You want to keep the transducer away from any strakes or anything on the bottom of the boat that will cause disturbance in the water, while positioning it where it will be in the flow of water when you are on plane.  Without seeing the rest of your transom all the way over to starboard I can't be sure of a better location, but I would be concerned that you are too close to the keel on the left and then you have your drain just to the right of your transducer.  Both of those may create disturbance.  

 

There are some on this forum who have a great deal of knowledge for transducer placement.  I found these instructions from SternMate to be very helpful.

 

http://www.sternmate.com/Where.html

Thank You for sharing this link - it's most informative ~ 

A-Jay

[Ben Miller]

Update Everyone:  Monday I fished in a swamp here in SC.  Extremely shallow in a lot of areas and must have hit at least 15 stumps.  But at low speeds of 2.5 mph with the motor trimmed way up.  The transducer placement seems to be fine, just not much on the sonar at low depths.  Today, I took it to a small lake and it was shallow.  Again, the transducer seemed fine accept at this point "2nd trip out" I'm not even liking my electronics at all.  Only when I got to 6' or more did I start loving it because the fish alarm was blaring!  First time electronics user and shallow water fisherman with the intent to get to the deeper less pressured bass.  Lol, I've been thinking I may be sell it.  Gona give it another try.  Today was fun

[iabass8]

Turn your fish alarm off. It's not always fish that the sonar is picking up. 

[Ben Miller]

3 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

Turn your fish alarm off. It's not always fish that the sonar is picking up. 

WHAT!  and your probably right iabass8 but it was like hunting over one of those timed deer feeders.  Every time you hear a feeder go off "like my fish alarm" it get's excited because you never know what is going to happen.  Is the "Humminbird® Helix™ 10 SI Sonar/GPS Combo" a good unit?    I think it was the one of the first side imaging units and I bought it for $850 brand new

 

[iabass8]

Fish ID is a learning tool. There's nothing wrong with keeping it on for the time being but you will most likely turn it off at some point. It does show fish archs but it can and will show false returns like floating logs, debris, clumps of grass, balls of bait, etc.  Learning to just read the sonar is far more beneficial. You have a 10in screen. Use a split between 2d/downscan or have side/2d/down up on the screen at once. Being able to look at 2d and then downscan at the same time you'll know what you're looking at. 

 

No, the helix 10 wasn't one of the first SI units. There were others before Helix was even a thing. It's a good unit though. Before moving to Lowrance I had Helix units on my boat and I really liked their down imaging. If you aren't getting depth readings in shallow water you will need to do some settings adjustments of adjust your transducer for any obstructions. My electronics work down to around 6in of water and I'm frequently in 3ft or less. 

[Ben Miller]

2 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

Fish ID is a learning tool. There's nothing wrong with keeping it on for the time being but you will most likely turn it off at some point. It does show fish archs but it can and will show false returns like floating logs, debris, clumps of grass, balls of bait, etc.  Learning to just read the sonar is far more beneficial. You have a 10in screen. Use a split between 2d/downscan or have side/2d/down up on the screen at once. Being able to look at 2d and then downscan at the same time you'll know what you're looking at. 

 

No, the helix 10 wasn't one of the first SI units. There were others before Helix was even a thing. It's a good unit though. Before moving to Lowrance I had Helix units on my boat and I really liked their down imaging. If you aren't getting depth readings in shallow water you will need to do some settings adjustments of adjust your transducer for any obstructions. My electronics work down to around 6in of water and I'm frequently in 3ft or less. 

Appreciate it iabass8!  I clearly have no idea what I'm doing with electronics and hit the restore defaults 3 times today just trying to figure things out while having the manual in hand.  So many different setting and options.  If you have time, you mentioned turning the fish alert off.  Should I be clear or max mode?  or go just off the default settings?

[iabass8]

Most units today will work just fine with default settings. You can adjust your sensitivity if you are getting a lot of debris in the water. 

 

This guy gives a great in depth "how-to" of the helix 10

 

[Ratherbfishing]

If you stay at low speeds I'd just keep the transducer where it is.  You've already put holes in the boat, after all.  However, if you decide to amp up your boat speed, I'd move the transducer OUT at least 8 or 10 inches (between any strakes or ribs).  The level/angle seems fine.

 

You'll probably learn to hate the fish I.D.