Watts/RMS/Power Shooting thru hull question

DING! DING! DING! Round three (or is it 4)

As of now, I really dissapointed in my Garmin 240 that came with my boat, it plain doesn’t mark fish, or bait, it does a fine just finding bottom, but that’s about it, time for it to go. Trust me I’ve tried all the setting, it’s not a setting issue, and it was factory installed, so one can only assume it’s installed correctly, actually the only mode that somewhat seems to work it the mode that puts the little fish icons up, but I can’t go back to fishing that way, I’ve long ago turned off and “help” and prefer to just read the “raw” sonar. ALL in all I think this is more of a boat/shooting though hull problem than the 240 just being junk, it appear my 240 runs about 400 watts rms.

The question is right now I’m looking at either getting the Lowrance 337 or the 25c , I leaning towards the 337 since is is the cheaper route, but then I got wondering if the increased power of the 25c running 1000watts RMS would be better for a shoot though aplication versus the lesser of the 337, running only 500 watts RMS. I want to be able to see bait and fish again, I’d really prefer not to put holes in my brand new boat, and it seem a skimmer may not be a great choice anyways.

Anyone care to share some insight on the matter?

I’m getting very close, as it looks right now, I’m going to go with the 25c, shoot through dual freq, navionics.

Nick, I do not recommend having any transducers shoot thru the hull. First, you will lose performance and second, once the transducer breaks loose or gets a crack in the epoxy you are done and can not fix it.

Use a high speed transducer and mount it on the back of the boat. Garmin units are not the best at marking fish, but their GPS is second to none. Over the last year and a half I have been running the 900 series from Humminbird, these units mark fish very well and have a scroll speed that is so fast you almost get instant feedback similar to a flasher. I have been very impressed with the new Humminbird units

Its possible that there may be an air bubble or something in the epoxy that was used to affix the transducer to the hull, or it could just be in the wrong spot, because that should be enough power to read with a shoot through.

If your hull is aluminum, install the alumaducer. The epoxy is extremely important when mounting any thru-hull transducer. Vexilar makes an Epoxy that is conductive. There is zero signal loss with the alumaducer and customer feedback has been excellent.

Alumaducer

A.C.E epoxy

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There is zero signal loss

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Until the transducer starts cracking away from the hull. As soon as you get a hairline Crack in the epoxy you start losing performance. As you get more cracks, you lose more performance.

Forget glassing in your transducer if you want optimal performance from your graph

The A.C.E epoxy is conductive. Any type of cracking which has not yet been reported, will still transmit the signal. The epoxy will probably outlast the life of the transducer. Kevin Turner of River Pro boats has installed a few Alumaducers with excellent results.

I prefer transom mounting the ducer myself. Put on a transducer plate and be done with it.

Nick, why did you want dual frequency?

I used silicon on a shoot thru application. Lasted fine for 5+ years.

We’ll I have a glass boat, the transducer is factory installed by Ranger and the boat at this point only has 6 hours on it, so I really don’t think it’s a mounting issue, atleast at this point in it’s life. The biggest issue is I haven’t talked to anyone who was able to mount a skimmer that worked on my boat. I’m not sure how similar my reata (hull wise) is to other rangers. To be honest the boat is brand new, and at this point I hated to put some hole in it for the tranducer and have them be in the wrong place.

I’d like the dual frequency for the narrower beam which I think will be more accurate, The deepest water I’ll probably ever consistently fish is around the 80 fow range.

I suppose I could just go ahead and try both and see how it works, heck I think I can install a switch to switch between them. When I’m up on the pad, I just don’t think I’ll be able to get a reading on the bottom, granted it probably won’t be a big issue, because at 50+ I won’t be flying through shallower areas, ut I’d like it to work, maybe I’m just too worried about the skimmer and it will work perfect.

The issue with my 240 seems to be, it sees some stuff and most not be getting enough of a hit to make it show up on the screen, which baffels me, since I have every helper option turned off. Basically I have the flasher bar on the right side on the screen marking things and when it goes over the the graph portion the marks I seen aren’t there.

Nick, Boats that come from Ranger will have glassed in Transducers most of the time, unless you request otherwise. Guys that run glassed in ducers, usually have two or three others glassed in also. When one gets a hairline crack, you can’t read through air and you loose performance. It just happens. They continue to work, but lose performance.

My first few boats had the same thing. It took me a while to figure out the performance difference. I never recommend glassing them in anymore. Do they work..Yes Do they work better not glassed in..Yes.

Epoxy is conductive, so is silcon, so is water. When you put an air bubble in between, a crack or anything else, you lose performance.

With that said, your 240 will do a marginal job at best marking fish, even with a transducer on the back of your boat. I would look a little higher end unit and then put a transom mount transducer on the back of that Ranger

Put a mounting plate on the back and put a little silicon in the holes before you put the screws in, you will be good to go.

Nick, Since the ducer is already mounted inside the rig you just as well go that route. I was thining you had to mount it yourself.

So here’s the thing. If the ducer is already mounted in the boat, I’m guessing it’s a single frequency 200khz ducer. On the 25C, it’s the ducer that determines if you can run DF or SF. Also, you need to be aware that the Lowrance single frequency tranducer is the best overall transducer for fishing inland lakes. Forget about the narrow beam of the DF ducer. If you’re not fishing really deep waters ( a couple hundred feet or more) and you don’t need the DF ducer to track down rigger depth, then you should go with the single frequency setup. And, like I said above, that’s most likely what is already installed on the rig.

I will second what Wade said about Dual Frequency. For most anglers, including myself, you do not need the dual Frequency. I have used both and for the lakes I fish, which vary greatly, the 200 khz is more than adequate.

OK so what you saying is basically I have a universal transducer in my boat that will work with by my garmin and a lowrance

SO I could still use the glassed in one? I could then also just mount a wide beam skimmer for better preformance…

Sorry Nick, my mistake, I forgot you said you have a Garmin. So, the ducer in the boat is a Garmin ducer. Given that, I would again suggest you get a transom mount but you can go with the thru hull ducer if you prefer. A guy has his own reasons. It’ll work, and a lot of guys with glass boats do go that route.

I would go with the 200 khz ducer if it were me, but again, it’s your rig and your cash.

Scott I’d be interest to know where you have have your transducer mounted.

Alright thanks everyone for your input, I’ll probably just try the skimmer first and go from there. I think I have more than enough info to make the correct choice, I’ll let you guys know how I like it Thanks

If you’re nervous about where to mount a skimmer, buy one of Lowrance’s suction cup mounts ($10 or so) and then you can move it around until you find the best place to permanently mount it.

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If you’re nervous about where to mount a skimmer, buy one of Lowrance’s suction cup mounts ($10 or so) and then you can move it around until you find the best place to permanently mount it.

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Awesome idea thanks, I didn’t know they made them, I was think of trying to think of a way do something like this

Since I’m going to mount a transducer, I actually think I’m going to go with the 337 (for the $50 I go dual freq.) Not to mention really looking at it today, I’m going to have a heck of a time mounting anything bigger in my dash, and the ram mount space it limited.

Yeah, they work really well. It’s basically just a big suction cup that your ‘ducer mounts to. They hold pretty well, too. I’ve never had a problem with it falling off.

Nick

I have an 1850 Reata, 1 transducer glassed into the hull (done by Ranger) and 1 transducer mounted on my transom (done by my dealer). I have the transom mount connected to a 102c and use that sonar all the time. I have the in-hull one connected to a 332 with the sonar turned off (use it as a gps only, have it as a backup sonar). But from trying out the in-hull one on the 332 for a while it seems to work fine.

Let me know if you have any questions about the transom mount transducer. It works great.

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The A.C.E epoxy is conductive. Any type of cracking which has not yet been reported, will still transmit the signal. The epoxy will probably outlast the life of the transducer. Kevin Turner of River Pro boats has installed a few Alumaducers with excellent results.

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How does a conductive epoxy help with the signal? I am not trying to be a dink, I am truly curious. A transducer uses sound, not electricity, correct? I would think a clear hard epoxy would transmit waves better.

conductive:

adj : having the quality or power of conducting heat or electricity or sound; exhibiting conductivity

WalleyeDave, you wouldn’t happen to have a pic of where you transducer is mounted on the hull would you? I’d love to know where it was put exactly, though I know our boats are a tad different.

Thought I mentioned it in this thread I’m running a 190 reata.

Nick, I have all my transuducer mounted on the opposite side as my kicker, screw the mounting plate right into the glass, just predrill your holes.

On the 620’s you can also mount them under main motor, where the water discharge is, near the plug. Mounting them there gives you the best overall readings. I am not sure if the 1900 Reatta has that area or not.

Couple photos of my transom mount transducer for you Nick

Hope this helps.

WalleyeDave

Awesome, I’ll try the same area first, thank you so very much for taking the time and pic for me, awesome

Thanks

Nick, I would just watch to make sure the transducer won’t be in the way of the trailer bunks or the swim ladder. My transom mount transducer works great, very rarely looses the bottom even at 50 mph.