The right Transducer

[airlock]

Thanks for all the help on my precious post regarding transom location for transduce.
The conclusion reached is that a transom mounted transducer is never going to work all that well on a smaller twin hull for reading at speed.
As a result it looks like through hull is the best way to go.
How do I go about choosing the right unit for my hull?
google has me a bit spun out with the sheer variety of through hull transducers available with each offering a different angle, frequency and material.
being an aluminium boat I will be avoiding brass and I’ll be looking at transducer comparable with my Lowrance head unit.
what aspects of the hull am I going to need to look at to make sure I get the best fit?
It’s a trailer boat with relatively narrow hull.

[Moonlighter]

Exactly what model Lowrance unit have you got? Some have more capabilities than others. So that’s question 1.

Question 2 is - 3 part question - what depths do you mostly fish 90% of the time, what species do you target, and what is the max depth and how often do you go that depth?

With a thru hull transducer, most likely you will be looking at something from Airmar, or a Navico branded Airmar. You are going to have to cut a hole thru the hull anywhere up to around 60 mm diameter, so you need to figure out where is a good spot somewhere within about 400mm of the transom end of the hull. And on the inside you will need another 25mm diameter to fit the nut to hold it in place and to have some clearance. More powerful transducers will probably need bigger holes.

Those thru hull transducers typically come in 3 versions suited to the amount of V in the hull where they are going to be placed. The 0 degree model is for boats with a keel flat. The 12 degree is for hulls with 8-15 degrees of V, and the 20 degree is for 16-24 degrees of V.

Link below is to the entry level traditional (non-CHIRP) transducer - a B60/SS60 - its equivalent to a P66 transom transducer. Comes in a SS housing to suit alloy hulls.

Have a read of the brochure as it gives you an idea of install requirements and the capabilities of this particular model. First job is probably to figure out if you have a suitable spot to cut the hole and mount it.

http://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/ss60.pdf

[airlock]

Thanks, that’s helping to clear it all up.
I’m using a hook 2 Lowrance unit, Lowrance do a plastic total scan through hull that offers the same features as my current transom mounted triple shot.
The Lowrance offering has little information compared to the Airmar so I’ll have to dig a little deeper to get a comparison.
I’ll work out the angle of the hull and go from there.
Mostly my fishing depth ranges from 15-65 meters.

[Moonlighter]

Ok, the Hook 2 is the base level offering from Lowrance these days.

On their website there are only 3 choices for transducers.

I do not know if Hook2 has the capabilities to support the Airmar or the lowrance XSonic range of transducers - sometimes the sacrifice on these base models is a limitation on features such as support for a wider range of transducers.

I assume that they probably have a sonar installation page in the menu where the transducer is selected in the menu. Check your manual to find this menu, and find the sonar selection menu - most of the higher range models have a dropdown menu with a long list of transducers that can be selected.

This will tell you if there is indeed a range of other transducers that can be connected to your unit, or not. Or you could call Lowrance on 1300-NAVICO and ask.

[airlock]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction moonlighter.
after contacting Airmar and Lowrance I’ve been told that while I could run an Airmar transucer with the hook 2 via an adapter, it’s not really up to the job.
Ive found the appropriate transducer for the hull and will upgrade the sounder to suit.

[Moonlighter]

Yep, that is a better option.

[catshark]

what cat is that, older sailfish design or broadbill..sounds like you had a win with the transducer

[airlock]

what cat is that, older sailfish design or broadbill..sounds like you had a win with the transducer

Its an older cairns custom craft, 5.2.
i was set on a slightly larger marlin broadbill that ended up selling , stumbled across this and it fit the bill more broadly.