n20michael

Hi Guys!

I am looking at depth sounders and noticed that you can order them with either the traditional "transom mount" or the style that "shoot thru" the hull, I really like the shoot thru style since it means one less hole/cable thru my transom, is there any noticeable difference in the two?, I won't use it if its not gonna be reliable or not work well, but, if you guys have used them before and had no problems, then thats the route I will go, and, as always, I welcome any/all input!

Thanks!
Michael

rjr

I have always used shoot thru the hull and found them to be reliable. Like any depth finder you have to be careful where you place them and the angle they are resting on the bottom. I have found that if you put the transducer in a plastic bag filled with water you can move it around on the bottom of your boat and get a pretty good idea where to glue it down. Also note that you CANNOT shoot thru the bottom if you have a cored hull. My current boat has a Lowrance finder, my others were all Uniden. I liked the Uniden better because the controls were better in that the Lowrance has fine print that you cannot read when turning it on or changing the alarm settings. The Uniden had a couple of dedicated buttons and no fine print. One interesting note is that if you have two of them as I did on a flybridge boat. They talk to each other if they are both on and do they lie!

4mulafastech

If you have a stepped hull a thru hull transducer must be installed forward any steps. Otherwise you will get interrupted readings when on plane. I have one in my 292 and it works great. A hole in the innerliner had to be cut so the transducer could be attached directly to the inside surface of the hull. Reads the depth without a glitch even at 70 mph.

n20michael

I am looking at putting it in my 96 Baja Outlaw, it has no steps, and I am not sure if the hull is "cored" or not?

I would prefer not to have to cut a hole and seal it back up, even in the first layer or so of the hull, if I have to do that? then I will probably just buy a GPS/Chartplotter with the transom transducer, the idea of the "shoot thru" set up was to avoid drilling holes, but, if I HAVE to drill holes, I would much rather drill a small hole in the upper part of the transom for a cable to pass through, then a hole in the actual hull, with my luck I would be left with a nice view of my trailer through the bottom of my boat!!!.

Elite, I have priced a unit that shoots thru from Eddie Marine, it comes as a complete kit, and I am sure you know what they are sold for, what do you have to compare?, Thanks to everyone for the input, although, I am still not sure which way to go????? Ha Ha

Michael