Humminbird thru-hull transducer

[Wayne Ek]

I had this in Open Water but did not get much info. So I will try here. Has anyone put in a Humminbird thru-hull transducer. I don't mind drilling thru the hull but want to get some infor. from other people who have or have had this transducer install to see if it holds up that much better.

[Cecil]

Why do you need to drill a hole?

[olski]

You must mean you would have to drill holes if you were to mount it outside?

[Reid G]

I have an Humminbird SI transducer on the transom, next to the jackplate, and a "shoot thru the hull" transducer, tied into the same Humminbird SI unit (console). Through some sort of a "Y" connection on the ducer cables.

At higher speeds, the transom mounted SI ducer doesn't work really, so the unit automatically decides to receive info from the "thru hull" ducer. Ask your Humminbird dealer how it works. I'm not really sure how it automatically decides to receive signal from one ducer to the other. But it does work.

[olski]

In the past you had to have a switch box and go from ducer a to ducer b, but now with the Y cable that is pretty much what it does for a quarter of the price of the switch box. And yes when you loose signal "bottom" with the SI ducer it finds it with the skimmer. Think I pretty much said what you said but in more words.......................... Never mind.

[TonkaBass]

I am confused... I thought the SI ducer had to be outside, otherwise it wouldnt work... The other ducer would be just as any other through hull install.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Wayne is talking about the new through hull SI ducer.. Bird has a ducer that you actually mount in the hull of the boat now.. not mount on.. but IN..

mine works fine as is.. I have mine mounted to the jack plate and then have a high speed glassed into the hull for high speed readings.. I would be a little nervous about drilling that big a hole for the SI ducer for if it ever needs to be replaced.. But I am sure they did the testing before putting it on the market..

[Fisherman45]

Don't drill a hole in the Hull! You just need to mount it inside the hull it a fairly level spot then just epoxy it in if it is to be permanent or hold it some other way if you want it removable. The the Humminbird transducer will read depth and locate fish through the hull and depending on how you mount will take a lot less of a pounding then a normal transducer. I have the dual transducer also I believe it uses smart technology to determine which transducer is sending the strongest signal and uses that signal.

[TonkaBass]

That it awesome! I haven't headr of this new ducer! Let us know how it works if you go with it wayne!

[CAMAN]

Like Dietz said you do need to drill a hole in the hull for the SI 'ducer. If its the one I saw a picture of last year, it still has the transducer part (about the size of a cell phone) protruding from the hull, which I didn't like. Because if you happen to hit a floating log or whatever, I'd be afraid of it getting sheared off. I prefer the transom mount in this case because it gets hidden up and out of the way while on plane, protecting it from damage.

[Cecil]

Ummm, no thanks.

[grab the net]

Wayne you may have already been there, but if you go the YaH groups hummingbird site and look at the photo's posted there, you can see a through hull installation on a Ranger. it looks like it would be completely protected for the most part with no interference issues from motor. there is also a picture of a install on the area near the live well intakes, again completely out of the way but the cable runs the bottom of the hull and then up through a hole. I am currently gettign ready to mount my 1197 and am researching various mounting options for the transducer.

[Chode2235]

Bump.

Anyone installing the thru hull SI transducers? This looks like a much cleaner install than the transom mount.

[Larson15]

May look clean but I will not dare to drill a hole in my fiberglass for one of these. The external mount one serves its purpose well enough for me.

[CAMAN]

I will never do it either. Drive over a submerged log and hit it just right and that thing won't have a chance. I've seen a brass thru-hull water intake that had a much smaller profile than this thing get sheared of from a small dead-head. Water flows through a 1" hole real quick!

[PerchJerker]

It's a bit more complicated than just drilling a hole through the hull, you need a fairing block inside the hull that matches the angle of your boat hull, in order to get a good solid, waterproof mount.

You also need to make sure your boat trailer isn't going to interfere with the transducer. Usually these through hull transducers are used on big boats where a transom mount won't work very well ---- and on boats that tend to stay in the water instead of on a trailer.

[olski]

Wayne, it is a clean look and on most bassboats you can mount it out of the way or protected enough so you don't need to worry about much. i.e. on the step in your hull.

That being said I am not sure you really gain a whole lot by going with that set up, I know if I'm at a tournament or just out of town and need to swap out a bad ducer I want to pull 4 screws and not mess with the other.

Don't think I would do another one.

My .02

[Wayne Ek]

I went with the transom mount and it works just fine. I looked real hard at the thru-hull and when I purchase that next boat I will have a factory installed thru the hull put in.

[Chode2235]

It's a bit more complicated than just drilling a hole through the hull, you need a fairing block inside the hull that matches the angle of your boat hull, in order to get a good solid, waterproof mount.

You also need to make sure your boat trailer isn't going to interfere with the transducer. Usually these through hull transducers are used on big boats where a transom mount won't work very well ---- and on boats that tend to stay in the water instead of on a trailer.

I was looking to do it on my Ranger Reata. The nice thing about that boat is that there is a really nice step near the livewell intakes that is flat and just the right size for this thing. With the boat there aren't very many places to actually mount an external transducer in a decent and clean way.

I am going to call Ranger and get an answer from them on the topic. I'll try to remember to post what I hear from them regarding my reata.

[reddog]

Just one more hole. No different than the other 4 or 5 already in the hull. If it's waterproof, and easily maintained, I dont see the problem. If you knock this off at this location, youll have bigger problems than a 7/8" hole in the hull.

[delmuts]

Chode; Please post back with what you hear from Ranger! I'm going to be mounting a 798C si on my 680.

[Chode2235]

Delmuts,

I would call Ranger directly as each model is different. I am pretty sure that you will have enough room on your 6 series Ranger, but unfortunately on my Reata 1850 there is not enough space to mount the thru hull transducer on the step.

I talked to Brad @ Ranger and he recommended the standard Gimbal style for my boat.

But I have seen photos of a "Ranger Walleye" boat on the yahoo Side image group, and it seems to work there. I imagine they have a 6xx, so you may be in luck.

The HB transducer is 6 inches long, so take some good measurements off your step.

[delmuts]

I was looking at the pictures too. Maybe?? Will find/figure it out when i bring the boat home from storage this spring. Will look to see if there would be clearance, or enough gap between the lower unit and the boat to mount it in the more traditional place. Glad we put a furnace in the garage this winter. Now i can play with the boat and not freeze!! ( course this was done so we could have family gatherings out there,[ we have a small house and i married a gal with a large family!] BUT !!

[Chode2235]

I was looking at the pictures too. Maybe?? Will find/figure it out when i bring the boat home from storage this spring. Will look to see if there would be clearance, or enough gap between the lower unit and the boat to mount it in the more traditional place. Glad we put a furnace in the garage this winter. Now i can play with the boat and not freeze!! ( course this was done so we could have family gatherings out there,[ we have a small house and i married a gal with a large family!] BUT !!

I would call Ranger directly, I sent you Brad's phone number via PM.

[delmuts]

Thanks!