hummingbird 898c si

[new_kid]

I am looking at buying a new hummingbird 898c si and i am wondering if anyone has any opinions about these i would like to go bigger than the 898 but the price is getting to steep for my pocket book also looking at where is the best place to buy one fror the best price

[new_kid]

Well I bought the 898c si and i have now. Thank you to PerchJerker and profishingsupply.com for the excelent help price and fast shipping i will remember you next time I am in the market for any electronics for my boat or anything else that you sell now all I need is to figure out a good place on my transom to mount it where it will not be blocked by the moter or be so low that it will get scratched up in shallow water

here is the back of my boat now so any ideas would be helpfull

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Not sure about where to mount it, but you might want to get one of those plastic boards to mount on the transom then mount the ducer to that.

[PerchJerker]

Thanks Wade! Glad to help and hope your 898c SI works out great for you.

For mounting the transducer, based on the photos you posted I would probably go as low on the hull as possible and as close to the center of the boat as possible. Looks like you will probably need to trim out your outboard a bit so the SI transducer can see past it. The poly mounting boards are nice in lots of situations, but if you need to see past your lower unit that extra 3/4" will make it that much more difficult.

Mounting low and in the center of the boat should help you get under the regualar sonar transducer too, so that's one less issue.

[new_kid]

the transducer does not have to be lower than the bottom of the boat does it?? I just worry about scratching it up if its too low I will also be removeing the other transducer from the back so that will not be in the way for the new si transducer

[delmuts]

"the transducer does not have to be lower than the bottom of the boat does it' NO it doesn't. First thing to do is to register your unit with HB. Then you can go on the forums!! There is the one forum where LOTS of questions get answered about where and how to mount the transducer with pictures.

One tip. Think about how much you normally have your motor trimmed. I seldom run mine lower than three( on my trim gauge) this leaves me enough gap between boat and motor so i have a clear shot to both sides even with a mounting board .

Keep asking questions and go the HB web before drilling any holes!

[TruthWalleyes]

The seam on the transducer should be level with the bottom of the boat, so yes, half of the transducer should be below the boat. This will allow it to work at higher speeds without much cavitation screwing it up. How often are you rubbing the bottom of your boat on the bottom?

[PerchJerker]

If you're using the HDSI transducer for conventional sonar too (and I assume you are, unless you have a Y cable and skimmer transducer for conventional sonar), then you need to have the face (ie. bottom surface) of the transducer slightly below the hull to get a signal when running on plane. You don't need 1/2 the transducer below the hull but you do need the face of the transducer below the hull. If cavitation off the hull is giving you problems reading at high speeds then you may need to drop the transducer down a bit ...... but before I dropped the transducer I would tilt down the back of it, that is usually a better fix for the problem.

The transducer will only work if it is in the water. Since most SI and DI use is at slow speeds, not on plane, you can get away with having the transducer mounted above the bottom of the hull. But if you do that you won't be able to get any reading from that transducer once you go on plane.

Hope that helps.

[reddog]

Mine is mounted like Truths, more or less, and it doesnt throw much of a rooster tail at speeds. You want the water to "wash" the face of the xducer, not scrub it.

Here is my xducer installation

Here is at wide open.

[TruthWalleyes]

WOW that is really good at WOT!! Really Good!