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View Full Version : Sounder setup in the Aquamaster 5.1m



marto78
01-03-2010, 06:58 PM
Just wondering how people have there transducer setup with this hull and do they get a good reading at speed? I've been playing around with mine for the last 12 months and can only get a faint bottom reading at speed, the sounder is a furuno 620. The next step I think is to drop it down 10 or 20cm and see if that works (just a bit worried about water pressure ripping it off). Any help from other owners would be appreciated.
Cheers Marto

peterbo3
01-03-2010, 08:11 PM
G'Day Marto,
Can you put some pics up showing transducer from side & rear, plus the hull in front of the transducer. Transducer location & fitting guidelines are pretty standard.
Having said that, do you get good bottom data at low speeds? If you do, that should eliminate a faulty transducer or 620 display unit.

marto78
02-03-2010, 06:13 AM
Hey Peter,
These are the best photos I have without going for a walk in the rain to get them;D
Hope these help some.
Marto

peterbo3
02-03-2010, 07:25 AM
Marto,
Your transducer looks to be in the right spot except for one thing. You are right in the middle of two strakes. And those strakes are fairly close together. At speed the water turbulence & aeration generated by those strakes is going to degrade your transducer signal. No ifs or buts.
You did not mention if you were getting a good pic at low speeds but I will take your non reply as an indication that all is good.
I have a plate boat which also has an issue with strake turbulence.
This was my solution.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m31/peterbo3/IMG_0449Medium.jpg
I mounted my transducer in front of the leg. Great bottom pics up to 24 knots with bottom trace & depth up to 30 knots.
I doubt if dropping your transducer right down will work as the aeration gets below the water surface.

marto78
02-03-2010, 05:04 PM
Hey Peter thats the first time I've seen a thru hull mounted externally like that. Great idea m8! The picture at low speeds is spot on until it gets up to about 20km/h then it starts to loose a bit of clarity. I can cruise at about 40km/h and still see a faint picture but its just not good enough to find new marks, mite have a go mounting it on the centre line bit worried about how close the motor will come when fully down but. I'll wait till this weather clears up then have a bit of a play around. Thanks for the input mate.
Marto

tunaticer
02-03-2010, 08:04 PM
I would push it down deeper, my Aquamaster suffers from the same pressings and I found that the bottom of the tranny needs to be below the level of the pressings by about 10mm to get a decent speed picture. Also looks like your tranny is sitting parralell to the hull, face it forward about 5 degrees so it gets no cavitation on the rear half of its surface.

The Canadians now produce a tinny where the floor of the tinny protrudes about 8 inches beyond the transom plate effectively podding the hull and giving a good location for externally mounted thru hull transducers. Won't be long before someone here copies the design for its benefits.

indy
06-03-2010, 08:36 PM
Mate i have the 585 furuno but the same transducer and i had all the dramas as well i ended up going deeper but in turn sent a bit of a rooster tail onto the cowling, but then i ended up buying a spray shield and now its all good can get a really good reading at a decent cruzing speed and have found alot of new ground this way. Just go deeper mate it will make all the difference.