Conference wahoo::fishing

    Drill, Your better off mounting it right once and once only. 
    follow the instructions to the letter. Oh if you do get rid of
    the boat later, just remove the transducer and put the screws 
    back into transom.
    
    Rich

I have a portable flasher with suction cup transducer and have had no 
problems with the suction cup coming off.  In fact, I stuck it a couple 
months ago and it's still in place and has never fallen off.

The only things I did were; (1) made sure the bottom surface of the 
transducer was even with the bottom of the hull, and (2) made sure that the 
transducer was not lined up with a lift-strake (which causes turbulance).

Because my hull is aluminum, I do have problems with turbulance at higher 
speeds due to water and air flowing over the rivet heads.  I guess there's 
not too much I can do about that.  But otherwise, it seems to work OK up to 
about 1/2 - 2/3 throttle...then it starts giving false readings or can't 
even find the bottom.

Joe

    Oh yeah,
    
    I also bought a mount ( attaches to the portable WILLE ) that Eagle
    makes to counter rivet turbulance.  It puts the transducer down
    below the hull by a couple inches but "springs" up if it impacts
    an object.  This will increase the possibility of the suction cup
    coming loose.  I think I could drill the holes such that the transducer
    would be flush with the hull if I used the original mount in case
    I decide later to use it.  But, come to think of it, if I go flush,
    the transducer will be pointing to the side.  Does your boat have
    a flat bottom, Joe?
    
    Steve
                                 

    I have an aluminum V also, with a fairly flat transom.  I used
    Hummingbirds similar `kick-up' bracket, extended an inch or so below
    the bottow (due to rivet turbulence).  I used the template that
    came with the transducer to find the proper place to drill.  The
    screw slots on the mount gave me enough room either way so that I 
    eventually found the right hight and the right angle.  Now I hardly 
    ever loose my signal.  The only time I loose it is when I'm all
    alone, at full speed, when it's REAL choppy.  I'd drill it...
           
    Don Mac		(also see note 88.*)
         

To answer your question, yes, the bottom of my hull is quite flat.

My buddy Chris installed one of those kick-up mounts like Don described. 
Aside from putting up quite a rooster tail behind the boat at high speed, he 
also said that when he tightened it up enough to prevent water pressure from 
kicking it up, it was so tight that if he did hit something then the impact 
would probably destroy the transducer as well.

Another thought...my transducer is cylindrical in shape, so if I did mount 
it below the hull, water would not flow around it well and create 
turbulence.  I know that transducers are available that are "pointed oval" 
in shape and designed for below-the-hull mounting, but I really don't think 
it would solve my high-speed problem.  With all the rivets and the 4 
lift-strakes/keels I've got, I think that there's just too much going on 
under the hull to give me a good reading.  I'll just be satisfied with using 
it a slower speeds.

Joe

    Steve,
     You may want to give this a try. When I had my alum. Starcraft
    I never mounted the xducer. What I did is just put it in the bilge
    area facing down and dumped a small amount of water down there and
    it worked fine for most applications and speed.
    
    
    				Jim
    

>>     You may want to give this a try. When I had my alum. Starcraft
>>    I never mounted the xducer. What I did is just put it in the bilge
>>    area facing down and dumped a small amount of water down there and
>>    it worked fine for most applications and speed.
    

Jim,

I knew you could shoot thru the hull on a fiberglass boat, but I didn't
think the signals would pass thru metal.

Joe    

    Jim,
    
    It took me 20 minutes to pump my bilge out last night.  Now you
    want me to put the water back in!?
    
    Seriously, good idea.  I don't know if I can shoot through aluminum
    or not but it won't cost anything to find out.  I'll let you know.
    
    Steve

    When I had Ol' Stump Jumpa (alum jon) I shot thru the hull for a
    short period of time, and it only worked when I went REAL slow,
    I'd lose the signal at less than 1/2 throttle...  Worked fine after
    I mounted the transducer for real... what's a couple holes?
    
    don mac  

    
    One final question (I hope).  What do I use to seal the holes?
    
    Steve

    If you want to try to shoot thru the hull, mount your xducer in
    the bilge with clear silicone. The resiliance of the silicone will
    help dampen the vibrations of the metal hull.  Most of the dealers
    down here are using it in their installations.  If it doesn't work
    clean up is no big deal.. worth a shot before drilling ....
    
    Ron

    re.10  I use G.E. silicone		donmac

    i just bought a lcr 4000 can i use a 6volt or 12volt motorcycle
    battery or should i run it of the battery that i use for trolling?

    Ray, I'd run it off the trolling motor battry, keep it simple.
    DonMac

    	Only problem with this hook-up might be if you use a maximizer
    on the trolling motor.  This can blow the front ends in LCGs.  If
    so, use another battery or get an isolation filter device.

OK, I'm coming to the experts. I've recently purchased a Humminbird TCR ID-1 
Fishfinder. I've installed it on the transom as directed in the installation 
book and it work reasonability good.

My problem:

o At speeds above 25 MPH I loose the signal. Is it a simple adjustment with the 
location of the transducer (up or down) or is it something more serious.

o This unit has a kick-up transducer so if you hit something you won't destroy 
it. What happened was the mounting bracket that attaches to the transom 
cracked, subsequently the transducer falls from the housing. I know I'll need 
to replace the bracket, but why would this bracket crack.

I had a similar problem with my Hummingbird 4000.  It is mounted on the 
transom with the standard mounting hardware (i.e. no kickup plate) and about 
1/4" below the hull.  Since my hull is aluminum, I positioned it between 
the lift strakes to help minimize turbulence.  If I postioned the transducer 
parallel with the bottom, I found that I'd lose the bottom at higher speeds. 
 By angling the transducer forward about 10 degrees, it tracked the bottom 
pretty consistantly.

A friend of mine had the same problems with the kickup mounting hardware.  
It made no difference what angle he set the transducer at, it always lost 
the bottom.  After going back to the original mounting hardware and angling 
the puck forward, he was also able to track the bottom at high speeds.

Hope this helps.

-HoleShot Joe-

    I have an Impulse that also loses the bottom, right around 25 mph.
    The installation instructions state that the rear of the transducer
    should be lower than the front.
    	You mention angling the transducer forward about 10 degrees. By
    this, do you mean you have the front lower than the back ? Never
    tried that, should I ? My transducer is wedge shaped, and it's
    installed on a fiberglass hull. (with kickup bracket)
    
    
    			any info appreciated
    						Steve

    Hi Lee -- say hi to mom too!!
    I installed a TCR too this year. And also found the thing would get
    stupid at speeds as well.. Since this was the 2nd LCR, I looked at
    where the 1st was installed. My installation was inside the 'step' and
    the one that seemed to work well was right on the step.. Im not going
    to even try any graphcs... But its 'off center' to the edge of the
    first step.. (hope you got them on your alum. boat..)
    In feet -- away from the center line -- the one that worked was two
    feet, the one that didnt, 1.5... But I think the reason it cant find
    the bottom is that 'at speed', its out of the water.
    
    Jack

re: .18

By angling forward, I meant that the surface of the transducer is angled 
toward the bow.  You are correct in that the back end of the transducer 
would be lower than the front.

-HSJ-