Degree of Tilt for Thru-Hull transducer?

[hobiekanobie]

Moose, you are absolutely correct. The latest trend now is to install 2 ducers each with a separate GSD26. The last 4 or 5 refits and installations i have done, the most common package is the B275LHW (low, High - Wide) and a R409LWM (Low-Wide, Medium) so now, you have all 3 level chirp frequencies L,M,H and you have a Low wide angle and a high wide angle. Now, this is a lot but keep in mind this is a bigger sport fish, the last boat we refitted, we installed 3x 8622 on the main dash, 2x 7612 on a drop down box from the hard top, 1 8617 in the cockpit and a 8608 in the tower. So this captain has 5 displays on the bridge....
his typical setup was to run the R409 with LW chirp on one display with bottom zoom, and the B275 with HW chirp on the next display with zoom locked at 300ft. The other 8622 was radar and the 2 overhead displays was chart and engine room cameras. So with his setup he is able to run dual frequencies and see what’s happening on the bottom and can then focus on the upper water column. What i did notice with this captain, he would very often switch between chirp and traditional because he was not convinced but was also still learning how to dial it all in. On traditional settings, the B275 High frequency is still Wide, so wether you are using chirp or traditional, the high is wide angle and on the R409, the low on either is wide.

[kmoose]

This is why I try to push folks with limited space towards spending the extra money into the xsv series Garmin MFDs. The internal built sounder has full chirp and traditional inputs as well as 2 separate network ports for radar and a GSD 26. It’s hard to match their flexibility and performance all in one unit.

Considering most SeaCraft owners spend most of their time working coastal depths a GT 51 is an excellent option for bottom fishermen who search for structure but still need want reasonable depth capabilities. The sides scan works great for finding ne bottom and the traditional medium chirp does surprisingly well up to 1000’.

[dginge]

Hobie
Do you feel as if the 8 inch display is enough for a 23 foot sceptre with limited space at the cockpit ? A few people have made comments offline that the 840xs is slow and will frustrate the piss out of you. But they are also raymarine owners. Ha.
I appreciate the write up. Super good info. I looked at the true size demensions between the 840xs and 94sv and it was silly close. I don't want to kill my Helm with limited space but also don't want to get sick trying to read the screen. Ha.
Thanks so much

Originally Posted by hobiekanobie

Moose, you are absolutely correct. The latest trend now is to install 2 ducers each with a separate GSD26. The last 4 or 5 refits and installations i have done, the most common package is the B275LHW (low, High - Wide) and a R409LWM (Low-Wide, Medium) so now, you have all 3 level chirp frequencies L,M,H and you have a Low wide angle and a high wide angle. Now, this is a lot but keep in mind this is a bigger sport fish, the last boat we refitted, we installed 3x 8622 on the main dash, 2x 7612 on a drop down box from the hard top, 1 8617 in the cockpit and a 8608 in the tower. So this captain has 5 displays on the bridge....
his typical setup was to run the R409 with LW chirp on one display with bottom zoom, and the B275 with HW chirp on the next display with zoom locked at 300ft. The other 8622 was radar and the 2 overhead displays was chart and engine room cameras. So with his setup he is able to run dual frequencies and see what’s happening on the bottom and can then focus on the upper water column. What i did notice with this captain, he would very often switch between chirp and traditional because he was not convinced but was also still learning how to dial it all in. On traditional settings, the B275 High frequency is still Wide, so wether you are using chirp or traditional, the high is wide angle and on the R409, the low on either is wide.

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by dginge

Hobie
Do you feel as if the 8 inch display is enough for a 23 foot sceptre with limited space at the cockpit ? A few people have made comments offline that the 840xs is slow and will frustrate the piss out of you. But they are also raymarine owners. Ha.
I appreciate the write up. Super good info. I looked at the true size demensions between the 840xs and 94sv and it was silly close. I don't want to kill my Helm with limited space but also don't want to get sick trying to read the screen. Ha.
Thanks so much

Here is a pic of my dash with a 7610xsv and a 1242xsv. The 8" is a small screen and depending on what you are using it for, size may be a consideration. I will also tell you the 840xs is a pretty dated unit and the feedback you got is likely true if the latest software updates have maxed out the processing power of the unit. The 840 and 1040 are great units but well to the back of the line for continued support from Garmin. That said they still are supporting the unit and provided an update last month.

[dginge]

kmoose
Thank you sir. So would you think the 94sv a better unit? Perhaps I should just get that. I use it for general use. Fish some but ride more with family. I will use split screen when I Snapper fish but hardly ever to locate fish. I use them a lot for general depth and bottom structure when Snapper dropping. I’m going to use the airmar ducer p319. Thanks

Originally Posted by kmoose

Here is a pic of my dash with a 7610xsv and a 1242xsv. The 8" is a small screen and depending on what you are using it for, size may be a consideration. I will also tell you the 840xs is a pretty dated unit and the feedback you got is likely true if the latest software updates have maxed out the processing power of the unit. The 840 and 1040 are great units but well to the back of the line for continued support from Garmin. That said they still are supporting the unit and provided an update last month.

[hobiekanobie]

I installed the display and transducer a few weekends ago, i have not had much chance to use it due to having to do a full refit on a 63 Merritt and have it ready before christmas for the owner - lots of weekends working.....
That being said, once i have my settings dialed in im usually the kind of guy to “set it and forget it”. Most of the time, i will either be on a chart/sonar combo, or just a chart or just a sonar page. I dont have radar, or any other network devices to slow it down and i dont have a NMEA backbone either to support Canbus data. It is purely just for chart and sonar so even if it happens to be a little laggy, it is not going to be enough to worry me, besides, not like i need all the gear for my weekend cruise to the sandbar or to take the kids out for a little fishing.
i have never actually played with the 94sv - but just a quick review after looking at the website and compared to the 840xs for reference:
The GPS signal refresh rates - 10x per second for 840xs vs 5x per second for 94sv, so GPS is not as accurate
94sv has a slightly wider display and is almost an inch shallower if depth was an issue when mounting?
No radar support for the 94sv
And the biggest difference for me, is that the 94sv only has a 500w built in sounder vs the 840xs which will support a 1Kw transducer. The more power, the deeper you can see ( also depends on the transducer combo ). Keep an eye on the deadrise for the P319, i believe it is up to 7’ and you need at least double that... my experience with plastic transducers is that if you hit something submerged they usually crack or break off leaving a 2.5” hole through your boat...
If you are thinking about going with the 94sv, look at the Airmar B619 (20’tilt) for a traditional or possibly a airmar B150M (20’ tilt) for chirp as a relatively inexpensive option.
Having installed many transducers, my only other advice would be is to try and stay away from the transom mount transducers, i have nothing against them, but for me, i feel like even when installed properly, they kick up a lot of spray when planing, usually dousing the motor in buckets of salt water.

P.s. if i could really afford it, a 7612xsv would fit nicely on my dash with minor modifications... who needs a tach anyways...

[hobiekanobie]

Unfortunately, with kids being sick over the weekend, we did not go boating as planned. I did however turn on the unit (840xs), disable sonar transmission and play around with all the settings and pages etc and I can say, that I did not notice any lag or the unit being slow at all.... like I said before, I am only using this unit for chart and sonar functions and it is a stand alone unit - not networked to any other units. Good enough for me!

[dginge]

I got mine in! Went well. Great fit. No issues. 20 degrees is what I got thanks to the fine gentlemen on this thread. Thanks guys!!
Also while we are here, on my sceptre I looked very closely on where the engine mounts to the engine bed (see picture around transducer). Is there woodcore in that engine bed or do you think it’s solid glass?

[dginge]

I also got my 840xs installed and also am very happy with it.

[hobiekanobie]

Dginge,
Great looking install! Which transducer did you land up going with?