Where to mount fishfinder

[bigtexan99]

I picked up this Matrix 17 fishfinder on craigslist this weekend for 50 bucks.

http://www.fishfinder-store.com/huma17.html

But now....where to mount it? The only area that seems to make sense is to the right of the steering wheel where the cupholder is, but I don't really want it there and that area gets wet/splashy.

Any ideas?

 

[RFoster130]

I agree on losing the cupholder. :agree: If it cant get wet, you dont want it on there anyway. That thing is huge...do you really do that much fishing?

 

[bigtexan99]

lol. it is pretty big. I don't fish that much. I just thought it would be neat to have. I could always sell it and get a smaller model.

 

[John in Valley Forge]

I got a Lowrance that's pretty big. I found the spot to the right of the steering wheel is the only place to fit it (my dashboard may be a little bit bigger, but worth a try). It's very easy to read in that spot. I don't fish, but I like to have an idea of how the river bottom looks.

I put the transducer in the lowest spot in the engine compartment, right at the transom.

 

[tekeyman]

You put your transducer inside your bilge, not on the outside of the boat?

 

[bigtexan99]

As I understand it, there are inside mounted transducers and outside mounted transducers. So you could go either way...

 

[John in Valley Forge]

You put your transducer inside your bilge, not on the outside of the boat?

Yes, you need a "through the hull" transducer, which was the standard one that came with the fishfinder. Then you lay down a good epoxy bed for it and it works great.

 

[tekeyman]

It can't get water temperature though can it? or at least it wouldn't be very accurate I would think.

 

[bigtexan99]

It will give you the temp of your hull. Inside. But it won't give you water temp unless you mount it *in* the water. Luckily, you will find that your finger works just like a thermometer. Lean over the boat and stick it in the water. :lol:

 

[biffdotorg]

I did the same as John, to the right of the steering wheel was the best spot. If a depth finder was not meant to get wet, then why would they sell it to a boat user?

http://biffdotorg.blogspot.com/2011/06/who-wants-cheesy-depth-guage-when-you.html

The transducer that ships with the Hummingbird should be just like the Lowrance, you should be able to mount it outside or inside the hull. Just do a quick search on here for our write-ups on how we epoxied it into the hull. I love having an actual graph and not a digital depth guage. At $50, you got a steal. Although our lowrances are $100 units.

Anyone looking to do this with the new Downward scanning models, you have to mount the transducer outside the hull. You will not get a good signal through hull.

Good luck!

 

[bigtexan99]

After giving it some thought and looking at what else is available (hawkeye), I decided I really do want the ability to 'see' the contour of the bottom as well as have the depth reading.

Sadly, I will have to give up the drivers side cup holder as that area is the only area that makes sense.

Has anyone seen a installable cup holder that I could mount down by the drivers left foot, under the seat. Sort of like the cup holders that are there on the newer models?