Fish finder / Transducer help

[rod1448]

Hi,

I have an older 27' Riviera Flybridge which I have begun taking out further to about 150m deep. I have her at Port Stephens. I have a Lowrance Elite 9 Ti2 with the standard 3 in 1 transom mount tranny.

Now, I'm losing bottom at about 80m and don't like the idea of the transom mount tranny.

I'm taking her out end of this month for antifouling and was hoping to install a through hull tranny whilst out of the water.

I have been looking at the Airmar SS75M (600w) at $969 or the SS175M (1kw) at $1329. I know my Elite is only a 500w unit but also looking at upgrading further down the track.

I'm after some advice on best Tranny to get at a reasonable price which will work now with the Elite and then when I upgrade possibly HDS unit.

Is the 1kw tranny worth the extra $360 or not?

Also as I have a flybridge was hoping to be able to link the new fish finder to my Elite as a screen only so I can have one at each helm? Also, I have been told the HDS units have 2 tranny plugs which I can then keep the 3 in 1 tranny for bay fishing etc??

Or do I need a whole new setup with 2 new finders, etc. at a million dollars???

Cheers
Rod

[JonD]

Ive got a 175hw in my current boat and have to say its the best transducer Ive used in depths from 160 to 2m. I would imagine the medium to be better for the deeper water. I also have an all in one sidescan 600w transducer which Ive seen good bottom returns from 500m+ on YouTube from bay marine. Mine is Garmin but my old lowrance would hold bottom to around 500m using a relatively cheap lowrance 200-50khz transducer and hold bottom at 40kh beyond the shelf.

Mine is cut into the hull but you can get a bracket for these to for fitting on the transom. The abalone boat Ive been working on has the transom style bracket and manages to hold bottom well at over 80kh, mine also holds well but my top speed is 65kh.

 

In this you can see my old lowrance hds8 both 200 and 50 holding bottom over 300m and the second shot shows my speed just over 40kh and still holding.

 

  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by JonD