The recent Garmin post got me interested in the 545S. I'm a coastal cruiser, Puget Sound, Lake Michigan and such. I would like to hear about my options. I can use a 600W or 1KW transducer. Difference in price is the 600 is about $160 and 1KW is about $750. Here's my pickle. I'd like to mount it as a shoot through the hull on an O'day 26. If I use the 600W I'll get better shallow ping, but is it going to work well as a shoot through the hull mount? Or, should I mount it as a through-hull, and in this case should I go 600W or 1KW.
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I have
I have a Garmin 498, about 18 months old. I have the transducer mounted as a shoot through. Works as good as I could hope for. Unless you have a cored hull, I can see no reason to drill another hole, to gain who knows what. I have mounted a couple of transducers shooting through the hull, and have had very good results. Not sure of the wattage on my 498, but it is a dual frequency and reads well to over 100'. Haven't checked to see how deep it will work, but really don't see much need in knowing the depth over 100' anyway. The charts are marked well enough for me when over 100'. Put the transducer in a baggie of water, set it in the hull and move it around till you find a place it works good. Then epoxy that little puppy in place. Some have reported using different caulks, and I think someone reported using 5200. I put both of mine in using marine tex, and have no complaints.
I have a Garmin 498, about 18 months old. I have the transducer mounted as a shoot through. Works as good as I could hope for. Unless you have a cored hull, I can see no reason to drill another hole, to gain who knows what. I have mounted a couple of transducers shooting through the hull, and have had very good results. Not sure of the wattage on my 498, but it is a dual frequency and reads well to over 100'. Haven't checked to see how deep it will work, but really don't see much need in knowing the depth over 100' anyway. The charts are marked well enough for me when over 100'. Put the transducer in a baggie of water, set it in the hull and move it around till you find a place it works good. Then epoxy that little puppy in place. Some have reported using different caulks, and I think someone reported using 5200. I put both of mine in using marine tex, and have no complaints.
I used the clear sealant caulk from HD...
to secure our transducer. Seems to work just fine. After I tested for the right location using the bag full of water I made a small dam out of masking tape, poured the caulk into the dam and then set the transducer down into the caulk. Terry
to secure our transducer. Seems to work just fine. After I tested for the right location using the bag full of water I made a small dam out of masking tape, poured the caulk into the dam and then set the transducer down into the caulk. Terry
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