Hi all, I purchased a new Humminbird 570. I have a 16' Starcraft Fishmaster for a boat and am installing it on the Transom.  has anyone installed one before?

I did exactly as the instruction stated. It said to mark the spots for the screws, then to use a 5/64 bit and screw into the transom only to 1". So I taped the drill bit at exactly 1" but when I started screwing it was hollow less than a 1/4" in which was a surprise to me but maybe that is normal, I don't know.  I was mounting it to the right of the motor very close to the bottom but not too far according to the instructions.  the bottom of it was about 1/4" from the bottom.

Please let me know if this is how it should be or if I should select another location to drill.

Thanks so much

Harpoon

Your transom isn't hollow it's filled with foam or wood. Seal up the holes you drilled with some silicone. Mount a plastic board to your transom, preferably over the holes you drilled. 2 screws an some epoxy. Then mount the transducer to the board. I have my transducer and speedo sensor mounted to the board. you then have the ability to move the transducer if it's not reading correctly or getting interference from the prop wash.

WOW, well that is a bit disturbing.  I have had Mice in the boat I hope they didn't eat all of the styrofoam.

So what and where would I find a piece of Plastic board?  a boat shop?  and it should be at least 1" thick correct?

You should be able to pick up some type of plastic deck board at Home Depot.

Ok perfect. thanks. One last question.  how low beneath the boat should the transducer sit?  as I have it now it sits about 1" below the bottome of the boat.  It that too much?

Harpoon

Just use duck tape 

3/4 to 1" should be ok.

Hey Slonezp, wow thanks alot for the pictures. I didn't see them earlier. It looks like you have a new Humminbird too.  Your transducer looks exactly like mine.  That picture was perfect I now understand exactly what you were telling me..  what is that white connection next to it?

The white connection is for the speedo. I have a Humminbird Matrix 17 which I believe is obsolete. Glad I coul help.

Hey thanks Slonezp, you helped me too (and didnt even know it!)

By looking at your photos I realize now that I am a complete idiot and have had my transducer pointing the wrong direction. I had that flat part that is sticking out toward your motor pointed DOWN into the water... I'll fix that and see if I get better readings HA

Hey thanks Slonezp, you helped me too (and didnt even know it!)

By looking at your photos I realize now that I am a complete idiot and have had my transducer pointing the wrong direction. I had that flat part that is sticking out toward your motor pointed DOWN into the water... I'll fix that and see if I get better readings HA

;D  Whoops?  You can bet that you'll get better readings.  The cone will actually be pointing at the bottom.

Hahaha oh man thats awesome. My transducer looks like that one catt posted. I always thought that end was the business end...

Wow I dont even know how ive been using it haha well now you see how much I actually use the sonar its all skill fishing for me ha jk

Your transducer should not be hanging completely below the bottom of the hull

Your transducer should not be hanging completely below the bottom of the hull

Just slightly. It needs to flip up freely if you beach or bump something shallow.

What?  WHAT!!!  where were  you yesterday with this statement?  I got up early this morning and apoxy'd everything in..    DARN!!!!!!

harpoon, I hope you only epoxied the plastic board to the transom. That transducer should have a hinge mount which should cause it to pop up when beached. Then you can manually snap it into place. Like I said earlier the bottom of the transducer should hang  3/4-1" below the hull. ...And make sure it's parallell to the water, not the bottom of the boat.

When all else fails read the instructions, they should show how far below the hull the tranducer should hang.

hey Slonezp, I wasn't able to get a board since I am leaving for vacation today. I called a marina to discuss this and he said that my boat doesn't have any wood on the inside so as long as the screws snugged tight to just add some of the apoxy to them and I should be good to go. So I did and it looks fine.  I wish I had time to snap a pic. I do see where it will be able to bend up if it hits something.  I still like your idea and will probably still do it since I want to get the speedo and water temp option for this unit.  Thanks alot.

Hey Cat, I did break the man law and read the instructions. LOL  It never stated how much below the boat it should hang but stated how high above the bottom of the boat it needs to be. For fiberglass 1/4 of an inch and for aluminum 1/8 of an inch  I set mine somewhere in between.

ok so check this out.  last night i launched the boat in a nearby lake just so I could work on my boat bunkers. ( one of them rolled over on the last retvieval)  so I sent the wife and kids out for a buzz around while I fixed it.  so I noticed that when she was going pretty fast ( mind you it is only a 40HP motor) there was a high spray coming from the right side. ( right about where i mounted the transcuder)  It looked like a jetski driving by..  It got too dark for me to investigate but any ideas why it would do that??

Thanks all

Harpoon

If you'll notice in my picture there is what appears to be a line where two halves of the transducer come together, it is not two halves but a mark used for setting the depth below the hull. With a straight edge held against the hull this line should be the required depth for optimum performance.

The bolt which holds transducer to the mounting bracket should be tightened enough to allow it to flip up on contact with a solid object.

On aluminum hulls I use screws with a little large treads than the ones supplied and silicone the inside.

I purchased some of the 3M VHB tape that humminbird uses to mount this transducer http://store.humminbird.com/products/313992/XSO_9_20_T to a boat. I used it to mount this transducer http://store.humminbird.com/products/314027/XNT_9_20_T to the transom of my aluminum boat. I mounted the transducer to a 1/4" thick piece of plastic using self taping screws. I then used alcohol to clean the boat and the plastic. I then applied the tape to the transducer the peeled off the other side and put it on the transom. The transducer is still firmly in place. It was even in the water for a week straight when I was Canada two weeks ago. After you apply the tape let is sit for 48 hours, per instructions, before putting it under stress.