Fishfinder for Sailboat

[sailingusername]

Hey guys, im new to this forum and this might be in the wrong section but my question is can you have a fishfinder on sailboat or does the keel affect it. Preferably one you dont have to install or drill anything underwater. A fishfinder is a gps sort of thing which scans the water to see depth and schools of fish etc. Thanks. Its a 30+ foot boat and already has a depth sounder but not fishfinder.

[xymotic]

Yes you can have a fishfinder, and yes the keel (and heel) would affect it.

so, you can mount a transom transducer on the transom after the keel, or you can mount a thru or in-hull in the bow in front of the keel. OR you can even mount multiple transducers on each side of the keel with a Lowrance/simrad structure scan.

[delmarrey]

Welcome to the forum!

If you have a straight/vertical transom it would be easy to hang. I have one mounted just forward of the keel, a wide angle, to check the type of bottom for anchoring, which also picks up rock and kelp formations.

[Reefmagnet]

If the boat is solid fibreglass at the bottom of the hull, you can just sit the transducer "puck" on the inside of the hull - no need to drill a hole. Firstly, get some ky jelly or similar and slather it between the hull and puck in a potential mounting location, then test. If it reads well then you can mount it at that spot permanently with sikaflex or the like. With regard to the keel, you need to mount the transducer either fore or aft of it to prevent interference.

[sailingusername]

so did you have to drill a hole at the bottom infront of the keel?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by sailingusername

so did you have to drill a hole at the bottom infront of the keel?

The hole was already there, just larger for the standard depth gauge. So, I sleeved it and added a form around it to streamline and support, since is does protrude below the hull.

But drilling a hole only takes a hole saw and epoxy to seal the core. Of course the boat has to be out of the water for a day.


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