Through hull or transom mount transducer??

[Tightbox]

I am planning on putting some new screens on my rig this spring. I have only ever used transom mount transducers before. All in all I have no complaints with them but have heard some great reviews about through hulls so I am now curious. I will be putting Lowrance HDS units on my boat. Any advise or option's are welcome! Thanks!

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

See what the mfr. recommends, size of boat, and budget.

[SeaCatMich]

What are you running for a boat and power?

[Tightbox]

I have a Thompson 260 fisherman powered by twin 140hp mercruisers. Part of my thought was by goin through hull and all HDS screens I would only need the one transducer which would leave me with only my fish hawk transducer on the transom

[coralee]

I had issues with speed with a transom mount and could only go about 8 or so before losing it (maybe it was the boat design or?) so I now went thru hull and can use it at 20-30 no problem. I had to keep slowing the boat way down to get off plane just to check depth with the transom mount.

[SeaCatMich]

I have a Thompson 260 fisherman powered by twin 140hp mercruisers. Part of my thought was by goin through hull and all HDS screens I would only need the one transducer which would leave me with only my fish hawk transducer on the transom

I would think a thru hull would be a good fit for that setup. The dual I/O can't leave you a lot of good spots for a transom transducer without significant turbulence when going faster than trolling speeds. By having it forward as a thru hull should get you more consistent readings especially when on plane. The only thing you would loose is surface speed and temp... neither of which should be a big deal with a FishHawk and GPS. I do like having a surface temp graph when searching for summer Steelhead offshore but could live without it.

I would talk to owners of some of the bigger fishing boats in your area to find out who is best qualified to do the installation. Since different hull designs/types will have specific nuances that will determine where the best spot is to mount the transducer, having a knowledgeable installer will get better overall results.

[mudflat]

I have 2 HDS units on my 25' Penn Yan networked together and run both a Lowrance transom mount and an Airmar B60 thru hull transducer. With the network I can use either transducer with either HDS unit. I get the best picture and hold bottom with the thru hull but both do a good job if they are set up correctly.

Both transducers will give you temperature but not speed, I use my X-4 or GPS for that. Only problem with the thru hull was getting up the courage to drill the hole in the bottom.

[JWheeler]

I have a thompson 210 fisherman with a transom mount ducer and haven't experienced any issues. I remember when installing the transducer the installation manual was pretty specific on the angle of the ducer to properly work.