Question

[MikeD]

Hi all,

I have a 21 dvsc, new this season. Been out several times, love it. When I'm on plane at a decent speed, there is a stream of water that shoots up from the transom against the side of the motor. I think it may be water hitting the cover to the scuppers and shooting up, but I can't tell. Anyone else experience this?

 

[OT]

By any chance is your fishfinder transducer mounted on that side?

 

[MikeD]

it is, but from what I can tell, its not in the area of the stream. I could be wrong though. I haven't had a chance to get out with someone that can hold the wheel while I check it out.

 

[MikeD]

Had a chance to check it out this weekend, and OT is right. the transducer sticks out there beneath the waterline. Additionally, my FF is not picking up the bottom now?? I get a temp, but no depth. Forgive my ignorance, this is my first FF, but what now? I tried to clean it a bit with my deck brush, thinking it may be dirty, but nadda. Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Megabyte]

Is it possible to shoot a photo so we can see what sort of transducer that you have there?

 

[MikeD]

I have no pics available, and I'm not sure we would be able to see the ducer thru the water if I take one now. Now that I think of it, my set up is just asking for problems. The ducer was installed at the dealer. Its sort of L shaped, with the back mounted to the transom below the water line.

 

[Megabyte]

This is a photo of an Airmar P66 which is one of the most common transom mounted transducers out there.
Does it look something like this?

If that is what you have, click on the link below to get the owners guide and installation instructions to see if it was installed properly.
http://www.airmartechnology.com/uploads ... 247-03.pdf

Hope this helps.

 

[johnsw]

I've got a 2120. My Lowrance skimmer transducer 'hangs' just below the bottom line of the hull where it's mounted to the transom. That way, when the boat is on plane, it's in the water column. Most transom mounts would probably be set up this way. Did the dealer hang it too high?

You mentioned you're not getting a bottom reading. Was the sonar working but stopped all of a sudden? Some transducers have a shock mount that allows the transducer to flip up if something hits it, you drift onto a bar or anything else that might accidentally snap it off. If yours is like this and has moved out of position, that might cause you to lose the sonar and being in the wrong position, might be causing your water spray. If the shock mount is too loose, it could also flip up on its own while cruising. The transducer will still be in the water, so the temp sensor would probably still work.

John

 

[Outta Here]

Congratulations on your 21DV.

I have a similar hull and never got a transom mount to work very well. IMO, the DV puts transducer too deep in water (at least a half-inch on one side) to work. Always had a big spray and poor picture on plane.

Switch to an Airmar tilted element and get great picture, no spray plus a clean transom w/o wires hanging down. You'll lose speed thru water but will keep temp. Not too expensive, and easy to change.

 

[MikeD]

Thanks guys!

It worked great for the first several weeks. Then, about a week ago, I noticed that it would not pick up bottom when on plane. When I would slow down, it would pick up again. Then, it just stopped. Now, when you turn it on, the shallow water alarm sounds and there is no bottom. I still haven't had a chance to take a closer look. Maybe tomorrow. Either way, I think I could do with a better ducer in a better position. We'll see

Thanks again

Mike

 

[OT]

MikeD,

Just wondering if you were able to fix your fishfinder? Did you check for loose connections especially the power? By the way didn't really see what unit you have.

OT

 

[Lucky John]

I think your dealer mounted the ducer a little too high,that is causing the water stream.I'll bet that your ducer flipped up,esp if it was mounted to high.Reach overboard and snap the ducer back down and you'll be back in business.When the rigger hooked mine up he mounted it almost on the botom of the V,I asked him about that and he told me they have the best results mounting it there, but who knows..............

 

[MikeD]

Thanks for asking. I originaly thought it may be fouled so I gave it a scrub with a brush. After this, I messed with the gain a bit and it worked. But not for long. It does pop up, and I have to push it down, but even then sometimes it won't pick up bottom. I plan to mess with it some more this weekend. eventualy, I will move it farther down the v. But, for now, any other suggestions?

 

[Lucky John]

If the ducer keeps popping up,then it is either installed incorrectly,or just loose.I had this happen with a Ray ducer,I wound up screwing the ducer down with a small stainless steel screw.I figured it was worth it working rather than reaching down all the time to push it down.