Thread: 998 losing depth on plane?

sports........... what kind of boat do you have? if it's a flat bottom the rule of thumb is to lower it so that the transducer is 1/8-1/4 below the plane of the hull. but....... flat bottom boats will compress the bubbles and water together to where you still might not get a good reading. when i was setting mine up and getting advice the most common advice i got was to put the thing up on plane, have someone drive for ya and see if you can find a spot on the hull.... on the starboard side....where there's the least amout of turbulence coming from under the hull.
if you gots a fiberglass with a step hull you should be golden.

lowering it should be the solution. i chose not to lower mine for fear of knocking it off if i hit something. i just dont use use mine while blowin around on plane. hope that helps!!!!!!!

Lund 1650 Rebel , I will try to get some pictures up tomorrow
Thanks

Adjust transducer a little lower

Some pics

To me, it looks as if it needs to be about 3/4" lower. Having it so close behind the bottom ridge on the boat,(don't know the proper term for it) is affecting it. I would relocate it to where it was between the two runners, and lower it until the bottom of the mounting bracket was just above the bottom of the boat. It's designed to "kick up" should you bump anything. If you hit something while on plane, then you're probably going too fast for the area anyway. I really try to watch for any debris floating on the water as well. River fishing can be very hard on transducers. Remember, the transducer itself is meant to be down IN the water.

I agree with C.R. The bottom "runner" or "ridge" (whatever it's called) could be causing cavitation or turbulence in front of the transducer.

I'm with Crappie Reaper. You have it too close to the the strake running down the hull. It needs to run in as clean of water as possible. Do yourself a favor, and buy one of these. Cabela's: Cabela's Transducer Mounting Plates When you install it, reinsert your old screws in the hull you removed from your transducer using 3M 5200 brand sealant. Put a spot of grease or some other marking material on any protruding screw heads where the mount board will go. Then counter sink a hole deep enough for the screw heads to recess into. Then mount the board with sealant on the screws. With the board installed, you can move that transducer around to get the best possible reading without your transom looking like swiss cheese. PS. I use the medium board, 4"x 12"

Originally Posted by Shellback

You have it too close to the the strake running down the hull.

Thanks for the proper term Shellback, sometimes I know enough to only get me into trouble. The mounting board is a good idea too. I got lucky when I mounted mine, it worked just fine on first time out. Sportsman223, remember to mount the transducer at least a foot away from your outboard! It won't hurt a thing moving it towards the outside corner of the boat as long as it's not too far out there. Anytime I'm backing up, I try to be aware of what is there, especially if I've just eased over a submerged stump!