Transducer question

I am going to be getting a new depthfinder (HDS 7) for the console. A couple of questions. I am a little irritated because Bass Pro only sells them with the skimmer transducer. I would just assume buy it with no transducer and pick the one I want. I have a HDS 7 on the trolling motor and I really like it.

The boat is a 2001 Triton TR-20

1. Am I better off doing a shoot thru, or external transducer mount? The current one is a shoot thru, and I get what I think are decent images. I've heard you lose some sensitivity with the shoot-thru. Do you get the same quality images at high speeds with internal vs. external?

2. If I do shoot thru will the skimmer transducer mount just as easily as the puck style? I know the temp won't work if I do it that way. I assume there is a temperature probe I could purchase and install to get temp. The two depthfinders will be networked, so I suppose I could reference the temp gauge from the trolling motor, but obviously that wouldn't do me any good on plane.



Thanks,
Micah

koko,
I have the skimmer transducer epoxied in my hull. It works great and I have read the depth while running at 55mph plus. The puck is a little easier to mount inside the transome but you don't have to have it. Yes, you will lose just a smidge of sensitivity but I doubt you will really be able to tell a difference with the HDS. You just have to make sure there are no air bubbles in the epoxy after you install it. Just keep moving it around a little bit while glueing it down and you should be alright. This also has an advantage. You don't have to worry about tearing off your transducer on some trash floating around in the lake. As far as temp goes, you can do your reading off the front unit as you suggested. You said that it will only work when your trolling motor is down and that is fine. Do you really need to know the temp every second of the day? I just glance at my temp every now and then after the trolling motor has been down for a little bit to see if there are any big differences.

I would shoot thru, you might have to purchase the thru hull puck without temp do to space in the bilge. the ducer with no temp is a little cheaper. You will never notice the sensitivity with a thru hull. Add a temp probe to the jack plate if you have one. Several of us has always used 100% silicone and never have had one come loose. Use caution if you are going to epoxy it in. I would check the installation area at the lake before I made it permanent.