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Depth Guage Reading at Speed

BennyBoat

BennyBoat

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Hey guys...
We took delivery of our new 2022LX 26 with the 300 Verado a couple of weeks ago. Since delivery, we noticed that anything after 10 miles an hour we lose all readings from the depth gauge from the Simrad Go7 transducer. I wanted to reach out to the amazing group that we have here to see if you guys have experienced something similar. If so... What was your fix for the issue? My dealer wants to pull the boat out of the water and somehow adjust the location of the transducer, but I'm not exactly sure what they're going to do with it and I would like to have a plan of action first. Would love your feedback!

Rear.JPGSide.JPG
 
Both my bass boat and Bennington stop correctly reading the depth when cruising. The speeds where that happens seem to vary.
 
If you do a search in these forums, you will find A LOT of discussions about this known issue. It seems like it comes up every spring/summer as people get their new boats.

Anyway…

(1) Transducer for Simrad needs to be lower than typical mounting to clear water turbulence coming from either/or pontoons, between pontoons and or motor/prop to get depth readings when above 10-20 mph.

(2) Lowering its placement below the bottom of the pontoon (more than it is in your picture) should resolve the problem - gets it clear of water turbulence. It resolves the issue for the vast majority of people that try this fix.

(3) I am assuming that is what your dealer is talking about with their “fix”. Ask them if it is, and if so, I’d go with it. That should resolve it.

(4) Only drawback in my mind is if your boat will get beached or you will bottom it out on any lake/sea floor, then of course you very well could break your transducer and/or its bracket because it will now be lower than your pontoon. By being lower than the bottom of your pontoon it makes it vulnerable when beaching, or shallow water bottoming out, or debri.

(5) Sometimes the follow up comment is something like: “If it is a known issue, why do they mount it where it is at?” Answer: re-read #4 above. ;) Where it is mounted protects it.


AND…sounds like such a nice boat. LX with a 300 Verado = VERY :cool:
 
Also, in addition to Jeff’s recommendations above, ensure the transducer is parallel to bottom at cruising speed, not when at idle or stationary. If it’s at an angle when on plane it will be sporadic also.
 
Guys, thank you so much for the feedback on this. You guys rock!
I think we will go in the direction of lowering it as we will never beach our boat based on the body of water.
I'll keep you posted on lowering it as far as it can go on that metal box helps resolve the issue.
Thanks again!
 
We have discussed this issue before at length. My Simrad loses speed reading at about 18-20mph. I have tried moving the transducer in every position possible with the same results. Frustrating because the depth read at ALL speeds in my last boat! There is 1 more thing I want to try that Potomacbassin suggested. I have a sacrificial anode close to where the transducer is installed. He suggested to remove that anode so the water flow in that area maybe cleaner or not as turbulent so the transducer may be able to read better. We'll see......
 
Would you think the water would be cleaner in the center of the toon where mine is mounted or would be better to move it to the outer edge of the box? Not sure if the toon keel makes things smoother or higher off the water?
 
It's supposed to be even with the bottom of the pontoon. But like I said in a previous post....... I moved that transducer in every position possible and I got the same result. We know where to go and not go on our lake but it would still be nice to get a depth reading at speed!
 
BigKahuna said:
We have discussed this issue before at length. My Simrad loses speed reading at about 18-20mph. I have tried moving the transducer in every position possible with the same results. Frustrating because the depth read at ALL speeds in my last boat! There is 1 more thing I want to try that Potomacbassin suggested. I have a sacrificial anode close to where the transducer is installed. He suggested to remove that anode so the water flow in that area maybe cleaner or not as turbulent so the transducer may be able to read better. We'll see......
Click to expand...
You still haven't done this BK?? OK give me your address, I'm driving down to do it myself! :p
 
BennyBoat said:
Guys, thank you so much for the feedback on this. You guys rock!
I think we will go in the direction of lowering it as we will never beach our boat based on the body of water.
I'll keep you posted on lowering it as far as it can go on that metal box helps resolve the issue.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...

www.simrad-yachting.com

Simrad Help & Support

Get product FAQs, manuals and software updates for Simrad
www.simrad-yachting.com www.simrad-yachting.com

Here is SIMRADs troubleshooting page.

I find the depth reading on my Garmin fades around 25-30mph if the transducer is at an angle after getting repositioned by beaching. If everything is perfect I can read almost up to 40mph. So based on that anecdote I would say your issue is related more to turbulence. Clean water might be tough to find but keep moving it around and eventually you'll find somewhere that works (at least better).

I've probably shared this video before but gives an idea of what can happen at speed. Sometimes lower is not always better.


 
Potomacbassin’ said:
www.simrad-yachting.com

Simrad Help & Support

Get product FAQs, manuals and software updates for Simrad
www.simrad-yachting.com www.simrad-yachting.com

Here is SIMRADs troubleshooting page.

I find the depth reading on my Garmin fades around 25-30mph if the transducer is at an angle after getting repositioned by beaching. If everything is perfect I can read almost up to 40mph. So based on that anecdote I would say your issue is related more to turbulence. Clean water might be tough to find but keep moving it around and eventually you'll find somewhere that works (at least better).

I've probably shared this video before but gives an idea of what can happen at speed. Sometimes lower is not always better.


Click to expand...
Fantastic share! Thank you again for the additional information
 
Strange. Mine is mounted at the bottom of the right toon, and it works fine at all speeds. I must be the chosen one. Frankly, it has surprised me. We move it to flat when entering the water and stand it vertical when out.
 
Hey guys....just an update here.
We had our dealer take the boat out of the water and mount it as low as possible on the mounting plate.
Tooker her back out and no change at all. still no reading over 10 MPH...so aggravating!
I really need to get to the root of this issue, as our whole body of water is mostly less than 8ft.
As mentioned in a previous response, I really think it has to do with turbulence. When I'm going 20 miles an hour and I look over the starboard side of the boat the rear tunes are still half in the water. This tells me that the transducer is absolutely still underwater, not out of it.
Any ideas on how to fix this? Maybe rase it up or over not centered on the keep of the tune?
 
BennyBoat said:
Hey guys....just an update here.
We had our dealer take the boat out of the water and mount it as low as possible on the mounting plate.
Tooker her back out and no change at all. still no reading over 10 MPH...so aggravating!
I really need to get to the root of this issue, as our whole body of water is mostly less than 8ft.
As mentioned in a previous response, I really think it has to do with turbulence. When I'm going 20 miles an hour and I look over the starboard side of the boat the rear tunes are still half in the water. This tells me that the transducer is absolutely still underwater, not out of it.
Any ideas on how to fix this? Maybe rase it up or over not centered on the keep of the tune?
Click to expand...
Somewhere, but I don't recall where, it is documented that these are not going to be accurate in turbulence caused by speed. I guess I'm lucky. Never a problem. But it's not like I'm dropping a ruler in 50 feet of water to confirm what it shows either. I leave mine a click or two short of parallel to the water, at a standstill, so when it's on plane, it will be parallel.
 
Another Update here....
I was able to get a hold of a very educated technician on this issue and he stated that the first step to fixing the issue was to move the transducer all the way to the port side as much as possible. He said it's a well-known issue that the keel at the bottom of our tunes causes water disturbance towards the back and that it directly affects the performance of the transducer.
Once that has been moved he said I need to set the height of the unit to the bottom of it barely below the bottom of the toon. This way it acts as a ski....if we have it set to low then the front of the unit will create its own turbulence as it moves through the water quickly.
I'm looking to get this done later this week. I'll keep you posted!
 
BennyBoat said:
Another Update here....
I was able to get a hold of a very educated technician on this issue and he stated that the first step to fixing the issue was to move the transducer all the way to the port side as much as possible. He said it's a well-known issue that the keel at the bottom of our tunes causes water disturbance towards the back and that it directly affects the performance of the transducer.
Once that has been moved he said I need to set the height of the unit to the bottom of it barely below the bottom of the toon. This way it acts as a ski....if we have it set to low then the front of the unit will create its own turbulence as it moves through the water quickly.
I'm looking to get this done later this week. I'll keep you posted!
Click to expand...
Mine sits offset left off the center of the starboard side toon in the rear and at the exact level of the bottom of the toon. Never a problem.
 

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BigD said:
Mine sits offset left off the center of the starboard side toon in the rear and at the exact level of the bottom of the toon. Never a problem.
Click to expand...
BigD, thanks for the reply and photo.So glad your works.. gives me hope
 
BigD said:
Mine sits offset left off the center of the starboard side toon in the rear and at the exact level of the bottom of the toon. Never a problem.
Click to expand...
BigD your Simrad reads depth at speeds over 18-20mph?!?
 
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