Gator167

Shark, I have noticed a Rooster tail coming from the x-ducer, but that doesnt mean its not doing it. I would take it out tomorrow if it wasnt going to be so dang windy:banghead

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saltwatersteve

sounds like you and xshark are on the way to resolving the problem, be sure to look ahead of the transducer to see anything causing turbulance, i.e. thru hulls, chines or steps in hull. Be sure to try using 200Khz or (high freq.)setting, it will normally read better at higher speeds as long as your not in really deep water.

Steve @ offshore electronics

jkspencer

Looks like you've gotten a lot of advice. I have a Furuno FCV-585 (I lovemine too) which came standard with an Airmar transducer. I had lots of problems on my 22-ft Everglades, trying to get it optimally positioned. I'm still not 100% happy with how it reads at speed, but it's a lot better than it was at first. Obviously you can't get too close to the outboard, but you can probably get a lot closer than you might think - it all depends on about a dozen interactive variables which you'd have to be an especiallygifted idiot savant to figure out - LOL. I've got a swim ladder, trim tabs, hi-speed baitwell pickup, a couple of clamshells, another transducer on my Lowrance chartplotter unit on the bottom of my hull, as well as a backwards bronze pickup connected to my fishbox that's a huge design flaw Everglades won't own up to (but that's another story). The deadrise, the shape of the hull, the angle of the boat in the water, and the draft all play a part. First thing to check is the angle of the transducer; thankfully, you can experiment a little without drilling and patching (make some temporary shims and do some tests; think about how your boat rides in the water...if you start to lose signal at speed, it could be that your transducer is angled too far back.) Also make sure it's pointing straight down (as opposed to slightly left or right). Turbulence from the motor can come into play at specific - and unpredictable distances from the prop (kind of like your car experiencing vibrations at certain speeds due to the wheel balancing). Even the pitch of your prop can affect the transducer. Unless you've got a hull that produces an extreme amount of turbulence/cavitation, you should be able to get a good signal at 30+mph in calm water. I can't say about yours, buy my Furuno takes a while to get a signal back once it's lost (which means I'm screwed once the hull leaves the water...gotta' slow down and re-acquire). Oddly, my Lowrance doesn't have that problem (and it uses the EXACT same Airmar transducer as the Furuno - I have to keep them on different frequencies when using both), but the Lowrance bottom definition isn't nearly as detailed as the Furuno. I believe this is one of the most frustrating things about boating - and I had a 'professional' installer helping me (he wasn't able to tell me anything I couldn't figure out for myself). It may take some time and some trial-and-error, but you should be able to get there. In any case, Good Luck and Good Fishing.