Re: Installing fishfinder. Help?
Starboard side, just to the right of that wear mark where your hold down is taken off the paint. I presume that the boat has a smooth bottom forward of that point. You want to mount the transducer on the side that corresponds with the downward stroke of the prop in case you are interested.<br /><br />Don't mount directly into your already sealed wood transom. Even though its wood go ahead and put a small (mabye 3/4" x 6w x 4h) wood pad just for transducer mounting on the hull. Hold it in place with 3M's 5200 Fastset. Find a way to hold the block in place while the stuff sets and let it set completely before mounting the transducer into it. This will save that fine looking transom of yours for another decade - something that might very well be shortened considerably by a direct mount.<br /><br />Mount the transducer such that its face if horizontal in 2 planes and such that its face is about 1/4" below the flat surface of the hull bottom. This quarter inch is to be measured on the side of the transducer closest the centerline. Because the transducer is flat and mounted horizontal it will be farther down the hull on the side farthest from the engine but that's OK Do your mounting with all of the adjustments (up and down and then face angle) set right in the center so you have a full run of adjustment available to fine tune it after you get on the boat and try it out. Generally speaking drop the transducer until it sprays a little bit then raise it back up. As for the face, it will be tilted so that when the boat is up and running it is flat with the bottom. You may have to compromise this a little bit to have it so that when adrift it still has its heel (end farthest from the boat) in the water. So if the running angle is so high that when at rest the very end of the transducer is out of the water go ahead and adjust it down so that its all in the water at rest and call it a day because that's as good as its going to get unless you can drop it down more. <br /><br />Let me suggest this to you as well for your mounting. You are going to have to run that cable from the transducer up the transom and that can involve screws and clamps in most cases. Once again, in order to protect your wood transom (though this works just as well on glass hulls) do this instead.<br /><br />Right at the transducer take the cable and let just a little slack in it and then use Duct tape to tape it to the hull. Tear the strip of duct tape in half long way and then cross the cable with the tape horizontal so just a strip is holding the tape at the bottom. Then take the duct tape and tape it at the top. Pull the cable tight so its straight. Now take masking tape and put a strip of tape the length of the cable on each side. This will leave the cable in the middle and a strip of the transom exposed that is about 3/8" wide. Now take out your big tube of 5200 fastset and put a nice little blob right at the top (below your duct tape but in an area protected by your masking tape) and right at the bottom and then one or two places inbetween as you see fit. Make your blobs smooth and about 3/4" long. An hour or so later after the 5200 has become nicely tacky go ahead and pull the masking tape off but leave the duct tape for a couple of days so the cable doesn't move while the 5200 sets up completely. What you will have is a cable glued to the transom by nicely defined little strips of a smooth white (or black) caulking that will not allow your cable to flop around or move. The good part is you haven't given water a way (screwholes) into the plys of your transom. If you do this with any care at all it actually looks quite nice too.<br />One thing that is very important. Once you put that stuff on there do NOT touch it until you are sure it is set up. If it means missing the use of the boat for a day or two, so be it.<br />Thom
<br /><br />No comments about how gunky it is! 
I very much appreciate any tips you may have for me.<br />And by the way, is the Garmin FF 160 a good unit?<br /><br />Thank you!<br />Dave<br /><br />P.S....more pics of my boat if you're interested:<br /><br />www.johnsondave.com/boats