Anyone installed their own fish finder on Scarab?

[Pinhacker71]

I am wanting to install a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 pro on my 215 hoi. Anybody done this yet that can give me pointers. Looks like plenty of people have done it on their Yamaha. Not sure if I will need to drill hole in transom or if there is one already there.

 

[Robert Sands]

I'm thinking you will most likely have to go through an installation similar to the transom mounted underwater lights that people have done on their boats. The only holes back there should be the drain plug holes. These plugs are not the Garboard style plug, which I'm stating beucase there are less modifications you can do with them.

 

[Rick215HO]

I am wanting to install a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 pro on my 215 hoi. Anybody done this yet that can give me pointers. Looks like plenty of people have done it on their Yamaha. Not sure if I will need to drill hole in transom or if there is one already there.

Here is my installation, there is a pretty large draining hole under the "cell phone" matt in the console, there is no need to drill to get the wire through. Using the screws provided with the fishfinder unit the transom drilling was very easy, no major issues there.

 

[Pinhacker71]

How accurate is the depth and fish finder at speed with that mounting location.

 

[Rick215HO]

How accurate is the depth and fish finder at speed with that mounting location.

It is accurate. Depth finder good at all speeds. At some point the fish finder image gets noisy but this is at fairly high speed.

 

[Pinhacker71]

Ok. Thanks. Will have to revisit doing this. I redid my entire stereo this winter and added seadek so in probably done till winter. I don't fish, just thought it would be cool to see what is under the water.

 

[Shane Scarab]

i have a quick question about the stock depth finder if you guys can help me. I have a brand new 255 and at idle it seems to read depth ok but anything above idle and it jumps all around. Is that normal operation? I had the dealer look at it and they are telling me it is functioning normally per design. I had a 195 that read accurately at all speeds so I am struggling with there opinion. How does yours operate?

 

[Rick215HO]

i have a quick question about the stock depth finder if you guys can help me. I have a brand new 255 and at idle it seems to read depth ok but anything above idle and it jumps all around. Is that normal operation? I had the dealer look at it and they are telling me it is functioning normally per design. I had a 195 that read accurately at all speeds so I am struggling with there opinion. How does yours operate?

My 215 sounder works at any speed.

 

[Shane Scarab]

Thank you. I am very disappointed in my dealer. They have done some shady work on my boat each time I bring it in for something and this is just the latest. The last time I brought it in they water tested it and then scratched up the hull getting it back on the trailer!

 

[Robert Sands]

WTF!!!, they should be scrambling to fix that for you.

 

[Shane Scarab]

Well all, they fixed the damages and then treated the boat with vantage 3m and I am very happy with their repairs.

I am having another issue though and I am hoping someone can help me with this. My depth finder always goes flaky when underway, but when sitting still it works. My 195 worked at all speeds. Here is the note I got from the tech about it which is somewhat understandable but I do not buy it.

...
He currently he has an In-Hull Style transducer, which is mounted inside the hull of the boat without any portion of it protruding through. The reason he is loosing proper depth and having such sporadic readings as soon as he tries to put the boat

on plane is due to air between the hull and the water. The boat is designed to glide onto of the water rather then power through it, which innately will allow more air bubbles to form between the hull and the waters surface.

The way the transducer finds depth is through the use of sound waves, which travel MUCH slower through air then they do water. With the boat also being the type to glide ontop of the surface, as he accelerates and the boat lifts towards the surface,

it also brings the transducer with it meaning its no longer siting as low below the waterline as it does at slower speeds. This is why when going slow or at the lower RPM ranges, he has good solid depth reading as there is little to no air, and the boat sits lower

in the water. You can see in the video that as soon as he Decelerates, the depth comes right back. Even when it is way off, the depth reading holds solidly, meaning the transducer is working, but the readings are not correct due to the air being introduced.


He could opt to have us install a Thru-hull transducer, which would allow for direct contact with the transducer and the waters surface, but he may still have some sporadic readings if he is rougher seas or a light chop but this is normal...

Is what this tech describes normal on anyone else's twin jet boat with in hull transducer? This is just the OEM setup.

 

[Scott Brown]

Here is my installation, there is a pretty large draining hole under the "cell phone" matt in the console, there is no need to drill to get the wire through. Using the screws provided with the fishfinder unit the transom drilling was very easy, no major issues there.

Hi Rick- any concerns with that transducer hitting your roller just below it?

 

[Winerocks]

Well all, they fixed the damages and then treated the boat with vantage 3m and I am very happy with their repairs.

I am having another issue though and I am hoping someone can help me with this. My depth finder always goes flaky when underway, but when sitting still it works. My 195 worked at all speeds. Here is the note I got from the tech about it which is somewhat understandable but I do not buy it.

...
He currently he has an In-Hull Style transducer, which is mounted inside the hull of the boat without any portion of it protruding through. The reason he is loosing proper depth and having such sporadic readings as soon as he tries to put the boat

on plane is due to air between the hull and the water. The boat is designed to glide onto of the water rather then power through it, which innately will allow more air bubbles to form between the hull and the waters surface.

The way the transducer finds depth is through the use of sound waves, which travel MUCH slower through air then they do water. With the boat also being the type to glide ontop of the surface, as he accelerates and the boat lifts towards the surface,

it also brings the transducer with it meaning its no longer siting as low below the waterline as it does at slower speeds. This is why when going slow or at the lower RPM ranges, he has good solid depth reading as there is little to no air, and the boat sits lower

in the water. You can see in the video that as soon as he Decelerates, the depth comes right back. Even when it is way off, the depth reading holds solidly, meaning the transducer is working, but the readings are not correct due to the air being introduced.


He could opt to have us install a Thru-hull transducer, which would allow for direct contact with the transducer and the waters surface, but he may still have some sporadic readings if he is rougher seas or a light chop but this is normal...

Is what this tech describes normal on anyone else's twin jet boat with in hull transducer? This is just the OEM setup.

Only time my OEM gets glitchy is when depth is under 3’ and water is muddy. When I’m cruising, it holds steady. I don’t buy the dealer’s explanation. These boats were designed to drive, and fast! Scarab positioned the depth finder with that in mind. It is quite possible that it was installed incorrectly. There may be some air bubbles in the epoxy holding it in place, or it may simply be defective. I would push back on this issue.