Aftermarket Depth Finder

[PaulH86]

I have a 2005 Malibu IRide and I want to add a depth finder. I think I am going to add a Humminbird HDR 610 or equivalent. I want to put the display on the right of the dash where there is existing space as shown in the pic (right of the gauges on the silver/gray part). I was wondering what everyone's opinion of the puck stlye transducers are and the Humminbirds in general. Also anyone with a similar style dash who has done this install and has any tips would be great as well.

Here is the dash

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l508/paulharenberg/Instrumentcluster.jpg

Here is the depth finder I am looking at.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/409813/HDR_610_P

Thanks,

[cstk421]

Here is what I did for my depth finder that I added. I went with the Uniden and its pretty much the same as the Hummingbird your looking at. Hope this is of some help to you.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33269-new-remote-and-depth-finder-mount-finished/

Claudio

[martinarcher]

On my Skier I got sick of the crappy in-hull transducer performance (can't remember the brand) and ordered a skimmer transom mount and gauge (lowrance). It would work perfectly at any speed from idle to WOT and really spoiled us. You could see the bottom change as you cruise over spots. It was also accurate to 0.1 feet. The Sunsetter has a crappy in-hull as well (Faria). It is better than the unit on the Skier, but doesn't "keep up" with the contour of the lake bottom like the skimmer did. This in-hull has a little tub that is siliconed to the bilge (no hole in the boat). The transducer is the "cap" for the tub and locks into it with a 1/4 turn twist. The angle of the transducer is set by the way the "tub" is mounted to the bilge as well so if you go with this one be sure to note that. One thing with the Faria transducer....you have to keep it's little "tub" full of pink antifreeze or it will not work at all. This means making sure it is well siliconed to the bilge. If it leaks, your gauge will be worthless.

Here's the Faria one (SN2010).

[TheBoy82]

On my Skier I got sick of the crappy in-hull transducer performance (can't remember the brand) and ordered a skimmer transom mount and gauge (lowrance). It would work perfectly at any speed from idle to WOT and really spoiled us. You could see the bottom change as you cruise over spots. It was also accurate to 0.1 feet. The Sunsetter has a crappy in-hull as well (Faria). It is better than the unit on the Skier, but doesn't "keep up" with the contour of the lake bottom like the skimmer did. This in-hull has a little tub that is siliconed to the bilge (no hole in the boat). The transducer is the "cap" for the tub and locks into it with a 1/4 turn twist. The angle of the transducer is set by the way the "tub" is mounted to the bilge as well so if you go with this one be sure to note that. One thing with the Faria transducer....you have to keep it's little "tub" full of pink antifreeze or it will not work at all. This means making sure it is well siliconed to the bilge. If it leaks, your gauge will be worthless.

Here's the Faria one (SN2010).

Have the same setup on my old boat. It has a deeper V hull than our Bu's so air getting under the hull created an issue. I used mineral oil in the "tub" that was a little messy to clean up when it didn't seal right the first time. I got the best result mounting mine as close to the middle of the hull as I could. I my case it was just below the oil pan.

[BuFootin]

you could always get the OEM one from malibu. It works great and no cutting holes in the dash. A little pricey, but it is alot cleaner install

Edited February 20, 2012 by BuFootin

[PaulH86]

OEM would be ideal, except I would have to find someone throwing away a used depth finder, because Malibu no longer makes what I would need. I would need to find someone getting rid of a glue down style depth finder transducer I believe.

I agree though, OEM would look a lot better than aftermarket with a hole cut in the dash.

[martinarcher]

Have the same setup on my old boat. It has a deeper V hull than our Bu's so air getting under the hull created an issue. I used mineral oil in the "tub" that was a little messy to clean up when it didn't seal right the first time. I got the best result mounting mine as close to the middle of the hull as I could. I my case it was just below the oil pan.

I hear ya on the leaking. I had heard you should fill the tub with mineral oil and later that week I found my bilge covered in it. I then did some research and found that mineral oil will slowly dissolve the silicone and cause it to leak. I spent a Sat cleaning up my bilge and then re-siliconed the tub into the hull and have been happily using the pink antifreeze like the Faria manual states ever since. Be careful with the mineral oil if you use silicone! If you use something nastier like 3M 4200 or 5200 the mineral oil is probably better since it's thicker and less prone to aeration and evaporation and won't fail with mineral oil exposure.

[BuFootin]

OEM would be ideal, except I would have to find someone throwing away a used depth finder, because Malibu no longer makes what I would need. I would need to find someone getting rid of a glue down style depth finder transducer I believe.

I agree though, OEM would look a lot better than aftermarket with a hole cut in the dash.

Might be worth a call to Paul over at Bake's to confirm what you need is not available. He may have some other ideas to throw out as well.

[PaulH86]

^Thats where I got the info. His answer was a little more detailed, but I put down the gist of it in my post.

[PaulH86]

http://www.bakesonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=1631

I would need a plug like pictured above to make the OEM depth finder work for me.

Claudio, I like that option that you did. I might try and copy that if it becomes too difficult for where I am thinking of putting it.

[Oberon]

I installed the Hummingbird last year. I tried a few locations but settled on under starter which I think is the stock location for a Response. I tried to silocone the puck to the hull but it didnt last long. I ended up using the resin pack that came with the unit. I suggest using silicone to test your installation location before using the resin. Once you use resin it will be there until the end of time.