My AR210 Garmin chartplotter and transducer install Journal

[Berberman]

I’m going to document my chartplotter install here, ask questions and hopefully receive feedback along the way on what I’m doing right or wrong or can do better, but also so that others can benefit from it down the line. Let me start by saying I’m relatively new to boating, so please pardon my ignorance.
Boat is a 2022 AR210
Chartplotter: Garmin Echomap UHD2 94sv with GT56 transducer.

1) Transducer placement and mount:
I’m getting the Garmin tomorrow and will have a better idea of the size and placement of the transducer, but right now i think I’m installing it on the ride plate. There are 3 clear choices for the mount: a) one that comes with the transducer that’s plastic, which logically would break off easier if it hits something, thereby not putting stress on the part of the boat on which it is installed (transom or ride plate), I’m thinking of installing that on the ride plate, or b) a metallic one that provides rigidity and most probably less vibration (Amazon.com)
I’m leaning towards the plastic mount, as I’d rather loose the transducer rather than making repairs to the fiberglass. That said, I may also try @Julian ’s, @HangOutdoors or @JASmith ’s custom built aluminum mounts, which have the bottom of the transducer sit a hair under the keel line, hence providing optimal imaging.
-Question: For those who installed the transducer as shown in the pic below, hence above the keel, are you getting decent Side vu imaging?

2) Cable route:
I’m still working on part (1) right now but I have to say part 2 terrifies me: I need to drills holes into the fiberglass to secure probably 2 or 3 cable clips onto the transom (these should be ss screws), and I also need to open up the swim platfom and drill a hole for the cable to enter the area under the hatch. I‘ll need some type of cable clam for that. Then I’ll need to make my way to the engine bay, starboard side and follow the rest of the cables up to the helm. Right now this whole process is a fog and I’ll be crossing that bridge when I get to it, documenting it along the way.
-Questions: Anyone know whether the Garmin unit comes with the cable clips and the through hull fitting/cable clam?Otherwise I’ll go with this: Through Hull Fitting
What diameter hole is needed for the cable and cable clam though hull fitting?
What sealant would you use for that? 3M 5200 or 4200? Is there a Loctite equivalent? (Home Depot carries Loctite, so it’s easier to pickup)

3) Garmin unit installation on dash:
There are a few options to go about this, and I’ll be thinking about it and will document when I have a better idea.

Wish me luck.

 

[Berberman]

Questions as I now removed my winter cover from the boat and I’m starting to look at things:
- Any issue installing the transducer on the starboard side ride plate? The paddlewheel would be right in front of it and wonder if there would be any counter effect.
- I’m also considering routing the wire through the swim platform drain as shown on pic, adding a T for the wire and sealing it. Someone’s done that on the forum but cannot find that thread. Wondering if others have literarily gone that route?

 

[HangOutdoors]

I wouldn't put it in front of the paddle wheel. Move it out so that you dont have to drill the hull and the ride plate, just the ride plate. I personally wouldn't use the drain hole as water washes over the back of the boat and it does a great deal doing water sports or stopping abruptly, as well as all the water coming off people getting onto it from the water. you want that to all drain out as much as possible. Just drill a new hole using a clamshell and seal. It is not big deal to do. Use Marine sealant. 4200 or 5200, if you are white there use white.

The flat spot on the ride plate just to the outside of where the hull stops. No reason to put another hole in the hull down that low when you dont have to.

 

[Berberman]

I’m making progress on what needs to be done and how.
I now have a pretty precise idea of wire routing from the transducer to the helm.

1) Placement: I’m going to shift the Transducer placement to the right, indeed as @HangOutdoors pointed out it’s better to only drill through the drive plate. In reality the sketch of the placement on the pic above was wrong. I’m heading to Home Depot to get some SS screws and bolts to secure the transducer mount to the plate.

2) Wire routing: Decided to go through the swim platform drain. Will get a T from home depot as well as sealant. The way I’m doing it, it will still allow for drainage, though flowrate will be decreased as the cable will be routed through it, but not by much I think. I’ll document with pics when done.

3) Garmin screen installation: I ordered a RAM mount and a Seasucker. I’ll play around with it to see if I’m satisfied with the possible placements. For the transducer wire and power wire out the unit, I may go through the cup holder…Pics of various installations on this forum don’t really show where everyone has these suckers go through. Proof of a job well done.
For powering the unit, I’m still working on exploring the different options. Would ideally like to tap into something behind the dash. No decision yet.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I wouldn't put it in front of the paddle wheel. Move it out so that you dont have to drill the hull and the ride plate, just the ride plate. I personally wouldn't use the drain hole as water washes over the back of the boat and it does a great deal doing water sports or stopping abruptly, as well as all the water coming off people getting onto it from the water. you want that to all drain out as much as possible. Just drill a new hole using a clamshell and seal. It is not big deal to do. Use Marine sealant. 4200 or 5200, if you are white there use white.

The flat spot on the ride plate just to the outside of where the hull stops. No reason to put another hole in the hull down that low when you dont have to.

I’ll second not using the clean out drain line as a conduit. Just use the clam shell style like @HangOutdoors suggested. Here’s a pic of the transducer set up on my boat.




It also appears your clean out tray could use a bead of silicone to keep water from entering the bilge through a poorly sealed tray.

 

[Berberman]

Had a couple of hours and made some progress today.

1) Transducer installation: Got some SS screws and nuts (thanks Home Depot) to secure the transducer to the ride plate, marked location of holes and ready to drill away when I get a chance tomorrow.

2) Wire routing: solution (a) going through the wet storage drain is getting a little more complicated. The transducer’s cable plug won’t fit through, as the drain’s through-hull fitting inside diameter is well under an inch (The O.D.is 1”). I would have to swap it out for a 1” I.D through-hull fitting. Then I’d have to add a T to the drain pipe, which is not a big deal. Or, I could go with solution (b) as everyone has done and just drill the damn extra hole and 5200 the cable-entry cover that came with Garmin. Much easier, but I still wish solution (a) worked. The universe and all y’allz are pushing me towards solution (b). I’ll sleep on it.

3) Screen installation: Still waiting on my RAM mount and Seasucker from amazon to test out placement, but I successfully tested out powering the unit on by tapping into the 12V outlet behind the helm. I may reroute that to be powered independently, but that’s a battle for another day.
I’m thinking I’ll route the cables out the device through the cup holder, but need to do more research.

 

[Berberman]

Progress today:
1) Transducer installation: successfully installed on ride plate. I used one through screw with nut, blue loctite, and since the second screw location would have gone through the hull, I put a self drilling screw through the mount and into the drive plate, closer to the 1st one. Holds up very securely. I did add the additional plastic piece from Garmin that they supply to attach to a trolling motor. It allowed me to have the ducer sit lower.

2) Wire routing: I drilled a 1” hole as far up as I could. It’s a tight space but my compact drill did the job. Used a few zip ties around the mount, and around the anode. I have to do some research to find out if it will affect the signal. I haven’t sealed the through hole yet as it was getting late and I want to take my time with the 5200 application. Routed all the ables to the helm successfully using zip ties.

3) Screen installation: Received the mount and seasucker from Amazon and will play with placement later on. That RAM mount is massive so I’m not sure it will give me the flexibility I wanted.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I wouldnt zip tie that cable to the pump or to the anode. You are going to get friction wear on your cable with the vibrations. Use cable holders and secure them into the gelcoat going up the side. against the inner side there to the left of the pump. You can see where I did in my picture. The zipties also won't hold a lot of the time.

 

[Berberman]

The installation is all done, through I may tweak some or all of part (1), (2) and (3) at some point depending on a practicle on the water test for an extended amount of time.

(1) Transducer instalation: 5200 application went smooth after a lot of preparation for it. I put some tape on the back of the through hole, which helped with consistency of application. I then removed the tape, went through the back and applied some more. I’m fairly confident it’s been made whole with the sealant. I took my time with it because I did not want to have a mess. I added a cable clip right below the cable-cover to reduce any stress on the sealant. I left some exra cable length as well so I can move the transducer to some other location in the future, if I ever need or choose to.

(2) Cable routing: I put a sleeve around the transducer cable (thanks Home Depot) and zip tied the sucker to the anode to avoid wear. I’ll monitor how that holds up over time, but it’s easy enough to resecure it if needed. I didn’t want to put another screw in the fiberglass when there was a less intrusive solution (Call me a pussy).

(3) Garmin unit installation: I routed the power cable and the ducer cable through the usb/audio outlet which I do not use. The Seasucker works great and gives me the flexibility to attach the screen to my right above the levers, on the windshield, or to the left of the helm. I like it as pictured because it does not clutter the dash, leaves plenty of space to get through the to the bow, and my passenger/fishing buddy can easely be in charge of monitoring for fish while I focus on navigating.

Overall happy witht he install. There are clearly different and even better ways to have done it, but the way I chose to do it is best for me, though that may change down the line as I experiment with it.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback on this thread and to everyone who posted details of their own install on other threads. It helped tremendously.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Solid Install. Nice work.

Watch that seersucker mount there. They can fall off. I was using RAM Seer Suckers and have had the fall because of the weight, humidy, temp change, moisture, etc. The unit is not light and sticking on a horizontal. Would hate for it to fall hard bang and break.

Smacking a wave or coming down hard will give it a good jolt.

 

[Yammi]

Have you had a chance to test it? Looking to see if it reads at all speeds.

 

[Berberman]

Have you had a chance to test it? Looking to see if it reads at all speeds.

I was out in the ocean all day yesterday, 9am to 6pm, so I’ve had plenty of time to test it out in shallow water as well as in ~150’ deep waters. It works at all speeds, but I did get distortion above about 30MPH. In reverse the reading was distorted as well. The instalation stayed solid and my wire routing held up Perfectly.

 

[Berberman]

Well, here is an update to this install: I would not install the transducer in the same spot again. We do some tubing around the lake when I'm not fishing, and the rope must have caught the transducer and ripped it right out. Good thing I had the plastic braket instead of the metal one (which I bought but never installed), because it may have caused damage to the boat had it not snapped off. The transducer wire also snapped clean off.

I have an AR220 now, and I'll be installing the transducer directly flush on the bottom plate. Imaging will not be ideal, but I'd rather do that than loose a nother one.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Berberman That sucks. You gotta do what you need to do. Mine is not flush and never have a problem and we tube endlessly. Mine is lower on an angle bracket and nothing gets snagged on it.

 

[Berberman]

@Berberman That sucks. You gotta do what you need to do. Mine is not flush and never have a problem and we tube endlessly. Mine is lower on an angle bracket and nothing gets snagged on it.

@HangOutdoors Yes it may well have been a freak incident where the rope caught the transducer just right...plus I have to mention again that this is just my best guess on what could have happened. I don't think I've every hit anything that could have snapped it off, but anything is possible and I may not have noticed...
That said, to me it's not worth the risk of loosing another one of these again, having to purchase another transducer and having to re-drill and re-snake the wire was quite a project for me and I would very much like it to be a "Set it and forget it" kinda thing on the new boat