So I went a little over budget on electronics....

After meeting Straycat today I was so inspired that I totally blew my budget on my electronics purchase.... Went to get a Helix 7 SI GPS G2N and came home with this:

Very clear

Nice!

Very nice!

I was shopping hard for bass boats and was set on Humminbird.

Wife got involved and I ended up with a center console and Simrad units, which I'm happy with, but those helix are awesome

Can't hide money.
Wish I was a "rich business owner."

Thanks guys. I hope to get it out on the water soon. I finally (hopefully) got my trim unit problems corrected today. Been working on it for several afternoons. Craziest electrical problem I've ever encountered. I'll make another thread about that at a later time. It might help someone down the road.

Tomorrow's project is mounting the Helix. I hope I can find a good transducer location. I don't think Humminbird had riveted aluminum boats with no jack plate in mind when they designed this unit. LOL

AC, for a nominal fee, I can make that dream come true.

Does it have a transducer now? I just mounted mine where the old transducer was and sealed it up with some silicone.
You probably already thought of this but PM or text Klay. I'm sure he has advice.
BBC Boards is another great resource.

I'm sure you already know this but I would mount it permanently until I put it in the water and found the sweet spot for it

Lol just a little over. You will like that set up.

You'll really like it. BUT........the Helix 10 is the same size chassis with a 1" larger screen........just sayin..........the 9 could be returned..........more screen....more detail......

....More money....about 300 more moneys

I think this one will suit my needs. I got a Ram mount for it so I could turn it around towards the front platform while I'm fishing.

zkd, how do you mount it temporarily? Only way I know to mount it is to screw it to the hull.

Yes it has one now but it's out at the edge of the boat. With SI it's supposed to be mounted close to the centerline, or at least that's what the youtube videos I watched last night recommended.

I would hose clamp it to a pole where you can sit on the back deck and hold it down to different places on the hull. The main thing is you don't want any cavitation while idiling. The ducer needs good water contact to read properly

If you can't find a place centerline then you can offset it a little and just trim your motor up a little while scanning to give it a clear view on both sides of the boat

Different ways to mount for testing based on what kind of hull/engine you have. If you have a clear shot down the rear of the transom, use a piece of oak 1x2 or 1x4, mount the ducer on it and then c clamp it to the transom (far away easiest and best way to test it out). Second best is to mount a plate to an engine bolt that can be adjusted for testing. The last resort is 3M 5952 two sided tape. It's pretty good but getting it off can be a pain. Don't leave it on there for real long and it won't set up as bad.

Remember - idle speed only for testing so you don't detach the ducer and eat it with a prop.

I haven't used si much for fishing but I've used it a lot for underwater archaeology and geomorphologic data collection. Ducer placement can mean the difference between getting sub centimeter separation and not being able to see much of anything but ten centimeter blobs.

May have to use shorter screws with the piece of wood method if the ones sent with it poke through the board.

Don't screw it directly to the hull. You can buy a polyethylene mounting plate to mount to your hull. Or, if you have access to nylon blocks, you can make your own. Attach the plate to your hull and then mount your transducer to the plate. The transducer will need adjustment to get it right and the plate allows you to move it as needed, without having to drill a bunch of holes in your hull.

Glad you got a good one! Buy once cry once.

Dont drill into your hull unless you absolutely need to.

Get some starboard (google it) or equivalent and use some 3M 5200 fast cure and glue it on then screw your transducer into that. Cabela's sells a mounting board that is basically a big piece of poly. You can uses that and glue it on. No holes = no problem!

Use some uhmw. You probably got some off a feed wagon laying around somewhere

I'm going to mount straight to the transom. I'm cramped for space already and anything I put on the transom will just make it stick further back. Holes in aluminum don't bother me. I've got a guy or two that can weld them up better than Tracker did to start with.

I need a jack plate. Anybody got a free one laying around?