Gulf Of Mexico Hard Bottom Faring Block Mounted Transducer

[Miss Hayden]

Aloha
I have a 29’ Welded Aluminum Hull Commercial Charter Boat, Twin Yamaha Outboards.
I am Installing a FCV - 295 and my question is
what is the absolute best faring Block mounted transducer
for finding Hard Bottom and Seeing Fish Tight To Bottom
1-3kw

(I currently have a faring block mounted 275 LHW 1kw,
Connected to another Touch screen unit I dont care for from Raynarine
and it works excellent for finding Shows and Spikes but does not show me bottom composition at all.)

 

[Miss Hayden]

I have been reading everything on this forum and in web searches. Airmars B260 transducer comes up over and over again in discussions of hard bottom fishing and finding bottom tails.
Is the airmar B260 the benchmark for finding hard bottom tails?
Can I do better than a B260?
Are the Furuno ca50/200 -12m or ca50/200 1T transducers better?
What is the difference between a B260 and furuno ca50/200 -12m???

 

[Miss Hayden]

The pictures are from airmar website of a B260 in 200 with a Q of 9
And my current B275LHW with a Q of 2

 

[Snips]

Miss Haydon,
Experience has shown that higher "Q" transducers are better at showing bottom tails when looking at the primary (first return) than lower "Q". Also using a short pulse length will help separate fish returns from the bottom. Personally I feel that either the 12M or 1T will do a better job at showing hardness changes than a B-260.

Snips

 

[Miss Hayden]

Thank You Snips,

Is there another transducer that can be faring block mounted that is even better than the ca50/200 or is that basically the best option?

 

[Snips]

Miss Hayden,
I really depends, do you want a transducer that uses a off the shelf fairing or are you looking to make a custom one? Also how deep of water are you working in?

Snips

 

[Miss Hayden]

Sir,

Whatever we did would getting attached to an aluminum hull
I was ok with modifying the faring block with a Dremel as i have read is required for the CA50/200.
I could get into building a faring or whatever it takes possibly to be and have the best!
What would be my next more involved option?
Im fishing 80-300’ 99% of the time professionally / commercially and I want the best options
Or all the options you can suggest please to ring the hard bottom.
Beyond the CA50 / 200 whats next?

Thank You!

 

[Miss Hayden]

Sir,
Would the 526TID-HDN work better for ringing hard bottom than the CA50/200?

Is there an advantage to using the CA50/200-1T vs a 12m in a high speed faring block application, for ringing hard bottom?

 

[Snips]

Miss Haydon,
Below are a couple of screen shots that may help you.
The 525T was early model of the 526 (B-260).

Snips

 

[Miss Hayden]

Thank You Snips
Unless you suggest something else that would be better but require modification / fabrication
I will get the ca50/200
Is there any difference between the rubber coated and regular version?

 

[Miss Hayden]

Snips,

Ca50/200 12m seems like the stronger faring block bronze design?

The ca50/200 1t is for a tank mount?

Is that correct sir?

Thank You

Miss Hayden

 

[Snips]

Miss Haydon,
Yes, you are correct.
What sounder are you planning to use?

Snips

 

[Miss Hayden]

Snips,

I bought the 295 sounder.
Any advice as to settings for (grouper fishing) searching for hard bottom in 100-200’ of water?

Thank You

 

[Miss Hayden]

Snips,

I thought you mentioned earlier making the pulse length longer would be helpful for hard bottom hunting fish like grouper which are typically within 1-10’ of the limestone slabs...?

 

[Snips]

Miss Haydon,
I use a Short 1 Pulse for fish and a Standard Pulse for bottom hardness.
The nice thing about using a FCV-295 is you can try all the different Pulse Lengths to see which one works best for your depth and bottom type.

Snips

 

[Miss Hayden]

Thank You for Helping Snips!

 

[Miss Hayden]

Snips,

Keeping in mind my goal of finding hard bottom in The Gulf of Mexico
Waters 300 ft or less
Sounder is fcv-295

1) What is the correct high speed faring block for the ca50/200 please?

2) Also do you see much advantage to building an aluminum faring and tank mounting a 2kw transducer such as a CA200B-82M

How much higher Q would I get and

How much difference would be achieved in water 300’ or less.

3) Finally the ca50/200 you recommended in this thread for finding hard bottom
Will work with a FCV-295?
Furuno’s transducer charter does not have it listed as compatible.

Thank You

Miss Hayden

 

[Snips]

Miss Haydon,
1. There was never a high speed fairing built for the 12M or 1T, however we have used a
B-260 fairing in the past.
2. No
3. The 12M and 1T use the same TAP settings, B for 50 and C for 200Khz.

Snips

 

[ginodan]

This is the CA 50/200 1T in a custom fibrelite mould and tm260 bracket pretty much mimmicks the tm 260 works a treat.

 

[Miss Hayden]

Installed the 295 and a faring block mounted ss260.
I went with the ss260 after speaking with airmars technicians and furunos techs
There are more elements in the 260 according to the techs, it has a Q of 8 or 9 which is the best I could find
The system is bad ass! I read bottom for a living and it has really improved my ability to find hard bottom and grouper tight to the bottom.
The sonar is the most reliable and believable ive ever used.