New 2009 185 Sport - depthfinder suggestions

M

motoman324

New Member
Jul 6, 2009
1
Houston
Boat Info
2010 Sea Ray 185 Sport
Engines
4.3 Mercruiser
Happy to be a new Sea Ray owner - love the boat!

What's the hot setup for a straight depth finder, (no fish finder bs), with a display to fit in the dash spot, preferrably thru hull transducer so I dont have to drill through?

Thanks -
Mike - Houston area
 
Lowrance, Humminbird, Faria. I'm sure there are others. Take your pick. They'll all have models to fit in the standard 2 1/8" hole.

Using a "Shoot through the hull" transducer can be tricky. There's a few threads on that - try doing a search.

Transom mount is easier.

Through hull is a nice, clean installation - typically will give the most consistent performance.
 
Faria has a nice in hull depth sensor + wire water sensor but not sure what speed it works fine.
I just bought a Hawkeye which has depth (up to 63mph) and water temp on the transom transducer. Not tested yet.
 
If you go with the Humminbird HDR 610P you can order the chrome bezel directly from hummingbird as I did. The Humminbird HDR 610 is what Sea Ray used on many 185s with an actual through hull transducer, plus the gauge didn't say Humminbird on it.

I bought the transducer that Sea Ray used from Humminbird and drilled the hole. Sealed the edges of the hole with epoxy and it worked great.

See picture of mine here..

http://picasaweb.google.com/bslaber...key=Gv1sRgCNv9uejl3oDNhAE#5330317312354753874
 
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Funny that looks just like the Lowrance 3500 (except for the Humminbird logo) that came with our 280. I wonder who actually did make these things!

If you think you might be adding a GPS unit in the future, you might give some thought to something that can provide both in a single display. For example we have a 'standalone' Raymarine depth gauge and transducer that integrates to the GPS display.

Here is a link that shows the arrangement for the basic depth gauge and transducer :

http://www.boemarine.com/Products/E22043/Default.aspx

This setup is only slightly more expensive than the stand alone depth gauge and gives you future flexibility. I only used this as an example as I am familiar with the RM product lines. I am sure the other electronics vendors carry similar offerings.

Henry
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread but are the OEM depth guages thru hull or mounted on the transom? In my 205 I don't see anything on the transom and I have never looked at the underside of the boat. Just curious.
 
I don't know about the sport boat range, but from what I have seen the larger boats like the Sundancers have through huls. Given the small amount of hull along the transom that remains in the water when any of these boats is on plane, and the sensitivity to turbulence that the transducers have, I would think a through hull would be the better choice.

If you don't see a transducer on the transom, then it is somewhere in the engine compartment. Possible locations could be directly in front of the engine on the centerline, or under the engine roughly in line with the flywheel (assuming sterndrive application).

Henry
 
My 2007 185 Sport did not come with the depth finder either. I would like to add one as well.

Is the factory wiring already in place for a depth finder? In other words, does the wiring harness have an unused connection for the depth gauge behind the instrument cluster?
 
After reading a review in one of the boating magazines giving the best rating to the Uniden QT-206, I opted for that unit with a through-hull transducer. I had the dealer drill, epoxy and install the transducer in the standard hull location for this model. It mathces all the gauges nicely, altough I wish I could fing the chrome bezel that was available at one time. I really like this setup.
 
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