Question for 186xt and 176xt owners

[tmcneil6]

I have a 2008 Stratos 186xt with a shoot thru the hull transducer epoxied in the bilge area. When running across the water I get some seriously erratic depth readings most of the time it's stuck at 1.7 ft. no matter if I'm in 30 ft. of water. However when I am stopped and fishing it will read fine most of the time. I am wondering if it's the location of where it is mounted or if there are air bubbles in the epoxy from when whoever mounted it at the shop. I was wondering what type of transducer you all had transom or shoot thru the hull, and if so where are both mounted at specifically. Thanks in advance for any help.

[JR19]

Try this and see if it helps...pour enough water in the hull to cover the transducer.

I know that may sound crazy, but if you have air bubbles in the epoxy the water will work its way into the epoxy and fill the void. A transducer signal can shoot through water/fiberglass/gel coat better than it can shoot through air bubbles. There is something about air bubbles that will cause the signal to read funny.

I was having trouble with the transducer reading while the boat was on plane. I was reccommended the water in the bilige trick and it helped my signal read a lot better. It was not a total fix but the trandsucer does read 10 times better when I pour a quart of water in the bilige area before I leave the house.

[Nova Kaw 650]

When I get over 30mph or hit rough water, my readings can be all over the place.