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AmazonThe sonar's transducer is mounted on or through the hull, where it sends sound pulses down and listens for the echoes.
Drilling the transducer holes
Through-hull transducers need holes drilled through the hull, so it pays to check the positions carefully first: inside and out, clear of frames and anything that disturbs the water flow over the transducer. In this video I drill the holes for my sonar transducers, after cleaning the engine bay and painting the exhaust.
Installing the RV-320 transducers
In this video I install the Raymarine RV-320 transducers for my Axiom Pro, which gives both down-looking and side-scan sonar, and attach the anodes to the hull.
Searching with side-scan sonar
Side-scan sonar looks out to each side of the boat rather than straight down, building a picture of the seabed. In this video Paul and I head out with Dave to see if we can find his lost boat awning with the Axiom Pro's side-scan sonar.
Installing a Wi-Fish sonar
For a smaller boat, the Raymarine Wi-Fish is a simpler install. It has no screen of its own: it sends the sonar picture to a phone or tablet over Wi-Fi. In this video I install the transducer on the transom and the Wi-Fi transmitter on the dash. It wouldn't connect at first, and updating the unit's software fixed the connection problem.