Humminbird 610 Installation

Hello all, I'm a new first time boat owner. I have a Tahoe Q4(2007) and have had it out a few times. Anyways I just bought a Humminbird 610 depth sounder to install since the boat currently does not have one and I'd really appreciate the depth where i'm taking the boat. I was curious to see if anyone had pictures and tips on how to install the transom transducer and what to use to seal the holes. Also if anyone could explain the wiring to the ignigion(I dont like dealing with electricty much)? I've never drilled into the hull and that makes me nervous to even think about. Well thanks in advance!

Justin

Re: Humminbird 610 Installation

I just installed a fish mark on mine. I understand the hesitation to drill the hull, especially below the water line, but it isn't that big of a deal. Follow the directions and you should have no problem.

They will tell you how to position the transducer correctly and the exact size drill to use for the screws that were provided. Make sure to counter sink the holes before tightening the screw down or you will spider crack the gel coat. I used the slightly bigger drill bit spun in reverse to do my counter sinks. I also used liberal amounts of 4200 in the holes before putting the screws in. Just make sure to check the other side of the hull before drilling to make sure you aren't going to go into something important like a fuel tank or something.

I'm assuming your boat is an I/O. If that is the case you will most likely have to drill the hull to run the transducer chord through. Do that one well above the water line IMO and make sure to cover the through hole and cable with a clam shell.

The instructions tell you to isolate the transducer cable from the rest of the wiring. I didn't nor did any of my friends with sounders. We all ran the cable along with all the other wires going to the helm. I'm sure someone might run into interference doing this so this one is up to you.

For power to the system, my boat(a 93) has an older style fuse block in it with several spare fuse locations. I wired the power to one of the spare fuse spots and put a fuse in. For the negative I just plugged it onto the negative block that is on my fuse block.

Mine works just fine. Now I just have to get some expierence in using it to find the fish.

Re: Humminbird 610 Installation

Cool, Thanks for the imput....i guess its the first drilled hole thats the worst!

Re: Humminbird 610 Installation

Before you drill make sure the bottom is smooth and flat in front of the transducer or a raised area (behind a step) on the bottom of the boat might cause air turbulence and cause the transducer not to work at times.

Also, my Humminbird installation instructions say to mount it at least 15 inches away from the prop.

If in doubt, just swing by a boat dealer and they can point to the best spot.

Disconnect the positive lead of your battery while you are hooking up the two wires to your fuse block. As to working with electricity keep in mind it's not 110 AC like house electricty, it's only 12 volts DC current. No big deal unless your are planning to do something stupid like touching both wires to your tongue to see if you've got juice (don't do that ).

I use 3M 4200 sealant because it's not permanent. Just dab a little on the threads of the screws before your screw them in. Drill the screw holes in the middle area of the brackets slots so you can move it up and down to adjust it. Don't drill the bottom 3rd hole if your bracket has one until you test drive it. If everything works good, then drill the last hole which locks it in place from moving up and down (not all brands use a 3rd bottom screw).

I'm sure your unit came with an installation sheet. If not download one from the brands website.

Read through it and ask back here if you have any questions before you dive into it. It's actually real easy to do even for a layman. I've probably done it about 10 times over the years (just did another one yesterday). Only the 1st time is a little scary.

Good luck and welcome to iboats, you can learn a lot here by surfing around past threads with the search feature. This topic has been discussed many times!

Re: Humminbird 610 Installation

Thanks for the helpful insight! I got around to installing the actual gauge in the dash today, I did disconnet the positive battery cables before I connected them to the fuse panel. One question I have about that is on the fuse panel the circut breaker is a 5amp one and in the directions it calls for a 1 amp circut breaker. Will this make a huge difference?

Re: Humminbird 610 Installation

Do you mean that the "entire" fuse panel is protected by a 5 amp fuse cause that would seem odd to me? Or is that the lowest size fuse you see in the panel.

I'm not familiar with your boat's panel. You may want to ask this same question in the iboats Tahoe boat forum as maybe someone has hooked up their fishfinder to that panel or at least knows what the panel looks like.

The easiest way to hook it up for now is having an inline plastic fuse on the wire from your new unit and connecting the other end to your battery. Many units come with this fuse as part of the wire harness. If not you could pick one up Radio Shack and put a 1 amp fuse in the holder. Get a couple of spares to keep on board too.

When you find someone who can locate the proper wire near your panel that is coming from the battery side that you can splice into or clip onto. You want to be on the hot side which is before it goes into the fuse panel if you use an inline fuse.

My boats a 2007 but I have not been under the dash in 2 years to remember what my panel looks like. But I know it was not circuit breakers on my model. I think it's just the glass tubular type. My Daughter's boat which is a 1999 that I just hooked up her GPS 2 days ago had those glass type fuses.

For now I would just connect the fish finder directly to the battery as long as you have that 1 amp in line fuse in between unit and the battery. Then when you find someone that is more knowledgeable than you are on where to locate the wire on the side of the fuse box that is not going through the fuses you can move it.

You might want to post this question in the forum for your brand boat because without a picture of you fuse panel I can't direct you where to hook the hot wire on.

Someone will chime in to this thread that is more familiar with your exact situation.

You could always search through old threads too. I'd start with terms like "hook up fish finder" or Google that term and you will find instructions on how to locate where to hook up the hot wire!

If you want to get into finding the right place to hook it up you might want to first get a $2.99 digital tester at Harbor Freight if you have one in your area. It's a handy thing to keep in an on board tool kit any way with a roll of plastic tape, spare fuses, flashlight etc.