bigblue

Garmin has come a long way with their sounders . In my opinion it equals if not betters the other unit and doesn't come with the program soft wear,  warranty and service issues that brand X if infamous for . There are three major players in the field RayMarine, Furuno and Garmin . This should start a war on this board . My two cents and that's not worth much nowdays.

Hello dane  to the best of my knowledge chirp is for salt water at bleed nose depths 1500 and feet and beyond . saltwater is denser and heavier than fresh water and a lot of fishing is done at great depths hence electric reels etc . Most lake fishing is done at much shallower depths and the standard high def systems work fine . Garmin owns the GPS market and their fish finders and sounders are much improved the last few years . We run a 4212 and 4210 display on one boat with a GMRS 24 sounder module and on the smaller boat a 720 and 721xs with the transom 50 200 and it performs . My two cents.

The chirp system is useful in deep saltwater fishing but great lakes freshwater with the light water and max depths 400 ft or so waste of time in my humble opinion . The Garmin units are kick A## units we have been running 5 units on 2 boats for the last 4 years. The 721 and 741xs units will run just fine with the 0101019201 transom mount . It's a 50 -200 unit with temp and speed at $170.00 bucks . There are through hull ducers and transom mounts from $85 to $400 that will work well. Do some research Garmin products and support are the best .

We run a 20 and 23 foot glass boats about the same weight as your Ray . Alpha II drives Franks 18" bags work well anything larger may be overkill . My two cents.

Everybody has a opinion worked on my boat and it didn't cost a dime .Take it off altogether and see what it does to your low speed steering you will be all over the place . Don't knock it if you haven't tried it .The guy is talking Sea Ray heavy boat they sit tight in the water unlike a Bayliner.

Turn the anode plate and fin to the direction the boat wanders to .As to how much trial and error inch at a time . Easy fix.

Liquid tape works well put it on a dry cable 2 0r 3 coats let it dry between coats and give it a day to set . Got 5 years out of my first cable .

Don't look for cheap they are first class units get it from a Garmin supported dealer . Going on year five only problems were self induced . My two cents and that's not worth much now days.

Deploy the copper then half hitch one or two rubber bands on the braid hook the loop or loops to the release ( we use large Scotty ) and send it out . Albright to the backing . Copper haywire swivel add your leader what ever knot you like . Good luck 300 is a good choice.

It's about low speed steering you can run it but you may look like a drunk driver going out of the marina .

Did some checking both of the brothers have passed . They did the Buffalo show for a few years always fun to talk and share with them .

There were two brothers still have some of their product tinsel flies and squids They were from Honor Michigan one if not both have since passed . Great guys always willing to share . Dam I am getting old.

Tr1 autopilot pricey but the best fishing tool in our boat . On year 5 no problems. Its like having  a first mate on board. On our smaller boat we run a Panther Electro Steer its not a autopilot but it steers remotely it only works on 20HP or smaller. but its a great unit around $500 vs $2900 for the Tr1 .

You need a motor . The Brute motor only fits a Brute . The Tourny Pro motor will interchange I just order two today to upgrade a pair of Captain packs.

 The 20lb thing sounds great but the logistics of the setup are not as simple as you think. It does work our King depth record is 287 feet but the process takes two guys and a lot of headaches it's like trying to deploy a Mac truck. The bite and release  is different and one rigger at that depth is max. Most 15 and 16 weights work at more practical depths with a slower trolling speed . The big weights are fun to fool with but practical no . Have fun with it . We only have one 20lb shark and it only comes out when we are pressed or bored. I guess I shouldn't  comment in this section sorry if I crossed the line.  

Thanks Bruce .

Not really any of my business but is that transom big enough to carry all that weight . I run 8 and 9.9 ht Yamahas on our 20 and 23 ft glass boats both IO"S and those kicker motors make their presence known with the weight. Hope it works out for you.

Invader they always look homemade you can tell by the line counter . Big Jon has not changed that much the early ones had aluminum spools not plastic my friend still runs a pair .

Been using a TR1 on a Yamaha 9.9 HT for a few years the only thing that changes is the mounting bracket on the servo piston on the lower unit . Everything else is the same from year to year make to make . My two cents and that's not worth much nowdays . Call Garmine they are usually very helpful.

looking for a subtroll 900 head display .

Thanks for the info. Just missed a sale $599 taxes in .

Has anyone heard if the standard X4 is going to stay in production . I prefer it over the X4-d but I will not buy one if they stop making the X4. Thanks for any help.

They made it that way . Was going to buy one to replace my sub-troll until I read that , If they continue to make the x4 I will go for that . The depth feature is ok but not necessary in my IMHO . The surface speed helps in reading cross currents etc not something I want to be without.

A single pass through is actually stronger . I would nicks the shrink wrap it doesn't make anything stronger it just hides potential breaks , copper connections need to be checked on a regular basis. The big Scotty realease with rubber bands on the copper is the way to go . My two cents and that's not worth much nowdays.

Our two boats are named " LIVEWIRE "  because we love to run wire and divers  with LiveWire Spin Doctors and Atomik flys.