power requirements
The new breed of electronics requires more power than their ancestor units did . The bigger screens , processors and transducers collectively pull more current , which requires a proper power infrastructure . I learned this the hard way : On my first outing with my big-time electronics , the screens were wrought with interference , the units cut off every time I cranked the boat and eventually drained my battery .
To be clear , none these issues were the electronics ’ fault ; they were mine . I simply had no clue about having the proper power and pathways to run these units correctly . To put it more accurately , trying to splice power off my front navigation lights with 14-gauge wire from a group 24 battery was an epic fail ( Hey , I never claimed to be an electrical engineer ).
Every pro I spoke with said I needed to upsize to a group 31 marine battery to assure proper power for everything , including ample cranking power , pumps , shallow-water anchors , accessories and
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER multiple big-screen electronics that run all day . Replacing the group 24 battery with a bigger 31 was not an option for me due to the size of the group 31 .
I did find I could squeeze a group 27 marine battery into the bilge area and it did the trick . Again , this is a smaller boat , just as some of you may own . I ’ m running just two big screens with very few accessories and a midsize outboard . The group 27 battery almost doubled my cold cranking amps and amp hour reserve capacity compared to the group 24 .
clean power
In older boats and smaller , economical aluminums , you might have a single 12-gauge wire running to the console or bow , which then splits off multiple ways to run all sorts of pumps , gauges , radios , etc . Trust me , adding your high-end electronics into this scenario is a bad idea .
To perform at their best , these bigger electronics should be served with their own source of “ clean power ” with a dedicated pathway straight to the battery . In terms of wire size , all pros I spoke with agreed that 8- or 10-guage marine-grade wire has plenty of capacity to run a big screen unit . Once I ran 10 AWG directly to each of my electronics from a group 27 battery , the performance of the electronics improved drastically .
super-duper ’ ducers
Another thing that surprised me about the new electronics were the highpowered transducers that come with them . Any of the transducers that have forward-looking capability need their own power wire and / or transducer box to run them . I did not know this .
When running new power wires for the front unit , go ahead and run another set of wires just for the forward-facing transducer . The power box ( supplied by the manufacturer ) should be installed somewhere in the boat that is out of the weather , yet accessible , like in a rod locker under the front deck . Depending on the brand , some forward-facing sonar transducers do not require a power box , but still require power to the transducer . The point is , you should run clean power to the transducer as well as each unit for the best performance .
These new transducers also come with proprietary brackets that must be installed correctly ( usually on the trolling motor ) and then tweaked to get the beam at the correct angle relative to your trolling motor position . This takes some time to dial in to make sure you ’ re casting accurately to the objects and / or fish on the screen . I practiced with visible dock pilings for a couple days to get this right .
Finally , be extremely careful in routing the transducer cord . If you cut or severely bind the cable , there is no replacing the cable ; you must replace the whole transducer , which is very expensive . With that , several pros recommended taping the transducer cord the entire length of the trolling motor shaft with a double layer of electrical tape instead of using zip ties . Tape provides the best security and protection for the cord without the risk of binding it with zip ties .
fuses and switches
All pros advised using an in-line fuse on each power wire running to the electronics for protection . In addition , several suggested installing a dedicated master power switch ( like a Perko or Blue Seas switch ) between the battery and the power wires to make sure no electronics are leaching any current from the battery during storage . Many contemporary bass boats already have a large-gauge master switch installed , and some pros admitted tapping into blank terminals on this master switch to power all their electronics without incident .
A couple of clean-power purists suggested that the master switch or power busses on older boats already have too many electrical accessories drawing from it and therefore does not constitute true clean power . In that case , they recommended installing a master switch just for the electronics , thereby giving all the electronics and the transducer their own power and switch ; this is the route I took and it works great .
If you ’ ve been considering adding these new forward-facing fish finders to your older or smaller boat but were unsure about doing it , trust me : If I can do it , you can do it . Just make sure you start with the provisions of proper power , pathways and protection , and you too can experience pro vision from your own boat .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 21