After 7 years I am going to upgrade the Multi Function head unit on my Contender. I have decided to go with the Lowrance HDS 12 Gen 2. I am not plunking the money down for CHIRP because I rarely fish over 200-300’ which is where the greatest benefits seem to be. I will install the structure scan transducer and leave my existing B-260 1kw transducer glassed in. After a talk with Airmar about sonar degradation over time, they assured me that a transducer either works, or does not. I had always heard they “age”. Since a new CHIRP transducer would add about $2k to my cost I decided to go this route.
The unit I have now is Northstar which was bought by Navico, which owns Lowrance. A quick look at the wiring guide and # of pins on my connectors looks like I may get lucky and not need to upgrade my radar and the transducer should be good as well. I’m sure there will be some issues trying to mesh some of it together but that is not where my real question lies.
Looking at the dimensions before the unit arrives I see it is much smaller overall. Screen size is comparable but the cut out for flush mounting will be way off. Here is where my problem lies.
I am thinking about just making a StarBoard piece that will fill the entire back wall where the new unit will be mounted. The new units size will allow my radio to come down into this area and be mounted vertically on the right side. So whatever I do, will be mostly cut out again for the new units anyway. I could likely put a little 1/2" StarBoard trim ring around it to make it not look too awful.
The second option would be to remove the unit and re glass the void it leaves. Lots of work just to cut a bunch of holes again. Not to mention it will be a fairly tight spot to work in.
Option 1 would certainly be acceptable and doesn’t look too bad. I recently had to do that on my boat when replacing a VHF. Option 2 would be better of course, but much more expensive. If I were doing it for someone else and they were willing to pay for it, that’s what I would do. But even having the skills to do it myself, starboard works fine for me
One more option is to make the new mounting plate from 3/8 black acrylic, it looks much flashier than starboard and about the same price.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Just had a guy on another site shoot me a pic of some carbon fiber they use instead of StarBoard. They use some laser jet thingy to cut it perfect and have a few different colors. We’ll see if it falls in line price wise.
I do not have the patience to do the glass work and gel coat. At least I know my limitations, lol.
good call on international marine. they do good work from all of the dashes i have seen. also they give very good deals on electronics, even the ones that no one is discounting.
Cortland, couldn’t you cut some Starboard and overlap the old hole from the outside to shrink the hole? The unit would be raised from the flush fit you have now, but no more than the thickness of the Starboard and wouldn’t look bad. You could epoxy the Starboard to the old console surface.
Alright then, Superglue! I bow to the Master, Cracker! Didn’t know that. I thought epoxy would stick to anything:face_with_head_bandage: HD, and Lowes sell a product called Azek. You can but it in boards and a lot cheaper than Starboard! It’s a PVC product and comes in different colors. The trim boards are smooth on one side and wood grained on the other. http://www.vintagewoodworks.com/azpvcpr.html
There is only one adhesive that will bond Starboard, and you still have to heat the Starboard before application. You’ve got to thru bolt or screw it.
Courtland,
There is a guy who makes electronics boxes for Contenders. They’re really nice pieces. Retractable clear cover panels if you want, etc. If you search THT, you should be able to find him. His stuff looks great. You can spend 5 or 6 hours of labor to a good glass guy or you can just order a new box from this guy and drop it in. I am not a big fan of starboard to cover up stuff. It looks like an afterthought, and it’s hard to seal it up so that it doesn’t leak. Starboard also expands and contracts, so the bigger the piece of it, the more it expands and contracts, which eventually loosens screws that you’ve got mounting it. If you want a panel to cover things up, then look at a carbon fiber panel. There are guys who make these to your dims and ship to you also.
Your ducer cable should be the same as the Lowrance. If it isn’t, it won’t be much to get an adaptor from BOE Marine.
Just my 2c now-
The Simrad Evo2 NSS units have CHIRP and sidescan built in, and the transducers for that setup are far cheaper than the M265 or B265 full function CHIRP ducer plus BSM-2 needed to process them.
I believe the newest Lowrance touch models also come with a CHIRP and sidescan built in. The big cost with CHIRP at first was the processor box and the ducers. Now Navico has put out these Simrad and Lowrance models that will CHIRP sweep but don’t require the overkill that you point out as being too much for your needs. They won’t do as much as the full scale models, but they’re still significantly better than the HDS2 system, IMO.
Respectfully, CHIRP is better in every depth. It puts more power in the water and processes it more efficiently to give you more information. Power doesn’t just mean greater depth as you know. This stuff gives you more definition and target separation and is hugely better when you are on plane and looking at a wider angle cone of the
There is only one adhesive that will bond Starboard, and you still have to heat the Starboard before application. You’ve got to thru bolt or screw it.
Courtland,
There is a guy who makes electronics boxes for Contenders. They’re really nice pieces. Retractable clear cover panels if you want, etc. If you search THT, you should be able to find him. His stuff looks great. You can spend 5 or 6 hours of labor to a good glass guy or you can just order a new box from this guy and drop it in. I am not a big fan of starboard to cover up stuff. It looks like an afterthought, and it’s hard to seal it up so that it doesn’t leak. Starboard also expands and contracts, so the bigger the piece of it, the more it expands and contracts, which eventually loosens screws that you’ve got mounting it. If you want a panel to cover things up, then look at a carbon fiber panel. There are guys who make these to your dims and ship to you also.
Your ducer cable should be the same as the Lowrance. If it isn’t, it won’t be much to get an adaptor from BOE Marine.
Just my 2c now-
The Simrad Evo2 NSS units have CHIRP and sidescan built in, and the transducers for that setup are far cheaper than the M265 or B265 full function CHIRP ducer plus BSM-2 needed to process them.
I believe the newest Lowrance touch models also come with a CHIRP and sidescan built in. The big cost with CHIRP at first was the processor box and the ducers. Now Navico has put out these Simrad and Lowrance models that will CHIRP sweep but don’t require the overkill that you point out as being too much for your needs. They won’t do as much as the full scale models, but they’re still significantly better than the HDS2 system, IMO.
Respectfully, CHIRP is better in every depth. It puts more power in the water and processes it more efficiently to give you more information. Power doesn’t just mean greater
I am not sure where you’re trying to get your electronics, but the NSS12 evo2 is out. Like I said, the ducers aren’t as expensive if you get a single range sweeper instead of both high and low. Low is pointless unless you’re in over 1200ft.
Airmar is distributed in Lake City, SC.
If you want help, you have my number.
Just offering…
You don’t have to cut out your existing ducer. You can keep on using it. Displaying it’s 50khz in split screen at the same time as a high freq. chirp or it’s 200khz in split screen at the same time as structurescan would be pretty sweet. All you’d have to put in as a tilted element- holesaw and 5200- done. Way more of a system than the HDS2…
I have had both, and I wouldn’t be trying to make you waste money if it weren’t worth it.
Just a suggestion, but instead of Starboard, I’d use 3/16" G-10. It is fiberglass, is remarkably thin for its strength, doesn’t bend or warp, is perfectly flat, sands wonderfully, takes any kind of paint, adhesive, or sealant very well, shapes and forms perfectly, laminates well, holds screws and hardware as solid as you can possible want, is extremely stiff, virtually unbreakable, even in small, thin strips, cuts very cleanly without boogers or melted edges, and naturally bonds extremely well to any kind of epoxy. The only minor downside is that it’s pretty hard on blades, but you won’t be cutting much, so a regular jigsaw with a good blade will be fine. I’ve never really understood why people use starboard over g-10.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc. https://stricklandmarine.net
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
