Haven't rigged anything other than basic, cheap units in kayaks in years. There have been a lot of advances in sonar technology since I rigged my bass boat in '89. Now, I'm looking for a combination sonar / chartplotter to install on my Soloskiff. I am seeing a lot of unfamiliar terms like CHIRP, sidescan, downscan, etc. I have tried looking some of them up and get a lot of manufacturer's hype, but no concrete answers. So, here's what I need to figure out:

I want to put a small (5" or so screen) unit in the skiff with the transducer epoxied or gooped inside the hull. I'm not interested in color or in looking to the sides; I just want a basic monochrome display that displays what is beneath the hull and it doesn't have to tell me what time the fish are going to bite or why the sky is blue. What systems will work for my application? Which systems won't work with an in-hull transducer? I have basic sonar units in two of my kayaks, but nothing with chartplotter capability. Everything I see with a chartplotter added boasts all of those CHIRP or sidescan or downscan features that I don't understand.

Get you a Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar/GPS. It will do everything you want and
not break the bank. Contact on of the board sponsors and get a good deal.

go somewhere that has them on display and you can see the features. Down scan does simply that. scan downward but instead of the traditional 2d sonar view it looks more like a sonogram. for instance a tree will look lile the actual tree. you'll see the branches and even leaves. no mistaking what your graph is showing. the side view shoots out to each side and uou can see features like the down scan, only yhey can bd out to either side of the boat up to 150-200 yards. those transducers can't mount inside the boat.

The helix 5 will do everything you want at a good price. just look for gps and 2d sonar and you are good to go

Thank you, gentlemen.

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