Garmin setup issues

[Bill Babler]

On the Garmin recall:  The latch bracket is not yet available, I am looking into it, as Marine Repair Center has requested them and have yet to receive any.  The other issues are just some things that need to be tightened in the head.  Do not let your boat dealer take off the head or your warranty is gone.  Only certified Garmin tech's can do this.  The final issue is the Gps Lock coming off and the motor going on an erratic high  speed romp.  Reason is crushed coils.  You can fix this your self by making sure your motor head is at least 6" above the block and that the coils are not compressed and float freely on the shaft.

You can also request the latch from Garmin and see if you can get it.  I'm going to email my tech and see if he can send me one prior to Marine Repair Center getting theirs.

[Bill Babler]

Also after it has been on the boat for a couple of weeks, every nut and screw will need to be tightened.  Mine has several loose nuts.  After that check them from time to time as general maintenance but they should be good.

On another note, don't let any boat dealer or non-certified tech touch anything and I mean anything.  Just got off the phone with Garmin getting the Active Capt. app installed on my phone and everything registered and the conversation got around to unauthorized people installing Garmin Marine equipment.  Big No, No.

If your dealership is not authorized take it to another dealer that is regardless of the boat brand.  Preferably to Marine Repair Center in Springfield,  Mine was installed by a former  Garmin Regional Tech. that handled the pro-staff.  He represents a tackle company now but all the big boys on the Elite/Flw and Bass Pro Tour use him as a reference.

Took him 9 hrs. to do mine.   He also pointed out the Livescope box needs to breath,  Mine is in a side carpeted box with nothing around it.  I told him about your box being placed in the nose Bobby and he did not like that one little bit.  Said he likes to have at least a 6 to 8 inch clean buffer around the box, with no nothing in that space.

And, yes Bobby on further info from my boat rep, you have to have a second unit for a thru hull and the GT54UHD.  His thru hull oil bath unit is a GT15 so I had the wrong number.

I'll try and keep up if I can.

[Flysmallie]

On 6/29/2020 at 9:52 AM, fishinwrench said:

Somewhere along the line bassboat owners developed this mindset that they need to be able to hammer across extremely rough water as if their life depended on it.  Some really good hull designs have come from people having that mindset..... but everything ABOVE the hull isn't always built for it.  

It's a shame to see otherwise great fishing boats tore all to hell because the previous owner thought he had to never avoid severe conditions.  

Well I rode a Champion through hell and back and never broke anything above the water line. Other than batteries and a trolling motor switch or two nothing inside the boat was ever hurt. 

[fishinwrench]

8 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

Well I rode a Champion through hell and back and never broke anything above the water line. Other than batteries and a trolling motor switch or two nothing inside the boat was ever hurt. 

Trolling motors and sonar units actually fared better back when they didn't weigh so much.   The heavier the objects you bolt to the bow....the worse the damage they can cause.  

It might seem cool that your new trolling motor mount is built like a tank, but that SOB is HEAVY, and it's bolted to a plywood-backed fiberglass cap....which is attached to the hull with some 3/16 rivets and some silicone.    Start hammering that hull around and something is gonna give. 

Used to be the transom was what you carefully inspected before buying a used bass boat.  Not anymore!   The thing to do now is grab hold of that rub-rail up front, pull up hard and twist on both sides, and see how much slop the top cap has.  If the boat has had a Fortrex or similar badass TM mount bolted to it.....I guarantee you'll have some movement up there, and it's gonna get worse with every wave you cross.

[bobby b.]

17 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

Reason is crushed coils.  You can fix this your self by making sure your motor head is at least 6" above the block and that the coils are not compressed and float freely on the shaft.

Bill, I don't understand the quote above - crushed coils? - do you mean the coiled up wire at the top of the motor shaft? - Also 6 inch above the block - what do you mean by block?

Thanks

The new boat is finally in hand.  Went for the test run with the tech yesterday morning - everything worked well - the little Garmin Striker locator connected to the hull transducer worked ok at least to 30 mph - ran the boat up to 67 mph (not quite all the way) so likely to get near the advertised 70 mph out of it - but wasn't looking at the little graph to see if it was reading because I was just holding on.  

Regarding the Garmin install, the Branson West Marine techs know what they are doing -can't say the same for the Ranger Company - Ranger ran tiny wire to the Live Scope black box so that had to be redone by the dealer - also I questioned the location of the black box under the front panel - when you see fins on an electronic box, your first clue would be "I wonder if this thing gets hot" - plus I had the 126sv mounted flush so there is little to no air circulation under there - the black box may need to get moved but there is a limit given the transducer cable length.

Because Ranger did not offer the Echo Ultra series graphs, these were installed by the dealer - they did a great job - Ranger Co. installed the Force, the black box.  The Live Scope transducer was left in the box as I requested because I will have RM Industries install the turret thing (tomorrow).

First impressions - AWESOME boat but then it should be for the price - this is the most expensive thing I've ever bought except my current house - just to put things in perspective, the boat was almost 3 times the cost of most first house and just a little less than my second house (which had 6 bedrooms in 4000 sq. ft) that I lived in for 30 years before retiring. - Just saying.

More to follow

Bobby

[Bill Babler]

The head is the top of the trolling motor with the directional signal on it.  There are 3 coils of heavy black wire below this head.  Below that is the turning block.  The head must be maintained at least 6" above the turning block so the coils turn freely and are not crushed by the head putting pressure on the coils against the turning block.  If the head is touching or putting downward pressure on the coils crushing them against the turning block that is when it damages them and causes the problem.

 

[bobby b.]

Thanks Bill,

Got it - I adjust the motor depth to give 10 inches.  

Bobby

[Bill Babler]

Bobby, I'm sure you got the 57" with the Fish and Ski, but for those with a straight Bass Boat the 50" would pop out of the water if it were very rough at 10"  I think mine is at 7 inches and that seems pretty good unless a wake boat goes by.

I was also able to order the Latch Kit and it is on the way.  

Good Luck and thanks for the thread.  

[bobby b.]

Bill,

I ended up getting the Z519 and added the Ranger Ski pole for the kids.  I assumed the TM was the longer one but I'll measure it today.

Heading over to Purdy this morning to get the transducer turret thing installed.  Will report on that soon.

Thanks for all the info you provide here.

[Bill Babler]

On a 519 the 50" shaft should be plenty