1998 Osprey 205 Trim Tabs and Transducer Location

[gwinnibarge]

I have an new fish finder/chartplotter and skimmer transducer that I have to mount.  I was going to simply replace the old transducer and be done with it, but am also considering installing trim tabs.  There is limited real estate on the transom for both.  Also, the swim ladder on the Euro transom only allows for about 9 inches of clearance aft of the transom for the trim tab.  My questions are:

1. Are trim tabs a good addition for this hull, and if so, do you recommend the limited space trim tabs (12 x 4 Lenco) or larger tabs ( 18 x 9 Bennet)?  The latter choice would likley require shimming the swim ladder to add a few inches of clearance.

2. Will this hull allow for the mounting of the skimmer transducer as a shoot-through-the-hull from within the bilge?  The install directions provide for this set up, but the hull cannot be constructed of certain materials, like wood, which will block the signal. 

Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts on these questions!

[CLM65]

I have been contemplating tabs on my 205 for quite a few years.  In fact, here is a thread I posted on the subject.

http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=9642.msg82823#msg82823

I think the boat can benefit tremendously from them, but I'm not sure how long I will be keeping the boat, so I keep putting off the decision.  The consensus is the larger the better, but Seabob (who is a wealth of knowledge but unfortunately doesn't post here anymore) had pretty good experience with the smaller Lencos.

As far as mounting a shoot through xdcr on your 205...there shouldn't be any wood in your hull bottom.  However, check to see if you have a liner in your bilge.  For some reason I think my 205 has one.  My 1996 200 Osprey had a shoot through xdcr that I was very happy with, but when I got my 2002 205, I seem to recall that I couldn't mount the xdcr the same way because of two layers of material that it would need to shoot through.

[gwinnibarge]

Thanks for the info CLM65.  The post you cited is right on and very helpful.  I will have to look down in the bilge to see what the deal is regarding a one or two layer set up. I can't recall. I had my head down in that bilge quite a bit last year, but I don't remember the details...imagine that!