through hull transducer tip

[CMP]

direct from the mfr. Thinking about one for my boat...

http://airmar.com/pdfs/install/17_300_01_r05.pdf

CMP

[tobolamr]

No actual hole, just dug the wood core out of a place about 2x3 inches with sharp wood chisel very carefully. Filled with putty and reglassed over the top. Shoot through the uncored hull.

Do you always need to dig out the wood core after glassing? Or would it be safe to just put the hole in the hull and glass over it during construction?

My thought process on this would be to get the hull stitched, glass in stringers/bulkheads/etc, and then make the hole in the hull. Then use a piece of cardboard/whatever with Poor Man's Peel Ply on it to plug one side of the hole, fill it with putty, and then fair that area before glassing.

What do you think? Thanks!

[JimW]

direct from the mfr. Thinking about one for my boat...

http://airmar.com/pdfs/install/17_300_01_r05.pdf

CMP

Won't work for a cored hull, read the pdf. "Fiberglass hulls only." So you still have to "dig out the core." Why would you want to spend the extra money? So you can replace the transducer later? That's the only reason I can think of.

tobolamr,
Your idea is fine. With okume and a sharp chisel the digging out was quicker and easier than I expected. But your idea will work fine too. I actually had to do mine twice because my first location ende up being too close to a stringer and the fillet and glass covered it up! I had to go through the inner skin and then through the okume the second time! But it worked fine in the end.

[CMP]

No chit Jim, I read the pdf as well. My point in posting that was that that this particular ducer is the latest/greatest produced by the leader in ducer manufacturers and it works well with all of the high end machines such as my 582. It's another option, ok???

CMP

[JimW]

Beg the pardon of yours. I will put you on the non beginner list. It appeared you were answering my original post with a way to avoid coring the hull. That was an erroneous assumption about your post on my part. Just didn't want someone to pay the extra money for one of those and slap it on the cored hull and then have problems. Again a slight misinterpretation on my part. Did not intend to insinuate you didn't know your chit.

I think this can happen a lot when you provide a link and say "direct from the mfr. Thinking about one for my boat... " with no other info. I always try to describe what I post from as many common "home builder" angles as I can. The new guys tend to like that, and it tends to drive the "experts" crazy. But I digress.

You have a "582"?

'lil jimmie

[Labine]

Hi JimW!
Very interesting your thru-hull transducer installation.
My son just gave me a UNIDEN depth finder with transom mount tranducer installation for my OB17 under construction..
Could I use the same transducer and use your technique??

Thanks

Labine
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[tech_support]

I have done something similar before - mounting a transducer in fiberglass hull (21 ft. bay boat). The bilge was pretty flat at the stern, so I just "glued" the transducer directly to the bottom using some epoxy. I never noticed any loss in signal. I’m not sure if you even need to "cut" anything. I would probably try it this way first to avoid any unnecessary cutting. Good luck.

[Labine]

Hi SHINE!

Thnks for your opinion. But, tell me: was your boat a fiberglass boat or a composite wood/fiberglass one? Apparently, it is the wood which is causing the interference to the transducer waves.

Labine

[JimW]

Hi JimW!
Very interesting your thru-hull transducer installation.
My son just gave me a UNIDEN depth finder with transom mount tranducer installation for my OB17 under construction..
Could I use the same transducer and use your technique??

Thanks

Labine
================

Yes it should work fine. Mine was also a "transom mount transducer". Never heard of one that didn't do fine glued in the bilge. You must glue it over an all glass "port". Make sure all the air bubbles are out of the epoxy and use slow hardener to keep the heat from building up to much during the cure of this "pot" of resin. If anyone wonders how it will work and doesn't want the permanance of epoxy use silicone rubber. It will work but may rattle loose and loose signal stength after a few months, but it's easy to remove it in silicone. Then you can epoxy it in later after you're sure you like it.

Jim

[Labine]

Thanks for your reply JimW!
Now, how does that installation compare with the Thru-hull installation that comes with buying a Thru-hull model? I could go to the store and exchange mine easily.

Labine
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