272 depth transducer

[Swellsy]

Hello, everyone, I'm a new user and have just bought a 1986 272, very excited.

I want to hook up my Garmin gps 546s to a depth transducer and want to mount the transducer ahead of the keel.

Not wanting to drill my new boat yet, I have looked at in-hull transducers. The Garmin units apparently won't work with a cored hull and with a hull thickness greater than 5/8".

I have scoured the internet and as far as I can tell the hull is not cored, but I have no idea of the thickness (I am guessing it varies).

I will sail in Lake Ontario & the st Lawrence.

Any experiences or advice to share?

Cheers!

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

It is not cored but does vary in thickness. My suggestion is to revisit your reluctance to mount a thruhull transducer. If done properly, it presents no danger and will work better. My boat, if that matters, has 11 thruhulls for various items and it still floats.

 

[Panta Rei]

It is not cored but does vary in thickness. My suggestion is to revisit your reluctance to mount a thruhull transducer. If done properly, it presents no danger and will work better. My boat, if that matters, has 11 thruhulls for various items and it still floats.

I completely agree. The in hull transducers are for small inland lake fishing boats. I tried Mounting one with no luck. The manufacture told me to go with a thru-hill and that's worked great.

 

[Swellsy]

Cheers guys, other posts elsewhere seem to have mixed responses, but it seems clear that the thru-hull gives the best results. I'm still a tad reluctant.

Don, I expect your 11 thru-hulls were drilled carefully by experienced people as opposed to an Englishman with a hammer...

 

[Davidasailor26]

We got a lowrance unit that came with what's meant to be a transom mounted transducer. It works great from inside the hull simply bedded in some silicone. Reads fine in all conditions we've seen from 3 feet to 80. I'm sure different models and spots in the hull could have different results but we have no complaints. Supposedly you can put the transducer in a water filled ziploc bag and put the bag against the hull to test different spots, although we didn't have as much success with that as just mounting the transducer.

 

[Apex]

Our Catalina 25 had a transducer untended to be mounted through the hull, but was simply silliconed inside the boat and worked just fine. if reluctant, try mounting inside the boat first....... The key is to abvoid any potential air pockets between the trans and water.

 

[Swellsy]

Thanks Gents, that's two for and two against. I think trying the transducer in-hull first of all is a good non-destructive test. It wont be for a week or two and the boat wont be in the water until later in May, but I will report back.

 

[Panta Rei]

Thanks Gents, that's two for and two against. I think trying the transducer in-hull first of all is a good non-destructive test. It wont be for a week or two and the boat wont be in the water until later in May, but I will report back.

So once in the water you can test the unit by placing in a few locations that you might guess the layup is thin. My guess your instructions are telling you that. Most people use Vaseline to get proper contact (again, likely in the instructions) unfortunately you will be without a depth gauge until your next haul.

 

[Chief RA]

Use toilet bowl wax and put it in various locations to test for performance. You can leave it in wax or silicone it. If its just for depth sounding its not wise to punch a hole in your boat! Chief (FCC lic#1890)

 

[ccarmody]

I've also had fine luck with just setting it in a ziplock bag of water to move around the hull for testing

 

[Swellsy]

Thank you all for your help. I have ordered an in hull transducer and will let you know how I get on.

 

[Swellsy]

Well I have fitted the transducer after testing for a good spot as recommended by ccarmody using a bag filled with water. The transducer has a base that I stuck to the hull with silicon. Filled it with water (not recommended by the manufacturer, will change some time) fitted the transducer puck and it works like a dream. Piece of cake to do, I had more difficulty pulling a wire back to the display unit!

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Chief RA]

I have an in hull for a Lowrance HDS5 and it is so good that I can see the crab on the bottom!
For 35 prior years I have never seen a Dunginess presentation on ANY fishfinder! It is so cool! Has anyone else seen crab on their fishfinder?
Chief

 

[jibes138]

Probably not a good idea to use water, it freezes in the winter and expands unless you are in a tropical climate. I epoxied my transducer to a catalina 25 and it worked fine. The toilet bowl wax sounds like a good idea as it will be easy to replace if the need arises.

 

[thepiratedoc]

Swellsy - I too have a 1986 272 and while it came with holes already cut for transducers that were nowhere to be found, I can tell you that the hull thickness forward of the keel to starboard is about 5/16" - a tad bit thinner than I anticipated. I installed a Raymarine Bidata with separate ducers for speed and depth, employing 4200 inside and out, and they have held up beautifully thus far. For some reason I did not apply antifouling coating to them on installation, and will need to do so. Pulling the speed ducer was simple as it is intended to be pulled and comes with a plug, but the depth ducer is not that user friendly. Live and learn! I seem to be doing that a lot since I acquired this vessel

 

[Chief RA]

Dave: Water bag is only used to locate the best spot to put your transducer, then use epoxy,silicone,wax for more permanent install. Chief

 

[pgiorda]

BTW, what brand and model did you buy?

My Uniden QT206 broke after Uniden stopped making sounders. I tried replacing it with a Hawkeye, and although their customer support was very responsive and helpful, I was unable to get a reading thru the hull and am reluctant to cut a hole. Luckily I found a QT206 on ebay for a steep markup and it works.