Depth Sounder

Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
There are plenty of depthsounder transducers that are capable of shooting through a solid glass hull (I would assume your hull is not cored) I've seen them mounted in a little tube filled with oil, stuck to the hull with silicone sealant and epoxied to the hull. All of the above worked. In my last boat, I stuck it to the inside of the hull with 5 minute epoxy and was happy with the results.
Check, when you buy that the transducer is capable of shooting through the hull.

Cheers

Matt
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I have installed transducers inside, by setting them in big blobs of silicone sealant. I kind of think epoxy would be better, but the silicone is more easily "reversible" if it doesn't work well.
 
May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
Use Toilet bowl wax until you fin a good location then glass it down (poly resin is fine and cheaper than epoxy). Be sure not to have air bubbles

Les
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Use Toilet bowl wax until you fin a good location then glass it down (poly resin is fine and cheaper than epoxy). Be sure not to have air bubbles

Les
Do you mean you leave the wax in there, and glass the transducer to the hull, encapsulating the wax?
 
Sep 15, 2016
790
Catalina 22 Minnesota
Do you mean you leave the wax in there, and glass the transducer to the hull, encapsulating the wax?
Best advice I got on this forum was plumber's putty. It allows the transducer to shoot through my hull, is reversible, and cheap! I have a C22 so almost the same style hull and it works just fine. In fact because of salvage parts I was able to buy at Minny's in CA I had the transducer, gauge, and putty all together and installed it myself for under $25 in about 15 min.

Best location on your hull is centerline under the V birth but in front of the keel and you can use a ziplock bag with water to test the location before going with the putty. No air is the key.
 
May 20, 2016
3,014
Catalina 36 MK1 94 Everett, WA
I would remove the wax before glassing it in - maybe use it to make a dam around the transducer so plastic doesn't flow everywhere.
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Fill a ziplock bag with water, put transducer into bag and find a spot that can receive a good signal. Then You can used clear silicon to mount it. I mounted mine as level as possible and slightly forward so that I can read the depths slightly forward of the bow and keel.
 
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jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
You know, depth sounders are over rated. If I had to choose on instrument out of the three, traditional sailing instruments, it would be wind. The only time we ever really pay attention to depth is anchoring, but with a gps chart plotter, a sounder it might not be necessary. I know, easy to say sitting on the couch, but just saying.
 

Slartibartfass

Capri 22 Mod
Dec 13, 2015
499
Catalina Capri 22 1139 Mamaroneck, NY
You know, depth sounders are over rated. If I had to choose on instrument out of the three, traditional sailing instruments, it would be wind. The only time we ever really pay attention to depth is anchoring, but with a gps chart plotter, a sounder it might not be necessary. I know, easy to say sitting on the couch, but just saying.
I was somewhat thinking along those lines myself.....
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
You guys with no sounder.... Great if you are deep blue water sailors. If doing any gunk hole visiting you might rethink that idea. Getting in on a gps and chart alone is putting a lot of faith in the age of the chart and that their has been no shoaling since the charts were drafted... What is it with soundings some of my charts use the 1980’s I think for the last date of soundings...
I look on the depth gage as a tool to “trust the charts - but verify”.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
The only time we ever really pay attention to depth is anchoring, but with a gps chart plotter, a sounder it might not be necessary.
...I look on the depth gage as a tool to “trust the charts - but verify”.
When I learned navigation in the 70s, sounding the depth was one way to verify location. Sailing in the fog around Vinelhaven, it seemed pretty important. Of course, on a pulling boat we used the same depth sounder as jviss. That's also the depth sounder we had on our 56' schooner.
- Will (Dragonfly)
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Perhaps a fish finder would be the thing to have. Depth and fish all-in-one. I think you can even get gps with those, to mark good fishing spots.
- Will (Dragonfly)
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I don't know if I'd have an electronic one on a 22' boat. Maybe. I guess basic wind, speed, depth makes sense on almost any sailboat, but you don't often see a wind transducer on top of the mast on anything under 30' around where I sail. I think you could safely say that around here, most sailboats under 22' don't even have an electrical system. I see the Capri 22 has a basic 12V system, but no built-in way to charge the battery, as far as I can tell.
 
May 23, 2016
1,024
Catalina 22 #12502 BSC
plumbers putty, done...toilet wax is messy but fine, no need to install permanently w/epoxy.
can't imagine NOT having a depth sounder on any boat (don't ask how I know that).
 
Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
You guys with no sounder.... Great if you are deep blue water sailors. If doing any gunk hole visiting you might rethink that idea. Getting in on a gps and chart alone is putting a lot of faith in the age of the chart and that their has been no shoaling since the charts were drafted... What is it with soundings some of my charts use the 1980’s I think for the last date of soundings...
I look on the depth gage as a tool to “trust the charts - but verify”.
What he said. ^^
To expand a bit, it all depends where you sail. our lake is quite shallow and the water level varies throughout the season. I know the lake well enough to know where not to go, but having a sounder provides that extra datapoint.

Cheers

Matt
 
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