Puck Transducer - Depth sounder

[Cpt. Jon]

Hello,

I just purchased a 1980 H30 and it does not have a working depth sounder. The PO had one installed previously, but it's broken. He (like most of us) didn't like drilling holes in his boat and so he installed a puck transducer on the inside of the hull rather than a through hull.

I was wondering if those of you with knowledge of these puck transducers could let me know if they work well and what type of adhesive to use etc if I purchase a new sounder and go with the puck transducer as well?

Thanks!

 

[Tim R.]

Test the transducer and the gauge. The transducer may be fine and likely compatible with other brands.

 

[CKDK]

For best results you want to have the transducer away from any major turbulence from the hull. A good idea to try is to use the wax from a wax ring for toilet installation to stick the puck to the hull. They only cost a couple bucks and you can move it to different places inside the hull to get the best results. Just make sure you don't have any bubbles in the wax. That will mess up the beam. I used this set up in a previous boat and it was still working fine 6 years later when I sold it.

 

[Cpt. Jon]

Test the transducer and the gauge. The transducer may be fine and likely compatible with other brands.

The existing guage is an dial type that is on the engine instrament panel. The dial is broken off of it, I am planning on replacing it with a digital one, though I think the old dial looks really neat. I like having the alarms on a digital one though.

I thought the location of the existing transducer was a little odd. He had it basically in the compartment under the sink which is next to the engine aft of the keel. I would have thought putting it forward of the keel makes more sense.. but I guess it may not really make that much of a difference when you are moving anyway. The old transducer popped off though, so whatever he had it mounted with finally gave up.

The wax is a good idea.

 

[sailaway78]

Put it in a baggie of wate

Hook up the transducer and put it in a baggie of water. This will allow you to move it around to various locations and find the one that works or you like best. They do work fine shooting through the hull, no need for holes. Many opinions of mounting, everything from wax toilet rings to epoxy. I used marine tex on mine, but the wax toilet bowl ring seems to be a fairly well used option. I guess you just go with whatever turns you on for mounting.

 

[kloudie1]

Jon, it wouldn’t hurt to take the old instrument apart and see if the needle just needs to be gently pressed back on..?? Some of the oldies had their needles lightly pressed onto the operating shaft and the time and temperature cycles would pop ‘em off. While you are in the instrument, you can use some courage and inventiveness to make the dial look better? Ya can’t hurt it after all!

 

[Seattle Scott]

I replaced depthsounder with a fishfinder

http://www.northeastmarineelectronics.com/garminfishfinder140bwlcdwtmducer010-00460-00.aspx and you can flush mount the unit. I used a puck inside the hull stuck on with silicon calk, center line in front of keel. It is accurate and will read down to about 160ft. the tranducer is not silent, click, click click.

 

[rpwillia]

What brand?

Jon, You did not mention what brand and I am not sure if it matters. I had a US 27 before and I had a Humminbird 100SX fishfinder with both he standard transom and the hockey puck transducer both epoxied to the inside of the hull. The puck was made for this and it worked great.

Since you are just looking for a basic sounder why not just get a cheap fishfinder which also gives you a bottom trend (going shallow or deeper or just an aberration on the bottom) as well as a large digital readout, alarms and fish info. I personally recommend Humminbird as they repaired my electronics unit for free ($0.00) even though the unit was 3 months out of warranty. Had that unit for many year and the guy I sold it to is still using it.

At any rate more graphical information a fishfinder provided sure beats the Raymarine ST60 depth finder I have on my boat now which just gives me a digital readout.

 

[Ross]

Re: What brand?

I have an Apelco fish finder(recommended by Practical Sailor about ten years ago). I have been very pleased with it. I use a transom mount transducer. I don't feel that I am agile enough to mount it at the bow and venture into water so shallow that the difference from bow to stern is important.
I have friends that grounded on a log and their depth sounder showed 12 feet. The depth sounder was correct from where it was looking. 3 feet past the log.

 

[Prime Time]

Silicone

I took a large plastic cup and cut out the bottom. Then I duck taped it to the hull up forward under the v berth. I partially filled the cup with silicone and placed the transducer into the silicone. It was not a puck variety but designed for a thru-hull mount. It works fine like this and have not had to touch it for 3 seasons.

 

[Cpt. Jon]

Thank you for all the replies, it's why I love this site! I'm not sure of what the unit it or if it's repairable, I'll take a close look at it this weekend I think. I think it would be neat to repair and use it, I may try. I had thought about a fishfinder and haven't ruled it out, i didn't think many people would have them on sailboats, but the bottom profile is nice to see. I have a garmin GPS that I could split screen, but I am thinking that I would like the separate unit for depth so not to take away from the small size of the plotter.

My initial thoughts were to get a depth sounder that would fit in the same spot as the existing unit (guessing it's about 4 inch diameter, but haven't had the chance to measure it. Seems like most of the sounder units are now around 2" or so diameter, so it wouldn't exactly fit the same hole, but I thought I would make a plate that would fill in the rest of the hole that is left.

Sounds like the puck transducers work as intended, so I plan on going that route I think. I guess it will depend on the length of the wire for the transducer to see if I mount it in front of the keel or where the existing one is.

Interesting story about the log, it would seem that you wouldn't be able to do anything about it even if the transducer was mounted in front of the keel, but it is nice to know when you are about to rub the bottom if the tides are borderline for a channel before you touch and having a little more keel now means it will be more likely to happen... especially until I know the limits of the new boat.

Cheers!

 

[Ross]

We had a great sail tacking down a rather narrow channel watching the depth instead of the channel buoys. As long as the bottone showed flat we continued but when the slope changed we tacked as soon as we hit eight feet. On one tack with a steep slope we put the helm over at 8 feet and had 6 feet when we finished the turn. The boat draws 4.5. That botton contour allows you to take more room than you would feel safe with if you had only depth.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I, too, had good luck mounting a Uniden depth sounder with an in-hull puck in a previous boat. I used a silicon, and sort of mashed the puck down with some light pressure to press out any air bubbles in it. I used silicon because I wanted the option of being able to move the mounting location, should that be needed. Mount the puck where it has a clear shot thru your hull to the bottom, preferably fore or aft of your keel.

Another fun thing to practice with a depth sounder is navigating fathom lines on your charts ... You never know when that GPS will quit ... or when Uncle Sam feels like dithering the signal.

 

[Cpt. Jon]

Another fun thing to practice with a depth sounder is navigating fathom lines on your charts ... You never know when that GPS will quit ... or when Uncle Sam feels like dithering the signal.

Indeed that would be good practice. I've sailed more in my area that I really don't need a sounder unless I want to press the tacks a little closer to the flats/shoals when going upwind. It's very useful when anchoring in a hole somewhere. I think with the bigger boat I will do more practicing without different instruments for when I am out of my comfort zone... around here I could almost sail blind with exception to crabpots :cussing: