Shoot Thru Transducer

[WTA]

Well, I have a new item to add to the long list of possible temporary mounting mediums for a shoot thru transducer. The archives have folks using chewing gum, peanut butter, and toilet bowl wax just to name a few.

This weekend I was installing the new transducer on my hunter 240 and was looking for a good solid fiberglass location to mount it. The instructions say to put the puck in a bag of water and move it around the bilge till you get a good signal, but the unfinished fiberglass in the bilge kept puncturing the bag and dumping water in my usually dry bilge.

So a quick survey of the materials i had on hand turned up a tube of banana boat SPF 50 left over from last summer. i put a generous dollop of the lotion on the unit and squished it against the hull and what do you know, excellent signal return even over the Mobile Bay mud bottom. I then used the top half of a plastic cup and some duct tape to make a dam to keep the lotion in place. I quess all of those episodes of MacGyver back in the '80s were time well spent

If this location does ok after a couple of test sails, I will get a little more permenant and silicone the puck in place. Until then, I don't have to worry about it being effected by those pesky UVA and UVB rays that are all too common in the bilge.

 

[Ross]

You completely neglected the traditional tallow for all on board needs. Pine tar and tallow will solve most problems on a boat.

 

[MoonSailer]

Hard glue is recommended by manufacturers. I have used silicon with good results but hard glues such as an epoxy resin is supposed to be better.
http://www.fishfinderdiscounts.com/page/fishfinderhullmount

 

[Rick Webb]

Mine is in Place with Vaseline

By broker threw a jar of Vaseline on the boat to put the plugs on the mast that hold the shrouds and stay in the first time we put the mast up. It sat there for a number of years and when I put my depth sounder in it semmed like a good way to hold the transducer down while finding a good spot to shoot through. It lasted for several years finally getting knocked off while cleaning the boat. slapped another dallop on and been fine for several more years.

 

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't silicone or epoxy the puck in place. I generally recommend glassing in a piece of PVC pipe and then installing the transducer into a pipe cap that fits over the PVC pipe. This way the transducer is easily replaceable or removable for maintenance or repair. Fill the pipe with mineral oil...

 

[WTA]

Yeah, the manufacturer of the transducer recommends epoxy. They even included a "single serving" package with it. However, if i can find a way to make it work with something that is not quite so permenant that is the route I will take.

To me epoxy should only be used if you are really sure about some permenant change to your boat, and as all electronics ultimately tend to go out at some point (Thanks for the "law" Murphy), I like the idea of it being replaceable.

 

[Ross]

There are waxes that are as hard as plastic when cold but are very pourable when heated. I would use stearic acid for a candle maker supply company.

 

[sailingdog]

Ross is probably talking about a microcrystalline wax. Heated in boiling water, the stuff is very soft and pourable... cools into a hard plastic like substance.

 

[mitiempo]

Transducers are sealed in epoxy and not repairable. The only possible reason to remove it in good condition is to use it on another boat. If that isn't going to happen epoxy is the neatest solution of all. If you ever upgrade the depth sounder a good hit sideways near the hull will knock the transducer off and any residue can easily be sanded off. Then epoxy the new one on. No fluids to mess with or leak out. Alsi silicone isn't recommended as the small bubbles in it can give a bad reading.

 

[Ross]

You can get bubbles in any poured material. Stirring epoxy will almost certainly entrain air.

 

[MoonSailer]

I removed an epoxied trsnsducer once by hitting it and it came off undamaged. Reinstalled it in another boat. I would not expect it to be undamaged but mine was.
Silicon will work OK I have used it before and did not notice any change in performance. But how do you notice small changes in performance??

 

[Aircooled]

I wouldn't silicone or epoxy the puck in place. I generally recommend glassing in a piece of PVC pipe and then installing the transducer into a pipe cap that fits over the PVC pipe. This way the transducer is easily replaceable or removable for maintenance or repair. Fill the pipe with mineral oil...

This is how I do it. Works beautifully. Mineral Oil does not evaporate.

 

[kenn]

I wouldn't silicone or epoxy the puck in place. I generally recommend glassing in a piece of PVC pipe and then installing the transducer into a pipe cap that fits over the PVC pipe. This way the transducer is easily replaceable or removable for maintenance or repair. Fill the pipe with mineral oil...

Me three. I first found the best hull location by putting the transducer in a baggie of water. Then I made up a chamber of PVC pipe, complete with screw-on cap, glassed a small plywood base onto it, and siliconed the whole thing to the hull.

I once had a problem with an epoxied transducer that partially loosened. With a liquid, you always have a perfect coupling to the hull... no worries about epoxy or silicone loosening, or air-bubbles.

Besides mineral oil you can also use non-toxic RV antifreeze. Me... I used water. Yes so far I have removed the transducer and emptied the chamber before every winter.