Bad to power up garmin out of water?

[RussC]

I recently purchased a Garmin 43dv and love it so far, but I keep hearing about people who feel it damages the transducer to have the unit powered up when out of the water. I don't see any such warning in the manual. any experience here with this?

Thanks,

 

[woodster]

if it has a cannon plug/disconnect...... just disconnect it when out of the water if it is an issue to you

 

[Joe]

Why would you have the boat's gps on when it is out of the water?

 

[centerline]

I have owned Garmin, Humminbird and Raymarine sounders on my trailerable boats over the years, and have many times forgotten to shut them off before pulling the boat from the water... sometimes for days afterwards til I realized they were still pinging, and have never had a single problem. (My brother has experienced the same with his boats)
the GPS portion doesnt matter because its not water related anyway.

so I would have to say the myth is busted.

but transducers do fail sometimes, as I have had to replace a humminbird transducer many years ago, and just recently the transducer on the clipper duet that is in my 34, but neither reason was due to the transducer pinging when out of the water.
so its possible that whoever started the rumor had a weak and failing transducer that was pushed over the edge of its capability a few days earlier than it would have failed anyway.....

 

[RussC]

Good to hear Centerline. I suspect you're right about how the rumor got started. sometime I may just forget to shut it down before trailering, and other times I may want to ck the log wile at home. I'd feel better about doing that now.

 

[Pat]

I recently purchased the same Garmin 43 dv but am not sure what to expect in trying to use the sonar part...I really just bought
it to replace my old Garmin 3 Plus. Am I going to miss not hooding up the sonar/fish finder ?....According to the fellow at Garmin, this model is suppose to have the best maps of our Kansas lake....Do you use the sonar, and if so, what issues should I expect in hooking it up....where did you install the transducer on your sailboat? Thanks for any advice. Patrick

 

[RussC]

Pat. I've only been able to use my 43dv the one time we've had the boat in the water so far, so I may not be the best person to ask about it.
That being said…. I was very impressed with the quality of the lake maps included, the amount of information shown, and the logged trip details. the main map we've used so far just shows the gradient lines of the lake bottom, but it proved to be extremely detailed and accurate. I can't imagine using the unit without the sonar hooked up, as that gives a lot more detail of the bottom when needed. if there was a sunken treasure ship down there you could check for any treasure chests on board.
When I bought this boat it had an old fish/depth finder with the transducer mounted on the transom, so when I installed the Garmin I just used the same transom mount that was already there. the day we tested out the boat had very light winds, and there was very little healing involved, so I may end up mounting the transducer inside if it proves to be an issue when healed over. we don't do salt water, only protected lakes, so it may work out fine on the transom however.

 

[Pat]

Thank you so much....I feel better......was it difficult to install the sonar and where did you mount the thru hull or waterever
was needed for the sonar to work?.....I'll have to have our club manager install this and just wondered where you mounted the
sonar stuff...(stuff is not the right word).....thanks again.......Pat

 

[Davidasailor26]

It's not uncommon to mount transom mount or through hull transducers in silicone or wax inside the hull. Given that transducers survive that without issue, I don't see why running them dry would be a problem.

 

[RussC]

Pat. I mounted the transducer on the transom ONLY because there had been one there previously, and the wire retainers and hole for the wiring was already there. the potential issue with mounting the transducer on the transom is that it could come up out of the water if you encounter much heavy wave action, and/or healing over of the boat. the potential downside of mounting it inside the hull is that you could have an air pocket in the hull or bedding material that would make the unit perform poorly. even the thickness of the hull must have some effect on it's function, but many folks do it that way without apparent issue, so pick your poison.
if you do decide to mount on the transom, place it as low and as close as possible to the centerline of the boat without the rudder or prop hitting it when turned to the max.

Davidasailor26. what I had heard was that the transducer pinging without the resistance of the signal going through water could overload the electronics. I was skeptical also, but had to ask. apparently it's an old wives tail anyway.

 

[centerline]

the one issue that should be thought about before mounting is the running of the transducer wire to the head unit. it can give off a signal that other electronics can pick up inductively thru their wires that run in close proximity to the transducer wire.... one thing for sure is that you cannot run two seperate transducer wires alongside one another and use them at the same time, but you may also be able to hear the ping thru the radios....

at night when all is quiet, I can hear an echo of mine pinging (clicking) thru the hull of the boat and not sure why or how. so I need to shut it off.

the way I mounted my transducers, which i would recommend, is to find a good spot on the inside of the hull that is out of the way but accessable.... then clean the area with soap and water.
then i took a piece of white pvc pipe and cut it so it would fit the contour of the hull as it sets vertical... only an inch or so is needed...
then I put a small bead of silicone around the pipe so it will adhere to the hull just a little... I then melted a ring of toilet bowl wax and poured in the recess of the pipe... once it had cooled enough to support the transducer, I placed it on top of the wax... press just a little bit and it will stick forever, or until it gets bumped... but for security, I heated the remainder of the wax again and added another quarter of an inch.....

it its easy to get to and there are no holes or screws... and if i ever want to move it all somewhere else, its a simple task with no mess....
some people set them in silicone or some other adhesive bedding compound, and other use the wax ring in a blob with the transducer in it, but I like the clean proffessional look of the little pvc pipe with the transducer setting in it.

some transducers are longer than they are wide, and by heating the pvc in an oven to about 225, you can form it oblong before cutting to size, this way you can use a smaller pipe and still fit the odd shaped transducer in it.

 

[seadaddler]

Yes I would take my raymarine C-80 home and play with and setup routes
all winter and even when on the hard hooked up to all other instruments yes on the hard.
I know surprise surprise really no water needed I know crazy for sure a boat and no water around just dry land.
Nick

 

[Pat]

Thank you guys for the great information....I'm pretty certain this may delay my launch, but maybe not...I still need to get the wire(s) up inside the Edson wheel and then to the stainless pedestal guard...I bought the pedestal mount but haven't thought how I do all this...maybe I' can just go up into the cockpit floor directly into the ss pedestal guard........how about electrical
connection....until just now had not thought of that....76 here today...78 yesterday...but so far generally very windy..
thanks again....keep sending me your thoughts and recommendations...Patrick in Wichita

 

[Pat]

Seadaddler, we sailed in Punta Gorda for about 7 days a couple years ago....(maybe more than a couple)....had a great time visiting a friend who lived in a condo in Cape Coral...is that nearby?....he had a private dock built just steps from the condo pool where he kept his O'day 302 docked....We had a wonderful time although it rained nearly every day (period around the 4th of July)...but mornings were beautiful as well as the evenings....thanks for all your comments ...I'm really not sure of the issues involved in running wires from the pedestal guard, down the wheel, etc....and I'm not real talented with this sort of deal......Patrick

 

[seadaddler]

Cape Coral not far maybe 30 minute drive but really shallow for my 5 foot draft and do mostly motor there do to shallow and need to stay in channel from PG.
My wires go up the left stainless post at the helm to my chartplotter and instruments and power control is in the right side on my setup but may differ with yours.

Ni.ck

 

[Pat]

I've only had this out of the original box once and need to look at again....is there a secret best way to hook up power to the unit....from here to there, etc.....? My last little gps was a Garmin 3 plus that was powered by 2 AA batteries....I'm certain this one can not be powered by batteries....too bad, was so simple...Thanks for your advice. Patrick

 

[Pat]

Centerline, how far above the waterline would this installation be.?..I'm thinking back under the quarterberth as O'day put several easily moved teak hatches back there...I'm not certain the most aft of the two is close enough to the waterline using the pvc pipe as described above.....also, how big is the transducer in relation to the pvc pipe....I'll take it out of the box and try to answer my own question......Patrick

 

[centerline]

Centerline, how far above the waterline would this installation be.?..I'm thinking back under the quarterberth as O'day put several easily moved teak hatches back there...I'm not certain the most aft of the two is close enough to the waterline using the pvc pipe as described above.....also, how big is the transducer in relation to the pvc pipe....I'll take it out of the box and try to answer my own question......Patrick

im not entirely sure I understand your question, but I'll do my best to answer.

one thing I want to make absolutely clear is that, we are NOT cutting a hole in the boat and installing a pvc pipe to put the transducer in.... this is a "shoot thru" installation, without any holes. it works just as well as a direct "water contact" installation, but has many benefits that an exterior mounted transducer does not have.

so.... inside the clean, dry, holeless, hull, the transducer mounting is not above the waterline... the trasnducer should be mounted somewhere towards the center of the boat where the hull will never lose direct contact with the water in rough conditions.
any air bubbles that pass under the transducer can cause it to lose its signal, and sometimes it takes a few seconds for it to regain.... this is very aggravating when trying to read the meter.

as for the waterline that may be inside your boat, it doesnt matter because the transducer is waterproof.

the pvc pipe is only a vessel to hold and protect the wax inside of it, because the toilet ring wax can be messy if it is left exposed... it also causes less wax to be needed, as when you pour the hot wax in, the pvc only needs to filled til the top of wax is level inside it, so the transducer will set level on it

the pipe size in relation to the transducer matters little, as long as the transducer will set inside of it..... when I used an older garmin transducer, the pipe was bigger and I formed it into an oval shape so the transducer fit with a very slight bit of clearance all around, I then cut the angle so it fit the hull perpendicular, and then cut it to length. it was only 1" high on the short side and only had about a quarter inch of wax in it on the outer edge....

on my 34 with its compact little nasa clipper transducer, its only about a 1.25" in diameter (round), so I used piece of 1.5" pvc and did not have to form it, but stuck it to the hull and poured the wax in.... and placed the transducer.

I like to place the transducers in a location where I can support the cable above the transducer with a tie, so the cable does not come directly out of the unit and flop/bend over and lay in the bilge, but looks like a professional installation.

 

[RussC]

As to the power leads there are only two wires in the power cord. they go to your 12v cabin battery. these units don't run on self contained batteries. the other cable goes to the transducer.
I like the way Centerline set up his unit, but these Garmin transducers are so long that I doubt you'd find a piece of pvc suitable. I just played with a piece of 4" pvc, but it couldn't be formed large enough to go over the unit. If I end up mounting mine inside the hull I think I'll cut up one of the containers shown below. lots of different products come it this size and shape from soap to fix-all and plaster products, and it gives plenty of room for the long skinny Garmin transducer.
Centerline: how hot did you have to get the toilet bowl wax to make it flow?

 

[Sailm8]

I used the PVC pipe method in my old boat. I filled it with plain water and cut a plexiglass circle to cover it and slow evaporation. I have heard others just used a ziplock bag filled with water. I never tried it but don't see why it wouldn't work. The shoot through the hull method might cut down on how deep it can shoot but I really don't care how deep the water is, just how shallow.