bond abs to fiberglass

[Hayden Watson]

Anyone have a method to bond a waterproof ABS electrical box to the hull?

My C30 has a solid FRP hull and because of that I have always used "shoot through the hull" transduces instead of the more traditional thru-hull transduces. My current setup used a 4" ABS sewer cleanout fitting to mount a transom mounted transducer. It has worked great for the past 15 years but I am upgrading to a Garmin unit and the transducer is a bit less than 7".

My plan is to use this ABS waterproof box and cut the bottom off and build up the height of the sides to accommodate the slope of the hull so good bonding to the ABS will be more important than on my previous mount.

 

[dlochner]

Most of the transducers used today are made by Airmar. They make a transducer that has its own mounting bracket. Do a little investigating, you may be able to buy a Garmin display and use a compatible in hull transducer.

 

[GSBNY]

To bond ABS to fiberglass you could go with West Systems G Flex.

 

[Hayden Watson]

that is handy because I have G-flex on board. That was what I was thinking of also after seeing Andy's report on just how flexible it is. It is what I used to bond the 4"ø cleanout port for the old transducer.

 

[RitSim]

The benefit of the Airmar base is that it can be adjusted to the correct angle and the transducer easily mounts. The connection tends to hold in the water "coupler" that is required.

 

[BobbyFunn]

If there isnt a better "best practice" for you the adhesive solution is
Plexus MA310 All Purpose High Strength MMA Adhesive 50ml/1.7oz Cartridge (#31500

 

[Hayden Watson]

I will be using a similar concept only not limited to the Airmar transducers. The chartplotter I purchased came with a UHD Clearvu transducer that does a much better job of showing the structure of the bottom than do the CHIRP transducers. I will be building up the sides with FRP panels to make the box level and properly oriented.