The depth sounder in my newly purchased Niagara 26 has long given up the ghost. The brand is no longer manufactured and a replacement is not available. It had a thru hull transducer and round, cockpit bulkhead mounting. Any recommendation for a replacement? Would a transom mounted transducer work? Would the adjacent motor cause any problems? Would love opinions. Thanks.
Depth sounder for Niagara 26
- Thread starter George Jarvis
- Start date
I believe all transducers are now inside-hull mounted wherever possible. Cored hulls are out of luck.
What is the model currently installed on the boat? From your description it sounds like it may be a DMI, and if so, there are replacements/repair services available.
Before you rip out the transducer, they are often cross-brand compatible.. I once put an early 2000s Raymarine head on a decades old Signet transducer, and it worked much better than the original (tripled the range) without needing to haul.
The Niagara 26 is a nice boat with a good pedigree. Enjoy it.
A transom mount transducer won't be reliable. The issue will be keeping the transducer in the water when the boat heels.
I doubt the boat has a balsa cored hull. This means you can use an in hull transducer that shoots through the hull, so no drilling necessary.
You may also find that many of the modern transducers have speed, depth, and temperature sensors in one unit. Since the instruments are old it may be worth while to replace all of them with a new display and transducer. Contemporary instruments from RayMarine, B&G, and Garmin are NMEA 2000 compatible which will allow them to network with a chart plotter if you add a chart plotter at some time.
From time to time Defender and other outlets will offer refurbished devices for less money than new. Or wait for the Spring Boat Show specials.
A transom mount transducer won't be reliable. The issue will be keeping the transducer in the water when the boat heels.
I doubt the boat has a balsa cored hull. This means you can use an in hull transducer that shoots through the hull, so no drilling necessary.
You may also find that many of the modern transducers have speed, depth, and temperature sensors in one unit. Since the instruments are old it may be worth while to replace all of them with a new display and transducer. Contemporary instruments from RayMarine, B&G, and Garmin are NMEA 2000 compatible which will allow them to network with a chart plotter if you add a chart plotter at some time.
From time to time Defender and other outlets will offer refurbished devices for less money than new. Or wait for the Spring Boat Show specials.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,406
Merry Christmas to you George and your new addition Niagara 26.
Deciding to replace a Depth Sounder has a couple of solutions. When I faced the issue, I considered several options. I had an old (1974) functioning transducer/display with a round repeater in the cockpit.
Similar to this.
Knowing that the transducer functioned, I chose to integrate the transducer into my new raymarine SeatalkNG backbone. The iTC5 box, allows you to connect NEMA0183 data sources to the SeatalkNG (NEMA2000) network. Then with a way to display the data (i.e. an ipad wifi network connection) you have the information you need using an old transducer.
You can also consider a simple fish finder with the supplied transducer attached to the inside of your hull.
Attaching a transducer to the stern is likely going to be out of the water some times. Out of the water means no signal.
Deciding to replace a Depth Sounder has a couple of solutions. When I faced the issue, I considered several options. I had an old (1974) functioning transducer/display with a round repeater in the cockpit.
Similar to this.
Knowing that the transducer functioned, I chose to integrate the transducer into my new raymarine SeatalkNG backbone. The iTC5 box, allows you to connect NEMA0183 data sources to the SeatalkNG (NEMA2000) network. Then with a way to display the data (i.e. an ipad wifi network connection) you have the information you need using an old transducer.
You can also consider a simple fish finder with the supplied transducer attached to the inside of your hull.
Attaching a transducer to the stern is likely going to be out of the water some times. Out of the water means no signal.
We cruised and raced N-26 #80, for a decade. Solid layup hull. I glued the DS transducer to the inside of the hull, under the cockpit. Never a problem. That said, the thickness of the layup does slightly reduce the depth from which you can get a sharp return. It was dependable up to about 120 feet, and one time up in the Straits of Juan DeFuca it did get a reading in over 400', albeit from a flat rock bottom.
Great great boat. Well built, very fast, and very easy to sail. Nice interior for a couple for cruising, as well.
Great great boat. Well built, very fast, and very easy to sail. Nice interior for a couple for cruising, as well.
We have hull #58, built in 1980. I can't remember the make of the old sounder and Annie"s Song is covered for the winter. I believe the instruments were the original ones from 1980. I will have a look at a through the hull system.
If the plan is to resurrect the old DS, it is important to know the difference between really old DS and contemporary ones. The ancient depth sounder transducers relied on the instrument head to send a ping out the transducer and the transducer to receive the echo and send that to the instrument head. Essentially the transducer was nothing more than a speaker and a microphone. The cable connecting the transducer to the head was a coaxial cable that was not easily spliced or modified.
Later models had the all of the electronics housed in the transducer and the data was sent back over a network cable, NMEA 0183 or a proprietary equivalent. The display was mostly an interface to the electronics in the transducer.
The next generation was essentially the same but used the more recent NMEA 2000 protocol (which is now about 25 years old).
There are now 2 broad categories, the old depth only transducers and forward scanning sonar transducers which are not interchangeable. The sonar units use ethernet to transmit the data which is processed by a chartplotter. The sonar transducers use a proprietary protocol.
I'm not aware of any devices that can take the very old, before NMEA 0183 data and change it to something that can be displayed by modern displays. There are devices that can change 0183 data to 2000 data.
If the instruments are original, it is unlikely that you will be able to just swap the transducer or display with newer with success.
Later models had the all of the electronics housed in the transducer and the data was sent back over a network cable, NMEA 0183 or a proprietary equivalent. The display was mostly an interface to the electronics in the transducer.
The next generation was essentially the same but used the more recent NMEA 2000 protocol (which is now about 25 years old).
There are now 2 broad categories, the old depth only transducers and forward scanning sonar transducers which are not interchangeable. The sonar units use ethernet to transmit the data which is processed by a chartplotter. The sonar transducers use a proprietary protocol.
I'm not aware of any devices that can take the very old, before NMEA 0183 data and change it to something that can be displayed by modern displays. There are devices that can change 0183 data to 2000 data.
If the instruments are original, it is unlikely that you will be able to just swap the transducer or display with newer with success.