I am interested in installing a depth sounder in my swing keel 1987 Catalina 22. I would like to do a "shoot through hull installation" that does not require any holes in the hull. Some of the material that I have read about this says that to be effective, this type of installation only works on solid fiberglass hulls and that a hull with a sandwich construction is not suitable. This is defined as construction with a layer of fiberglass, then a layer of balsa or some other type of flotation material and then another layer of fiberglass. My questions are these: 1. What type of hull construction is the Catalina 22? 2. What might be the best place to mount the transducer? (I have heard before that it might be best in front of the keel as close to the center as possible.) 3. Any other tips on how best to install such a transducer? Thanks in advance for your help.
Depth Sounder Installation
- Thread starter JR13103
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V-berth forward of the keel
I have a 1981 Catalina 22; I installed my transducer, set in toilet bowl wax, in the forward V-berth compartment. The wax ensures there are no air pockets between the hull and the transducer, and allows it to be moved or removed if necissary. My transducer was designed to be transom mounted in the water and I have had no issues with it mounted in this fashion. Good luck! -John
I have a 1981 Catalina 22; I installed my transducer, set in toilet bowl wax, in the forward V-berth compartment. The wax ensures there are no air pockets between the hull and the transducer, and allows it to be moved or removed if necissary. My transducer was designed to be transom mounted in the water and I have had no issues with it mounted in this fashion. Good luck! -John
More about Depth Sounder Mounting
JR: I could have written the exact words that John wrote about the toilet bowl wax and mounting the transducer under the "V" berth. This has worked great for me and I all can add is that I found some styrofoam packaging blocks that were about the shape that I needed and tacked them around the transducer to protect it so that it doesn't get bumped by the stuff that my wife stores there. Attached is a photo showing where I mounted the display. (It's not a great photo, and my photo editing software isn't working properly at the moment, so I couldn't brighten it for you). I am currently in the process of moving the display from the starboard to the port coaming compartment. My wife tends to sit right in front of it where it currently is and read. Since I'm usually on the port side when we are motoring, I'm hoping that it will be a little better there. I didn't want to drill any big holes into my boat for the depth sounder. My depth sounder was made by Hummingbird. It has an alarm that can be set. I just added a timer to the new panel that I built that will silence the alarm for about 30 seconds when a button is pushed. The transducer was made to shoot through the hull, and it works fine. I'm sure you will enjoy having a depth sounder on your boat. I miss ours while we are in the process of moving the wires from one side to the other. Aldo
JR: I could have written the exact words that John wrote about the toilet bowl wax and mounting the transducer under the "V" berth. This has worked great for me and I all can add is that I found some styrofoam packaging blocks that were about the shape that I needed and tacked them around the transducer to protect it so that it doesn't get bumped by the stuff that my wife stores there. Attached is a photo showing where I mounted the display. (It's not a great photo, and my photo editing software isn't working properly at the moment, so I couldn't brighten it for you). I am currently in the process of moving the display from the starboard to the port coaming compartment. My wife tends to sit right in front of it where it currently is and read. Since I'm usually on the port side when we are motoring, I'm hoping that it will be a little better there. I didn't want to drill any big holes into my boat for the depth sounder. My depth sounder was made by Hummingbird. It has an alarm that can be set. I just added a timer to the new panel that I built that will silence the alarm for about 30 seconds when a button is pushed. The transducer was made to shoot through the hull, and it works fine. I'm sure you will enjoy having a depth sounder on your boat. I miss ours while we are in the process of moving the wires from one side to the other. Aldo
Another vote for toilet bowl wax
The transducer in my Catalina 30 has been "temporarily" mounted with toilet bowl wax for at least 6 years (I forget exactly when I installed it) with no problems.
The transducer in my Catalina 30 has been "temporarily" mounted with toilet bowl wax for at least 6 years (I forget exactly when I installed it) with no problems.
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