I have a '79 O'day 23 which is in the water. Recently, I purchased a Depth Sounder with an In-Hull Transducer. My problem is that I can't seem to find a location in the hull where I can get an accurate reading through the hull. The boat is sitting at a slip with about 20 feet of water under it. However, when I place it against the hull at various locations I get a reading of 2.5 ft or so. The directions indicate that the core is most likely the problem and they offer tips on how to solve, but it seems incredibly risky drilling while in the water. Does anyone have suggestions other than pulling it out of the water?
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EJ Tews
o'day 25 inhull transducer
Hi Jim, I placed my in hull transducer up in the bow before the swing keel and ballast. The v birth on a o'day 25 has alot of room and it is relatively flat. I am using a standard horizan transducer. Make sure you are testing the transducer with water between the puck and the hull. Hope this helps. EJ Tews Jennifer Lea
Hi Jim, I placed my in hull transducer up in the bow before the swing keel and ballast. The v birth on a o'day 25 has alot of room and it is relatively flat. I am using a standard horizan transducer. Make sure you are testing the transducer with water between the puck and the hull. Hope this helps. EJ Tews Jennifer Lea
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Jim Stanford
Please explain.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by testing it with water between the puck and the hull. I placed the transducer in the water over the side of the boat to get a depth. I verified that depth with my anchor whose line is marked in 10 foot increments. If the transducer is going to be in the hull, it's going to be epoxied to the hull. I should get a similar response to the 20 ft I saw with the transducer over the side of the boat. So how will water between the hull and puck help? Please forgive the ignorance.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by testing it with water between the puck and the hull. I placed the transducer in the water over the side of the boat to get a depth. I verified that depth with my anchor whose line is marked in 10 foot increments. If the transducer is going to be in the hull, it's going to be epoxied to the hull. I should get a similar response to the 20 ft I saw with the transducer over the side of the boat. So how will water between the hull and puck help? Please forgive the ignorance.
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George Chamberlain
I have been researching this a bit...
...although I will tell you up front I have not installed a transducer yet (will likely be my next purchase). What I have learned is that to test teh transducer inside the hull, place it in a plastic bag full of water, lay that on the deck where you intend to mount the 'ducer, and try it. Also, I have read on other forums (may even have been in this forum's archives) that there are several ways to mount the transducer to "shoot-thru-hull". Besides epoxy, I have seen where others have used plumber's putty, a wax ring (like you use to mount a toilet, no kidding), or silicone sealant. The advantage is obvious, the 'ducer is removable should it ever fail or need to be moved to another boat. Check out the link below, it looked to me like a compilation of one guy's research on transducer installation, some good stuff there. PS: I wouldn't drill in-water to mount it through the hull. If you do pull the boat and mount it through the hull, my Dad did this on his S2 - epoxy a piece of PVC pipe over the 'ducer so that the top of the pipe is higher than the waterline. That way if the 'ducer ever leaks, the water will only come in as high as the waterline, and stay inside the PVC pipe. His tansducer is installed inside the storage space under the starboard berth in his aft cabin.
...although I will tell you up front I have not installed a transducer yet (will likely be my next purchase). What I have learned is that to test teh transducer inside the hull, place it in a plastic bag full of water, lay that on the deck where you intend to mount the 'ducer, and try it. Also, I have read on other forums (may even have been in this forum's archives) that there are several ways to mount the transducer to "shoot-thru-hull". Besides epoxy, I have seen where others have used plumber's putty, a wax ring (like you use to mount a toilet, no kidding), or silicone sealant. The advantage is obvious, the 'ducer is removable should it ever fail or need to be moved to another boat. Check out the link below, it looked to me like a compilation of one guy's research on transducer installation, some good stuff there. PS: I wouldn't drill in-water to mount it through the hull. If you do pull the boat and mount it through the hull, my Dad did this on his S2 - epoxy a piece of PVC pipe over the 'ducer so that the top of the pipe is higher than the waterline. That way if the 'ducer ever leaks, the water will only come in as high as the waterline, and stay inside the PVC pipe. His tansducer is installed inside the storage space under the starboard berth in his aft cabin.
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EJ Tews
Mounting the thru hull Transducer
I purchased a Standard Horizon ST 150 Depth meter and thru hull transducer. You must have water between the puch and the inside of the hull, like a plastic bag, to test the location. Then I ground flat the hull where I would be mounting the housing for the transducer and epozied the housing. I let it sit for 24 housr and used Mineral oil and the medium for contact between the puck and the hull. I am very satisfied with the depth finder and the in hull transducer. The directions for the in hull Transducer were very detailed and was easy to follow. Do not use 5200 as a sealant, check with your local marine store for the correct product, I used an under water sealer and have had no leaks as of yet. EJ Tews
I purchased a Standard Horizon ST 150 Depth meter and thru hull transducer. You must have water between the puch and the inside of the hull, like a plastic bag, to test the location. Then I ground flat the hull where I would be mounting the housing for the transducer and epozied the housing. I let it sit for 24 housr and used Mineral oil and the medium for contact between the puck and the hull. I am very satisfied with the depth finder and the in hull transducer. The directions for the in hull Transducer were very detailed and was easy to follow. Do not use 5200 as a sealant, check with your local marine store for the correct product, I used an under water sealer and have had no leaks as of yet. EJ Tews
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Sam
Sail Magizine
May 2002 issue has an article about installing a in hull transducer using 2" PVC, pretty slick article.
May 2002 issue has an article about installing a in hull transducer using 2" PVC, pretty slick article.
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Jim Saunders
In-Hull Transducer?
First, I do not claim any expertise here having never done this, but I did read an article some time ago that went through the grueling details for mounting a transducer to read through the hull. They went into considerable detail regarding how to bed the transducer against the glass to eliminate any chance of air bubbles. One thing I believe they suggested in selecting a spot to do the installation (since you don't want to go through the whole bedding process before you know you have a decent spot, was to make a cylinder (2 liter soda bottle with both ends cut off should do) and make a temporary water-tight attachment to the hull where you are thinking of placing the transducer (duct tape around the bottom?), filling that with water, and placing the transducer in that. This eliminates the air pocket that is almost inevitable between the base of the transducer and the hull material. Again... This is just recollected hearsay at best, but shouldn't be too hard to give a try.
First, I do not claim any expertise here having never done this, but I did read an article some time ago that went through the grueling details for mounting a transducer to read through the hull. They went into considerable detail regarding how to bed the transducer against the glass to eliminate any chance of air bubbles. One thing I believe they suggested in selecting a spot to do the installation (since you don't want to go through the whole bedding process before you know you have a decent spot, was to make a cylinder (2 liter soda bottle with both ends cut off should do) and make a temporary water-tight attachment to the hull where you are thinking of placing the transducer (duct tape around the bottom?), filling that with water, and placing the transducer in that. This eliminates the air pocket that is almost inevitable between the base of the transducer and the hull material. Again... This is just recollected hearsay at best, but shouldn't be too hard to give a try.
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EJ Tews
Look at the instructions
Jim, you may want to go to West Marine or another marine store and look at the instructions. That is what I did so I had a better understanding of how to do it. Once I read the instructions, I was ready to go. It was very easy to do. EJ Tews Jennifer Lea
Jim, you may want to go to West Marine or another marine store and look at the instructions. That is what I did so I had a better understanding of how to do it. Once I read the instructions, I was ready to go. It was very easy to do. EJ Tews Jennifer Lea
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