Seemed Like a Good Idea...

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Squidd

Squidd

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Sep 26, 2011
890
AMF Alcort Paceship PY26 Washburn Wi. Apostle Islands
Had to replace the depth finder as the one that came with the boat was non functional (Fish Finder Screen.. deteriorated in sun)



So I got a nice Hummingbird 600' depth finder with alarms..


When setting in the transducer I noticed this "contraption" holding the unit...

It's a bucket mounted to the hull of the boat filled partially with water...Tucked under port settee...





The transducer is mounted on a hinge with some stainless brackets and will "tilt" or lean when the boat "heels"...Keeping the transducer pointed directly at the bottom rather than off ot one side..and in the water for good transmission/penetration...





Seems like a good Idea so I restored it...
 
kenn

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
Interesting...

I didn't think depth transducers were very "directional", so that heel would matter that much, but if it works, it works.
 
Squidd

Squidd

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Sep 26, 2011
890
AMF Alcort Paceship PY26 Washburn Wi. Apostle Islands
I might be wrong, but I believe they only have a 20* cone of transmission... 10* each way...

So if your heeled more than that you'd be shooting out the side..and not getting accurate depth..
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Transducers that are inside hull shoot thru the hull work better when immersed in mineral oil or water.....I had to temporally set up a transducer on my old Bristol and did something similar with a some 4" PVC and a cap worked great till I pulled the boat and did a permanent mount and then used the PVC as a place to hide valuables
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,257
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Apparently the previous owner was prone to sailing the boat hard in shallow water.

Anyway, that transducer is a transom mount model and, according to hummingbird specs, the cone angle can range from 20 to 60 degrees.... so... if you wake up one day and decide the bucket is unnecessary, it would be simple to relocate the unit to its normal location.
 
Squidd

Squidd

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Sep 26, 2011
890
AMF Alcort Paceship PY26 Washburn Wi. Apostle Islands
And where is the "normal" location...?
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Normal location is the transom of a power boat.......imagine running aground before the transducer registered depth at the transom of a sailboat
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,257
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Squidd said:
And where is the "normal" location...?
Click to expand
The instruction manual should help you determine that.... That type of transducer is more commonly used with power boats, but a lot of sailors use them also. It is designed to be attached directly to the transom where it will always be in the water as the boat skims along the surface.

Sailboats are different. They don't skim atop the water on plane, they move slower and have much deeper projections under water, so the shoot thru the hull is often used and mounted forward of the keel/centerboard. The transducer is then calibrated to accomodate the sailboat's draft.

Transom mount transducer:
http://fishfinders.factoryoutletstore.com/details/19999-2681/humminbird-xnt-9-20-t.html

Shoot thru the hull transducer:
http://fishfinders.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/19992/Humminbird-Shoot-Thru-Hull.html


It could be surmised that your previous owner purchased a depth/fishfinder with the transom mount transducer and decided to be creative, rather than invest in a shoot thru the hull type. It is also possible that the hull construction of your boat did not allow the use of a shoot thru type transducer.
 
Cool Beans

Cool Beans

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Mar 8, 2011
296
Ranger 33 Norfolk
LoL, have long have you owned the boat before discovering this?

;)

I had an old transducer mounted in a small plywood and fibreglass box filled with oil or some other viscous liquid. The transducer was mounted in the lid. The wires were cut, so I assumed it didn't work. .. and a PO at some point put in a new TD but left the box. I just need to clean and cut it out. . .one day lol. . .

As for running aground? I would think the transducer would need to be a couple boat lengths in front of you so that you'd have time to stop and turn around. . .so put it anywhere and just pay attention :doh: Just my 2 cents :)
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,257
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
RAD said:
.......imagine running aground before the transducer registered depth at the transom of a sailboat
Click to expand
I agree with Cool Beans logic on this topic.
I'd probably find blame with the skipper, before I found fault with the transducer location.

Either you're going too fast, where 10-15 feet won't give you time to stop or turn the boat around, or you're not watching the display and noting the trend of data.
 
Squidd

Squidd

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Sep 26, 2011
890
AMF Alcort Paceship PY26 Washburn Wi. Apostle Islands
I was going to just glue/epoxy it in, and had read about trying ot out first with a "bag" of water and some of the trouble you can have with bubbles in epoxy or air gaps in the hull layup, so I thought I'd try this first to make sure I get a good signal...

Then looking at the "heeling" effect and the perpendicular shot I thought what the heck...

Worse case I can grind the hull and glue it in and if that don't work...purchase the special "shoot thru" transducer...But my understanding is I should be able to epoxy in the unit I already have...
 
rpwillia

rpwillia

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Sep 29, 2008
1,954
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
Get the Puck Transducer

While the transom mount transducer is still new you can trade up to the hockey puck transducer at the Humminbird site. It will work a lt longer.
 
M

mitiempo

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Sep 28, 2008
922
Canadian Sailcraft CS27 Victoria B.C.
You can use epoxy or silicone to attach any transducer on the inside of the hull. It is the shape and mounting that is different - not the transducer's output.

I have attached several inside, including 2 Raymarine and 1 inexpensive fishfinder type. They all worked well. I used epoxy for all except one where I used silicone. Most manufacturers recommend epoxy.
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,257
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
rpwillia said:
While the transom mount transducer is still new you can trade up to the hockey puck transducer at the Humminbird site. It will work a lt longer.
Click to expand
That kind of makes sense to me.... there's not a lot of difference in price and if yours is relarively unused I'll bet you could exchange it.... but then, since it's already installed and hooked up, and it works.... leave it, enjoy it, and go on to the next project.
 
kenn

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
Our hull is solid fiberglass, no core, yet I had a bit of trouble with an epoxied transducer, so I made a small tank out of PVC pipe epoxied to a glassed plywood base, siliconed this assembly to the hull, and use the transducer in this tank, currently with water as the coupling medium.

Re "re-purposing" a transducer, our new Raymarine ST-40 depth instrument came with an Airmar thru-hull type transducer. I didn't want to make a hole in the hull, so I ground the flange off and have used it in the above mentioned tank, with excellent results. So I son't think it's all that big a deal that the OP is using the transom transducer in a tank, unless the results are demonstrably inferior.

Also, re the heeling mechanism, if you're flying along at a 20 degree heel, getting a depth alarm would only signal a nearly inevitable grounding ;)
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
I have used a transom mount for twelve years. It is only 15 feet to the leading edge of the keel. I draw 4.5 feet, set the alarm for 6 feet and try to sail outside the 8 foot line. The only times I have run aground I have not been paying attention. I have new hearing aids now and maybe that will help if I haven't gone goofy over the winter.
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Joe said:
I agree with Cool Beans logic on this topic.
I'd probably find blame with the skipper, before I found fault with the transducer location.

Either you're going too fast, where 10-15 feet won't give you time to stop or turn the boat around, or you're not watching the display and noting the trend of data.
Click to expand
I sail in the Great South Bay where its got some shallow spots but close to the beach (Fire Island) you really need a depth sounder if you want to anchor and it can go from 6ft to 3ft in a boat length real quick, although after years of sailing the area I do know the bay real well but it does change
 
sinnettc

sinnettc

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May 23, 2007
1,306
Catalina Capri 22 Albany, Oregon
Eagle/Lowrance makes an epoxy specifically for gluing the transom type transducers to shoot through the hull. That's what I did with the 50/200 that came with my Eagle chartplotter. It worked fine with the plotter it came with and with the Lowrance one that replaced it.
 
LANCE ON CLOUD NINE

LANCE ON CLOUD NINE

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Mar 28, 2007
637
Oday 23 Anna Maria Isl.
I have that exact transducer, and have had great luck with it mounted in silicone and shooting through the hull. All I did was remove the transom mount part. Also it is a very low power drain compared to the fish finder it replaced.
 
MrBee

MrBee

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Dec 30, 2008
425
Irwin 34 Citation Middle River, Md.
Was thinking the same as cool Beans... how long did you have the boat before you "noticed " this contraption ??
In our other boat I just used clear silicone to mount the same type of sender you have there. Worked fine. The bucket and swinging sounder is a neat idea, just not sure I would want that large of a container mounted in my bilge.
 
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