I am considering buying a garmin echomap 53dv chartplotter/fishfinder. I probably don't need it, but I would like to begin taking my boat to new places, and having some depth assistance would be nice, and some navigation aid would be nice too. I like that it has some sailing stuff on it, though I never see any mention of it online of anyone ever using it. However the unit comes with a transom transducer, which I am told can possibly be used as an in-hull (not this model, specifically, but transom models, generally) mounted unit. Has anyone had any experience with this specific unit, or one similar? While the sale price now looks pretty good (including lakevu software), if I have to spend another $150, its not so good. That is what WM quoted, and that was a thru-hull, which is a no-go in any case. I know you can suspend the transducer in a baggie of water to test it, but I want to know if anyone else has done it and been successful before I drive 100 miles to WM to give it a try. Thanks in advance.
using transom mount transducer
- Thread starter jdub tn
- Start date
The issue I have with transom mounted units is that they tell you where you have already been. With 5ft something under the hull you need to know what is in front of the pointy end (bow). My transducer was also a transom mount but i epoxied it into the hull just under the for'ard berth, angling is slightly downward. Works well. Not your model but worth asking around. There was a post a couple of years ago describing how to position and fix a transom mount unit to become a thru-hull. Run a search on that in this forum and a bunch of posts will come up.
I installed this http://www.westmarine.com/buy/garmi...inder-with-gps-dual-beam-transducer--17044645 a couple of months ago and it's working great. I don't know if it's the same transducer as the model you are lookin at, but it is a transom mount. I put it forward on the centerline, seated in toilet bowl wax. I tested it first in a bag of water just to be sure it would shoot through the hull. Of course the temp feature is off by a few degrees.
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The purpose of a depth transducer in a sailboat is to know the depth of the general area you are in and to be able to correlate your position with the depth markings on the chart. No advantage to a transducer's location on the boat as long as it operates without interference. Usually centerline gives a more true reading as the boat heels but usually we try not to heel in shallow water. When we venture into shallow waters (Florida means real shallow) we slow down to a crawl and the bottom of the keel will be our best indicator of real depth.
Can you post a picture of how you mounted your transducer in epoxy? I've been curious as to how people have been doing this. I am considering a GPS/finder combo. There is a transducer mount that you can epoxy to the transom so that you don't have to drill into the hull, only into the mount. However, then you need to run the cable thru the cockpit somehow and I can see that cable getting in the way.
The guys on the Mac forum have used toilet bowl wax with success too. It's not as permanent as epoxy. You could move it around if you had to and find the best spot. The trick is to not have any voids in whatever you use.
I mounted mine on the outside transom. It would go blank on a starboard tack when I heeled. It's also "late" since it's on the back of the boat.
I mounted mine on the outside transom. It would go blank on a starboard tack when I heeled. It's also "late" since it's on the back of the boat.
Plumber's putty works too. Better than wax IMHO. Cleaner, less residue, and doesn't get soft in hot weather.
+1 to plumber's putty. Mine has been in for over 2 years and still going strong.
Other options, epoxy a 6"ish PVC drain access cut to the right length to the hull where you want to install the transducer. the drain access has threads and can accept a screw in cap. You can fill the new epoxied in container with just about anything that is uniform in density, water, oil, wax, plumbers putty .......just make sure you don't have any air bubbles or changes in density. Mount the transducer and fill the container then put the cap on. use a grommet to run the wires through the PVC. do test the location with the water in a plastic bag method first.
Do you build a "cage" for it? I know for the puck style transducers I've read of people using plastic containers like for yogurt or sour cream. But for the stick-looking kind, I would have to steal one of my wife's Tupperware type containers.
Nope, no cage. I just cleaned the area, made a big mound of putty, and smushed the transducer down into it.
As was said, just try to avoid voids.
