WTH is this thing in my bilge

[IDtrucks]

this thing was horribly caulked down the inside of the hull in the starboard bilge next to/aft of the sink in my 81 Hunter 22. Not plugged Into anything, no through hulls or hoses for it..no other markings or labels

 

[Roadking Larry]

Could it have been an attempt at a shoot through transducer?

 

[IDtrucks]

That was my first guess, after weird ass bilge pump before I pulled it up.

But there is no indication of a place where a gauge has been mounted or wiring ran to. So maybeee? That would be cool if it still worked and i could run a guage to it.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Yup looks like the mineral oil filled domes used for shoot thru depth sounders.
Les

 

[IDtrucks]

Yup looks like the mineral oil filled domes used for shoot thru depth sounders.
Les

Mineral oil filled dome huh? Interesting.
The female plug seems similar to other transducers I’ve seen.

Are these fairly reliable and hard to break? So do y’all think this would still work if plugged in and remounted properly

 

[jssailem]

That is correct. It is a transducer in the bubble. The bubble gets filled with mineral oil. The unit then shoots through the hull to give you depth.

 

[IDtrucks]

It’s basicially useless without the gauge right? I can’t seem to find a way to just get a gauge to plug in

 

[jibes138]

I had a depth gauge mounted on a swing arm in the companionway on a 25. Underway I could see it and swing out of the way when not in use. No holes in the boat, that may be how yours was set up by PO.

 

[Kermit]

this thing was horribly caulked down the inside of the hull.View attachment 150246

Cone of Silence

 

[dlochner]

As Les said, it looks like a through the hull transducer, a real museum piece as they say. It is quite unlikely that you will find a gauge to work with it. Perhaps if you can determine the brand, someone on eBay might have one.

 

[Capt jgw]

Gluing the transducer to the hull with silicone or epoxy works just as well. Just make sure there's no core in the hull or bubbles in the glue. Do it with the boat in the water and make sure it works before the glue sets.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

The advantage of this method was at the time they did not make angled transducers and finding level spots on the boat was hard. You could mount one of these at a steep angle (tho this one looks like it was mounted flat) and still have the transducer pointing straight down

As others have said not worth the $$ to restore. Besides who wants to read depth with a flashing neon light, and have to adjust the gain to get a reading.

You can mount a new 1.5” display almost anywhere.
Les

 

[jssailem]

You could re mount the transducer if you have a display unit. Or you could toss it.

 

[IDtrucks]

I think kermit had the best call. Cone of silence. I’ll make it a helmet for new crew to wear and tell them it’s to protect them from the boom or electrocution or something