In hull Transducers

[verniam]

I want to install an in hull transducer but can find nowhere if it will work on my 1/2" marine plywood hull with fiber glassing. Has anyone done this and if you have, how does it work?

[steveh41]

Wouldn't recommend in-hull transducer for plywood. See if you can accommodate a through hull unit with appropriate fairing.

Steve

[Bill Edmundson]

I've wondered about this, too. I'm not happy about my exterior one and didn't think I wanted a thru-hull.

Bill

[steveh41]

One other thought which could allow in-hull mounting of the transducer would be to make a solid plug from GPO-3 slightly larger than the transducer and fiberglass it in place after cutting away the same size hole in the plywood. Lots of work (!) but might be acceptable if you really want to shoot through the hull... plywood just won't allow the sound to transmit out or get back in.

Steve

[neel thompson]

I have a bronze thru hull transducer on my Gentry for the GPS depth readout. It works great. I was told that you should only use metal thru hulls on wood boats... No plastic.

[psychobilly]

Garmin and others have transducers that will read through the hull. I purchased one for my plastic ski boat. It came with several different mounts to accommodate several hull angles. You pick the one that matches the angle where you will mount, glue it in place with 5200, fill with antifreeze, and then the transducer has a 1/4 turn lock onto this. Vwalla.

Go to Garmin's web site.

[kens]

When I built my boat, there was only one company that manufactured ALL the transducers, for all the fish finder (depth sounders) makers.
AirMar.
They made them all, the only difference between all the different manufacturer vendors, was the hookup cabling.
The transducers are all the same, it is the cabling that bastardizes all of it such that Garmin, or Furuno, or Ratheon, forces you to buy their own bastardized cables to make it work.
I got a AirMar B60 transducer, with Furuno cable.

http://www.airmar.com/productinfo.html? ... ransducers

The Airmar website can tell you everything about shooting thru hull.

[kens]

Here is the data page for the B60.
It can be purchased to acommodate various deadrise hulls, and still see straight down. (tilted element)
Notice the different part numbers, to install the various bastard cables, of many different vendors.
Unless you need a full 1000 watts power, this is more sensor than 99% of all transom mount outfits.
I go offshore, and my 600watts still works.
If you are in freshwater, you dont need the 1000w units. Freshwater in the U.S. that requires 1000w doesnt exist.
The B60 is bronze, it has a sister that is Stainless.
http://www.airmar.com/productdescription.html?id=13

[Adrock1]

I'm planning on an in hull transducer for my overniter. Prior to fiberglass ingathering hull I cut out a 4" square hole in the bottom of the hull. I then laminated like 20 layers of figerglass cloth to make a roughly 3/8" thick plate that I used to plug the 4" hole. I faired it and then fiberglassed the hull.

The result is that I now have a small square section of the hull that is solid fiberglass toglue down the in hull transducer.

[bob smith]

I tried them all over the years and finally have a bronze thru-hull that works great. I have no concerns about it’s watertight integrity.

[Catbldr]

Can you get a temperature sensor that will go outside the hull? Even if it is mounted off the back of the transom it will work.

Thanks for your information.

[kens]

I just read ,again, the install particulars on the in-hull transducer. What a PITA !!!
Through hull is the way to go.
A transducer CANNOT be installed unless you drill holes in your hull SOMEWHERE.
If a transom mount, you drill screws in the transom,
If a thru-hull, you drill one hole, that is plugged with the transducer itself

If a in-hull, you have to cut a big hole, install a window, mount the transducer, fill it with coupling fluid, calibrate it, and then all you can do is hope for the best. If the fluid leaks, you lose signal, if the fluid does not leak, you get a signal loss shooting thru the window anyway.

[raymacke]

Here is a link to a little info on my Cabin Skiff blog concerning a transducer I moved from the transom to the hull interior. Been there 16 years now and a lot of miles with no problems. Also used this method for a bow transducer on my True Grit. I was too cheap to buy one of the "real" thruough the hull units.

http://dev.egyptian.net/raymacke/Cbnskif31.htm

[Brad Tucker]

I have a Faria depth finder in mine. The xducer I got was the through hull, and of course, they did not mention that it wasn't recommended for wood. I had to find that out after I bought it. But I bagged it in water and found a place it would sound through, and mounted it. Jury is still out on whether or not it actually works, since I haven't had the time to take it back for a test run. But it appears to work in a bag of water.....

[steveh41]

Here is a link to a little info on my Cabin Skiff blog concerning a transducer I moved from the transom to the hull interior. Been there 16 years now and a lot of miles with no problems. Also used this method for a bow transducer on my True Grit. I was too cheap to buy one of the "real" thruough the hull units.

http://dev.egyptian.net/raymacke/Cbnskif31.htm

Ray, that looks pretty cool ...

Steve