Through hull transducers

[EBass]

Is there a certain type of expoxy to use? Any tips or tricks when seating this? It's going to shoot through an aluminum jon boat. Any prep where it will sit?

[Dennis Steele]

I have the Edge II with two transducers mounted on the River Pro.

I looked for the flatest location in the bilge area. Not too difficult find "flat" on the RP.

Then I lightly sanded the area untill is was smooth and cleaned it with sopay water.

Then I put down some plain silicone, making sure there were no air bubbles.

Then I place the transducers down in the silicone and twisted gently. I gave enough pressure to insure that the bottom of the transducer was tight against the aluminum and most of the silicone was pushed out and held the transduce along its sides.

I used silicone becuase its less permanant than epoxy in case I sold the boat and wanted to keep my transducers.

I get good readings but I do have to bump up the gain more than if I would have used something more permanant like epoxy. Of course the aluminum hull on the River Pro is twice th thickness of any boat. Probably 3 times that of a regular jon boat.

[Kevin Turner]

Great advice Denny.

EB, Inspect the bottom of your hull. Try to mount away from any "hooks" or dents that might aerate the water flow in front of your 'ducer.

What kind or brand do ya plan to install?

Silicone works well, but don't turn your 'finder on for 24 hrs 'cuase air bubbles can form in the silicone.

[EBass]

Thanks for the response guys!!

I'm looking at the lowrance lms 334 c. One of the options is a through hull 20 degree ducer. I'd rather not drill below the water line, so I wanted to go with the through hull route. I have this external bracket deal that I can put the speed and temp on. Which is where my current ducer is. I bought a maxxum 70 with sonar so I'm putting the fl-18 on that. Any who, I pimped my jon boat out this past winter with the help of Moby1 and some non fm buddies. It's pretty cool for a wee lil jon boat. It's still a prop though

So just your marine grade silicone will sufice eh? Cool I can dig that. I believe I can find a nice nook for said ducer. Did you try to center it?

[Kevin Turner]

No need to center it, IMO...

[Wayne Ek]

Ebass, I would contact Lowrance and see what they say about a shoot thru the hull installation on a Alum. boat. To the best of my knowledge Vexlar is the only company currently marketing an alum. shoot thru the hull transducer. I could be wrong.

[EBass]

Thanks KT and OK, I'll see what I can find out.

Thanks again guys!

[EBass]

I found this on their site. Agape is correct, by the sounds of it - it will only shoot through fiberglass. Looks like I need to pick another GPS/Graph now. UGH.

<< Shoot-Thru-Hull Mount

In this installation, the transducer is bonded to the inside of the hull with epoxy. Ideally, the transducer is placed in the aft third of the hull close to the centerline. The signal "shoots through" the hull with some loss of signal strength. This installation must be made in an area of the hull that is made from solid fiberglass, with no air bubbles or separated layers. If the hull is of multi-layer or "sandwich" construction, you will have to remove the inner layer of fiberglass and the wood or foam core to expose the outer layer of the hull. This type of mount is recommended only with 192 or 200 kHz transducers

[Wayne Ek]

E-bass, call the Motor Clinic down in Bloomington and see if the vexlar transducer is adaptable to other units... maybe it can be made to work with a lowrance?

[EBass]

Agape,

I can buy the vexilar alumaducer (I'm sure I messed up the spelling) for a buck twenty, then buy an adaptor for twenty five. I think I'm going to break down and drill below the water line and use the skimmer ducer that it comes with. What is a long lasting seal? Marine silicone? Will that last over the years?

My buddy suggested to buy a thick rectangle plastic piece and bolt it on then screw the ducer and the speed/temp deal to that. What cha think?

[Wayne Ek]

EBass, I would go with the plastic mounting plate you see in the catalogs. That way if you do have to move the transducer, you do not have to drill additional holes.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Most sporting goods stores sell a teflon plate that you mount to the transom of your boat and then you mount your transducers ect. to this plate. It saves you from drilling multiple holes in the transon.

Use a good marine grade silicone glue in the transom mounting holes and you will have no leakage problems.

Cliff

[Steve Bakken]

Ditto on what Cliff said. We've been repairing, accessorizing, etc., on hulls for 20+ years, and with a good silicone over a clean surface, have never had a leakage problem.

[EBass]

Cool - thanks for all the replys! I'll go with the plate deal. Oh I'm also going to go with the X125 then later on get the hand held H2O. Then I can stay in my price range. I really want a color graph though Anyone see my tax returns