Through hull transducers on a vintage boat

[Old Ironmaker]

Sorry about the hi-jacking;

The transducer should only be held on by the mounting plate or brackets, only a few screws should go into the hull. Pictures please.

 

[OLDIRON]

I will try to get some pics. There are no brackets or screws. They are round and are in the bottom of the hull in line and close to the keel. They appear to be made out of plastic. Maybe they are not held in with a locking collar inside the hull under the floor, but most of the metal ones I've seen do have a locking collar.

 

[OLDIRON]

OLDIRON - To get back on your topic, can you get a photo of the bottom of the hull showing the transducers? Realistically, they probably aren't leaking.

Do they protrude at all? I would consider lightly sanding the gelcoat around the transducer and the transducer edge, then using 5200 as a sealing coat.

They protrude about a 1/2". The P.O. smeged them with looks like 5200, and I slathered some more on them. They will clear the new bunks I'm installing.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I wouldn't worry about them OLDIRON, but that easy for me to say. I am still trying to get my head around a glass boat without a bilge area between the hull and floor deck. Am I right that you said there isn't a drain plug?

 

[OLDIRON]

I wouldn't worry about them OLDIRON, but that easy for me to say. I am still trying to get my head around a glass boat without a bilge area between the hull and floor deck. Am I right that you said there isn't a drain plug?

There is a drain plug, but it's just on the transom. The floor is raised above the bottom of the hull. There is a small rectangular well just in front of the transom that has the transom plug. The space between the hull and the floor is where the stringers are and my guess is its filled with foam, but just a guess. If you search this forum for beau jack, you should find an old thread about a fellow having to replace the floor. I hope that's not the case with mine. The floor is hard as a rock. I can't feel any deflection in it like you would if the stringers were rotten. I will try to get some pics, but I have to get my wife to do that, I'm too old to figure it out.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Then you do have a bilge, maybe not accessible but there is a bilge area. That area above the transom is the water well. The hole or holes that are there are there to drain any water that might come over the transom, don't put a plug in there, You could sink that boat if you do. When I take the boat out of the water that's where I store my bilge plug so I don't loose it. The plug I am talking about would be in the bottom of the transom above the hull and below the water well. Soft spots on the floor is a good indication there isn't a leak but not the definitive test. A core sample drilled into the floor and below it may tell you if you have a leak if you know what you are looking for. Many threads here to explain the procedure and what to look for. Maybe you can copy the link for the floor replacement in a Beau jack for us since you already know where it is. I might have missed it but I must ask are you new to boating or just this boat?

I know all to well about getting help posting photos, that I haven't been successful doing that here yet, especially since Photo Bucket changed. .

 

[OLDIRON]

Then you do have a bilge, maybe not accessible but there is a bilge area. That area above the transom is the water well. The hole or holes that are there are there to drain any water that might come over the transom, don't put a plug in there, You could sink that boat if you do. When I take the boat out of the water that's where I store my bilge plug so I don't loose it. The plug I am talking about would be in the bottom of the transom above the hull and below the water well. Soft spots on the floor is a good indication there isn't a leak but not the definitive test. A core sample drilled into the floor and below it may tell you if you have a leak if you know what you are looking for. Many threads here to explain the procedure and what to look for. Maybe you can copy the link for the floor replacement in a Beau jack for us since you already know where it is. I might have missed it but I must ask are you new to boating or just this boat?

I know all to well about getting help posting photos, that I haven't been successful doing that here yet, especially since Photo Bucket changed. .

I think what you are refering to is the splash well. That's a different animal.It's part of the upper deck right in front of the motor. That also has a drain plug, but has nothing to do with the floor or the well that I'm talking about. I guess I need to get her to take some pics. That will explain what I'm talking about.I have had boats of one type or another practically all of my life.I'm 66 years old, just a young wipper snapper. LOL I think I began posting on this forum back in 2013, so no I'm not what I would say new to boating, but there's always something new, right?

 

[OLDIRON]

Maybe we have different ideas, or definitions of what exactly a bilge is. To me, it's an open space between the floor of the vessel and the hull. For example on a 29'Radon, a boat I'm familiar with,the bilge is where the motor is located. Open the hatch and there she is. Complete with automatic bilge pumps, fuel and water tanks. This little boat has nothing like that. There is no access to the inner hull. No open space to even get into without cutting the floor up.My guess is it's probably filled with foam. I'm not sure, but to me that's not what I would call a bilge, but maybe technically it is.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Just Googled your boat, and it is unusual... it is not clear if you havea traditional bilge or not. If you do, it looks pretty much inaccessible. Is that correct?

 

[OLDIRON]

Just Googled your boat, and it is unusual... it is not clear if you havea traditional bilge or not. If you do, it looks pretty much inaccessible. Is that correct?

Good morning from the left coast! Yes, that's correct. There is no access to the inner hull. I took some pics this morning and I will try to load them up. Maybe I'm worried about nothing, but as it stands, I have two potential holes in the bottom of my boat. I'm just looking for a way to make sure they won't leak. To do it right I would have to cut the floor open and I would like to avoid doing that if at all possible.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Pics would help, but I'm of the opinion that if you're not sure they're causing a problem, you're probably better off sealing them with some 3M 5200 and leaving them alone. I wouldn't want to cut up my floor just to go on a fishing expedition, either. (If you have some idea what the boat weighed when new, you could always take it to a scale and weigh it. That might at least tell you if you have waterlogged foam or not.)

 

[OLDIRON]

Pics would help, but I'm of the opinion that if you're not sure they're causing a problem, you're probably better off sealing them with some 3M 5200 and leaving them alone. I wouldn't want to cut up my floor just to go on a fishing expedition, either. (If you have some idea what the boat weighed when new, you could always take it to a scale and weigh it. That might at least tell you if you have waterlogged foam or not.)

I'll try to get the pics posted this evening when the wife gets home. I've smeared some more 5200 over them the other day so you won't be able to see what they looked like before. They had a plastic bezel like thing and inside of that, they have what looked like the transducer part itself. I have never see one like this, but it is a 1972 so I'm guessing their from that era also. I've been doing some searching online and can't find anything like them.

 

[OLDIRON]

My best guess is they look something like this. The ones I've dealt with are made of stainless, these look like plastic. That's gonna leave a hole if I cut the floor to remove them and patch the hull. If I did manage to get them out, I may just have to reseal and reinstall.