Mounting transducer inside hull

[KJM]

I have a new Garmin Striker 4+ fish finder and transducer. Since i am rebuilding the transom and floor i figure now would be a good time to mount the transducer inside the hull. My questions are, if i mount it in poly resin and it don't work out well, is the transducer ruined? can it be removed? also wondering if it matters how much resin and fiberglass it shoots thru?

 

[kenny nunez]

I have had good results by first using 2 part epoxy to mount a section of plastic pipe shaped like the contour of the hull large enough for the transducer to fit inside and filled with just enough anti freeze to submerge the transducer. Also added a cap that a hole was drilled for the plug to fit through so the anti freeze would not slosh out. I know some transducers are directional so you have to augment it fore& aft.

 

[KJM]

Good idea. Would the transducer move around a bit in the well, or is it fixed to the hull somehow?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I simply glued the transducers in place

 

[KJM]

I simply glued the transducers in place

Do you mean just glued then on dry hull or inside a well with liquid? What kind of glue and do they work good?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I just mixed up a 5 minute epoxy like the transducer instructions stated and glued to the hull.

 

[dwco5051]

I have had good results by first using 2 part epoxy to mount a section of plastic pipe shaped like the contour of the hull large enough for the transducer to fit inside and filled with just enough anti freeze to submerge the transducer. Also added a cap that a hole was drilled for the plug to fit through so the anti freeze would not slosh out. I know some transducers are directional so you have to augment it fore& aft.

I had three different bass boats that I used the same system except I used quality silicone caulk/sealer to attach the pipe to the inside of the hull. I wanted to move it if I had to in case the spot I chose would have bubbles or turbulence and I wanted to move it. One of the boats I kept for 30 years and it was still tight the day I sold it. The advantage of not gluing the transducer that it is simple to change when you upgrade your electronics.

 

[82rude]

I used 2 part epoxy on my alum hull.Works great.No issues shooting thru hull atall! I have the same garmin also.

 

[Chris1956]

Transducers do not need to be glued to the hull to work. Place them in complete contact with the hull and get 'em wet with water and they will work. On my sterndrive, I would wet the transducer with 1/2 glass of water, at the first launch of the season. There was enough water in the bilge from then on to keep it wet.

The most important thing is to find the correct spot to mount them. The hull must be solid fiberglass, without any voids or wood.

 

[dingbat]

Just gluing the transducer to the hull (shoot thru) introduces a number of issues (i.e. frequency shifts and signal loss) if you want anything beyond basic deep returns.

Started with a quality (Airmar) transom mount transducer. Couldn't get rid of the surface clutter and ghosting when running at speed. As a work around I decided to to give the wet tank design a shoot.

Used 4" diameter PVC and angled the bottom to compensate for the deadrise. Glued the tank to the hull using RTV. Attached the transducer to the "lid" to allow it to sit perpendicular to the bottom, eliminating the error in depth readings introduced by the deadrise.

Went through several different fluids to fill the tank before settling on mineral oil. Thinner fluids entrapped air when agitated causing intermittent performance issues.

Overall it worked pretty well. Surface clutter and ghosting was all but gone although it cost me 30-40% signal loss and a noticeable amount of sensitivity on the low level returns.

Current boat has both transom (side scan) and thru hull (CHIRP) mount transducers. The thru hull (hole in hull) is rock solid to WOT and sensitive enough to pick up individual fish while running.

The transom mount side scan has the usual side scan speed limitations