transducer mounting,marine tex?

[kory77]

hi, i have an 18ft aluminum boat and need to take off my old transducer and install a new one. my question is what do i fill the old holes with and what do i do when screwing in new one to ensure water tight?? ive heard alot about marine tex. is this an epoxy putty and is it easily available? i have some stuff called mighty putty,it is an epoxy putty somewhat like jb weld. would this work?

 

[KLINDWW]

Re: transducer mounting,marine tex?

West Marine sells an aluminum epoxy that I have had very good luck with. Also if the old holes go into the wood I would fill the holes in the wood with 3M 5200. Marine Tex is a good product but it sets up very hard. It might have trouble taking the flex on the hull of your boat. As far as the Mighty Putty I would stay away from any unproven product below the waterline of my boat.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: transducer mounting,marine tex?

As KLINDWW mentioned, 3M 5200 works great for these applications.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: transducer mounting,marine tex?

Be careful when using the 3M products with stainless steel or aluminum. They do not perform as well as others would have you believe.

When used with plastics, wood, fiberglass etc, the stuff is the best. I have actually delaminated the gelcoat from the fiberglass in one case. When used with stainless or aluminum, it is less than ideal when used below waterline applications.

I did alot of research a couple years ago after discovering a couple seal failures and the 3M literature supports my experience.

 

[HONKER1]

Re: transducer mounting,marine tex?

I used alot of Marine Tex on my 18' Starcraft to give it new life. I found that to fill a dent or deep scratch it was great. But on holes you had to take more precautions. Clean the area on both sides of the aluminum with grit paper and wipe clean with acetone before applying the marine tex. It's a good idea to get a small mount build-up on the inside of the hull. In other words, push it from the inside out through the hold. This will give the Marine Tex more bite to hold on.
When I put it on the outside in and sanded it smooth so it looked good I could push on it with my finger nail and sometimes it would pop out. Re-exposing the hole. Not good below the water line.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: transducer mounting,marine tex?

Be careful when using the 3M products with stainless steel or aluminum. They do not perform as well as others would have you believe.

When used with plastics, wood, fiberglass etc, the stuff is the best. I have actually delaminated the gelcoat from the fiberglass in one case. When used with stainless or aluminum, it is less than ideal when used below waterline applications.

I did alot of research a couple years ago after discovering a couple seal failures and the 3M literature supports my experience.

A BIG DUH! on my part.:redface: Missed the aluminum part in the statement "i have an 18ft aluminum boat"

Yeah, my suggestion on 3M 5200 only reflects my experience on fiberglass hulls.