Printable View
I am going to glue in a puck transducer into the hull of my fiberglass boat this weekend and was looking for tips on the surface prep/process from you guys who have done this before. Humminbird puck on a bass-style boat where a previous transducer was siliconed but got knocked off removing my gas tank.
If you are using epoxy, find a level spot, clean it. make sure it's dry, follow the instructions, and put a weight of some kind on the transducer and you'll be fine. It's not that bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch552
Sand the hull and transducer with coarse sandpaper. Wipe both clean with a solvent like acetone, alcohol or thinner. Use an epoxy designed to stick to plastic. Most don't. Devon Plastic Welder or Loctite Plastix Bonder are two that I have used that work. Use plenty of epoxy to fully fill the space between the transducer and hull. Weight the transducer down with something like a sandbag for a day.
I used clear silicone on our family boat and it works fine. Make sure to keep the air bubbles out by keeping the gun low and make a large pile to push it into. You can remove it easily also. My Fishing boat is metal. If I could do the same to it I would.
Through a metal boat? I was under the impression that when installing one for a metal boat that the section of metal needed to be removed for it to work properly. This is good to know in case I decide to go through the hull at a later date.Quote:
Originally Posted by Majesticman
I've read posts where they recommend building a little dike it the area you want to mount the xducer. Then you pour mineral oil in the dyke and drop the xducer in there. You can then try your sonar out to see if you get good results. Might save you from being disappointed. If the results are good, follow the above recommendations for a permanent mount. PS I guess you could use modelers clay or something like that to make the dyke.
don't know of but one company that makes a transducer to shoot through an aluminum hull. Vexilar, called an alumiducer. you can look it up on there websiteQuote:
Originally Posted by Crappie Reaper
No through my fiberglass family boat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie Reaper
Thanks for all the advice. The Javelin boat that it is going in has a factory fiberglass cup molded into the hull where the flasher ducer was mounted by the factory but I never thought about which epoxy to use or sanding the transducer face itself in addition to the hull. Thanks again and I'll post pics when complete for future reference.
If you have a water tight cup, just fill with mineral oil or water..... and set TD into it. Not really a need to epoxy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cache22
exactly. or as i did just set the ducer in a spot it reads good and pour some water in the bilge and go fishing. as cache said, "forget the epoxy."
Had leftover PVC and siliconed a 4" section around the factory cup. Will fill with water Monday and do a water trial this week if the lake level ever drops from all of this rain. I have the epoxy on standby in case I get a wild hair.
Prep the hull first by sanding out all of that silicone to begin with. You want to bond the transducer to naked fiberglass for the best results.
Be sure to test the transducer before you even start to think about mixing any epoxy. It won’t do any good to epoxy the transducer in place if it never worked there to begin with. Wish I had a dollar for every “professionally installed” transducer that was not tested prior to being epoxied in. Just use water to test it with and move the transducer around and test it until you get the strongest sonar returns on the display. Don’t forget to test it high speeds as well to make sure it will work than too.
If that is a Humminbird inside-the-hull transducer than it will come with its own epoxy. Most people think that more epoxy is better but it isn’t. All you need is a very think layer under the transducer to bond it to the hull. A thicker layer just absorbs the sonar signal when it is both transmitted and received. When you install it be sure to twist and squish all that unneeded epoxy out from under the transducer and than weight it down (a partially filled plastic bag of sand/dirt works good for this). Than leave it to fully cure and the temperature will affect this. For the Humminbird epoxy you need to allow 24 hours if the temperature stays above 77 degrees for the full 24 hours. At 60 degrees you need to allow 48 hours and do not use the epoxy at temps colder than this as it is a mess to clean out when it does not cure (I’m talking from experience here).
Be sure to clean the transducer with something that will remove oils and grease. I like to use denatured alcohol for this or at least some grease removing dishwashing liquid followed by several rinses in water. Scuff that transducer up slightly with some 400 grit sandpaper too so that the epoxy will get a better grip to (you will hate me for this when you try to remove it!).
Be sure to point the transducer in the right direction if it is a directional transducer like the Humminbird QuadraBeam transducer or the new DI transducer.
A water or mineral oil bath will work but I prefer to silicone down a piece of PVC pipe for this.
Thanks Greg! I have the siliconed sump filled with water and the Humminbird puck transducer inside (for a 718). There is a very small flat spot of fiberglass in my bilge to mount it to before the keep begins to rise so that is where I placed it. I haven't been able to test it on the lake yet but if the location is good, then I very well may epoxy it in when the temp stays above 60 during the night.
Greg, have you experienced or know of any decrease in signal on a transducer placed in a water or mineral oil bath as opposed to epoxied onto the fiberglass itself? Also, which do you prefer water or mineral oil? Thanks again.
Dutch552,
I haven’t noticed a difference between a well epoxied in transducer and one in a water/oil bath but than I have never compared the two side by side either.
I prefer water to the mineral oil because it is less messy to work with, easier to clean up if a spill occurs and is more available if you find that in the middle of the lake you need some!
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...-PVCTube-1.jpg
You can also use this same method to install a transom mount transducer by mounting the hardware to the inside of the PVC pipe and not using the weight.
My uncle used to do that.Quote:
Originally Posted by cache22
What do you mean by a water tight cup?
Sealed to the hull with silicone sealant so it holds water.
Attachment 59569
Thankyou, looks like a good idea. Since I'm not going to trust my HB 898 anymore I want to have another d f just in case.Quote:
Originally Posted by cache22
Dennis
As a follow-up to the original post, I siliconed a piece of 3" PVC to my hull and filled it with water. On my Humminbird 718 I have not lost bottom at top speed yet and detail while idling around is amazing compared to the Matix 35 on my trolling motor. Looks like I'll be in the market for a new HB unit for the bow soon.