Getting transducer to shoot through aluminum hull

I know there's been some discussion about getting a typical pod or skimmer transducer to read through an aluminum hull boat, but just wanted the latest opinions. Some say it will work, some say it won't. I know they make a transducer for this: http://www.vexilar.com/pages/accesso...ducers_au.html but, I don't want to pay that right now if I can make a skimmer work. I've got 2 extra skimmer ducers for an Eagle 320/480. Here's some discussion on another forum regarding the subject, and according to some, they work great: http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=192456.......

Has anybody done this, and can attest that it will work? (the factory skimmer, not the Alumaducer)

I have been told that a standard unit will work. But has to be mounted right. I have not tried to it. But keep thinking about doing one. I think If I could find something that would allow me to remove it if it did not work. Then I would try one .
Let use know if you try it.
pete

my boat dealer assured me it would work. Even installed mine for me shooting thru the hull. I took it to the lake and never got the first blip of info out of it. Ripped it out and put it on the troll motor and it worked great until cable wore in two. Personally, I think it would be next to impossible to mount it in a fully rigged boat with hardly any room to work with and get all the air bubbles out of epoxy, then be sure aluminum wouldn't reflect signal. my two cents.

I wouldn't do it. Even if you get it to work, the signal quality is gonna stink to high heavens. Having said that, the only way to find out would be to mount it permanently with slow cure epoxy and see. If it doesn't, it's not gonna be any fun at all getting that ducer back out AND you might damage it removing it.

You know the dam around it ducer with playdoh trick right? I'd also make sure there is no obstruction on the other side - something like a weld or a seam.

Why in the world would you want to do it anyway? Having problems at running speed or snapping ducers off?

Wannabe...

Thanks for the info.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wannabe...

Why in the world would you want to do it anyway? Having problems at running speed or snapping ducers off?

Wannabe...

---

Here's the long answer.......http://crappie.com/crappie/showthread.php?t=60508

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by luvjign

Here's the long answer.......http://crappie.com/crappie/showthread.php?t=60508

---

Little plastic dealie didn't work for you eh? I had same prob with the X47.

Shoot thru installed this way should work. Be sure not to have any air bubbles in the epoxy. There will be some signal attenuation. I have never tried it. I was gonna try it, but got the 797 and opened up a new bag of worms.:mad:

Good luck.

Tom

We have always stated that the transducer will not shoot through a aluminum boat. It is due to the the metal. We also state do not use a metal flake epoxy either because the signal will hit the metal flakes and you will get crazy readings.

Check out Airmar FAQ. They make transducers. You can shoot thur metal, but the signal is weak.

Airmar recommends not mounting a transducer on the step. They oughta know. They make the transducers.

I don't hear any of the sonar sellers advising this. But then, I am not surprised. Are you?

Seems to me the sonar makers and the boat people will sell us anything. No one gave me this above advice. Get the money is all that matters to them.:mad:

If they were sincere, they would advertise this and the dealers would not mount transducers on the step. MHO

http://airmar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/a..._sp=cF9zcmNoPT

Hmmmm....OK, the pad is your problem. The obvious answer was stated, mount it lower on the step. I understand the not wanting to drill the holes, but that is the answer. I'd definitely go with a ducer mounting plate too. The cables can be secured with stays......again, more holes, but use 3M 5200 and you'll be OK. As far as snapping them off in the stumps, it is a risk, but they hold up a lot better than you think and are "relatively" cheap.

As far as why lowrance didn't give you any problems.......I believe the ducer/software setup on the h'bird either has less power or filters the signal from the outside edges of the beam. For example, if you were to troll by a tree in 15 foot of water, the lowrance will pick up a signal at the base say 8 ft away, the Hbird will not. I've been following a tutorial comparing h'bird and lowrance on another board and this is the result I've gleaned so far.

Having said that, the hbird may be filtering your poor signal down to nothing, while the Lowarance is able to give you some signal.

You mentioned the lowrance worked in the same place.....was this on the same boat and you just switched to Hbird? If so, I assume you were attempting to upgrade for one reason or another. Another option would be to remove the h'bird ducer and put the lowrance back in place for running at speed and remount the h'bird on the other side for whatever benefit during fishing you were hoping for.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Don't feel bad though, my Stratos looses signal around 48 mph and it's through hull mounted and my Garmin is toast after half throttle with a 25.

One other random thought, if you try to go through hull on that Tracker, you're gonna have a hard time finding a flat area just in front of the pad that is perpendicular to the bottom judging from your pic. So, if it does work, you're gonna be shooting the bottom at an angle making the signal that much harder for the unit to pick up.

Wannabe...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wannabe...

Hmmmm....OK, the pad is your problem. The obvious answer was stated, mount it lower on the step. I understand the not wanting to drill the holes, but that is the answer. I'd definitely go with a ducer mounting plate too. The cables can be secured with stays......again, more holes, but use 3M 5200 and you'll be OK. As far as snapping them off in the stumps, it is a risk, but they hold up a lot better than you think and are "relatively" cheap.

As far as why lowrance didn't give you any problems.......I believe the ducer/software setup on the h'bird either has less power or filters the signal rom the outside edges of the beam. For example, if you were to troll by a tree in 15 foot of water, the lowrance will pick up a signal at the base say 8 ft away, the Hbird will not. I've been following a tutorial comparing h'bird and lowrance on another board and this is the result I've gleaned so far.

Having said that, the hbird may be filtering your poor signal down to nothing, while the Lowarance is able to give you some signal.

You mentioned the lowrance worked in the same place.....was this on the same boat and you just switched to Hbird? If so, I assume you were attempting to upgrade for one reason or another. Another option would be to remove the h'bird ducer and put the lowrance back in place for running at speed and remount the h'bird on the other side for whatever benefit during fishing you were hoping for.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Don't feel bad though, my Stratos looses signal around 48 mph and it's through hull mounted and my Garmin is toast after half throttle with a 25.

One other random thought, if you try to go through hull on that Tracker, you're gonna have a hard time finding a flat area just in front of the pad that is perpendicular to the bottom judging from your pic. So, if it does work, you're gonna be shooting the bottom at an angle making the signal that much harder for the unit to pick up.

Wannabe...

---

Good points here Wannabe. If you want to try something with in hull, then try this:

Fill your bilge area with some water and place the spare xducer in the bilge so it is submerged and can shoot thru the bottom of the boat (tie wrap it in place). This oughta tell you something. Prob weak signal. Worth a try. Never say never to me.:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wannabe...

You mentioned the lowrance worked in the same place.....was this on the same boat and you just switched to Hbird? If so, I assume you were attempting to upgrade for one reason or another. Another option would be to remove the h'bird ducer and put the lowrance back in place for running at speed and remount the h'bird on the other side for whatever benefit during fishing you were hoping for.Wannabe...

---

It's the other way around, Chris. The H'bird came on the boat. It was the cheap get-by model. However, it would keep a good signal on top end (47 MPH). It finally died on me, and I replaced it with a 480 I caught on sale. The ducer for the Eagle is in the "exact" location that the Bird was in, but craps out at 8 MPH. I've raised, lowered, tilted........It just does not jive with the void left by the step-hull.

Well..........dang.

Don't make me come over there. I think the short answer to your problem is to move that ducer to where it belongs. Might see if you can come up with a cheapo h'bird and try it in it's old location. Don't know about you, but I do very little at the console with my FF other than trying to stay off the bottom.

Try this with the wife - The only one that'll work with your boat is the SI models with at least an 10" screen. Blame it on Tracker.

Wannabe...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wannabe...

Try this with the wife - The only one that'll work with your boat is the SI models with at least an 10" screen. Blame it on Tracker.

Wannabe...

---

Nope, didn't work..........she's convinced it is made by Boeing, and said we couldn't afford it!!!