Depth finders

[DougN]

Has anyone had any luck mounting a transducer inside the hull?We tried with a Hawkeye low-budget model,we followed the install instrutions to the letter but just couldn't get a reading.The power boaters swear by this type of install,they just epoxy the transducer inside and read through the hull.I assumed this boats hull(87'CP23) was just too thick so we transom mounted it on my pontoon boat,works fine.The owner is trying to avoid drilling a thru-hull which I understand.He's going to try a higher quality unit(Humming Bird I think)and try it again.This boat has never had a depth finder and with the low levels of the Great Lakes it's time he installs one-it's just too scary without.Thanks and Happy Easter!...Doug

[Koinonia]

Use silicone, works and you can try different locations

[crazycarl]

i 2nd silicone.

used it on a past boat and using it now on our 19.

[Koinonia]

I was in a rush when I posted earlier, depending on where you sail a good fish finder is great to use as a depth finder.  If your body of water has things that snag anchors on the bottom the fish finder can give an idea of what kind of bottom your over before dropping the hook.

[Ted]

A depth finder came with my current boat (a 19) but I installed a Hawkeye depth finder on my last boat. Per the instructions, I used silicone and it worked great.

[DougN]

Silicone and a fish-finder,sounds like a plan.Any thoughts on a mid-range(budget-wise)fish-finder?

[mikew]

Doug, I installed a budget sounder on my Cp-16. The transducer was designed for a transom mount on a fishing boat,
but I installed it glued inside the hull in the lazerette area. It works fine, shows depth with both numbers and a LCD bottom display.
I like the display because it lets me see a "trend" of increasing or decreasing depth even without looking at the numbers.
The unit is an Eagle brand for about $80., also it draws only 1/10 of an amp so I can run it all day on about 1 Amp/hour.
Even at this price you still get shallow water alarm, ect.
I have seen other manufacturer models starting around $80.  
Mike

[Koinonia]

Good to see it worked out well for ya!

[HideAway]

I tried a variety of depth finders on my 23.  Could not get any of the hull mounted ones to work no matter where I put it or how it was installed.  I finally bit the bullet and installed a thru hull.  I ve seen four 23s with depth finders all four were thru hulls.  After a steep learning curve the thru works fine and does not leak.  It wasn t easy - I did a video on it if you want to see the pain   Matt

[EclipseGuy]

Plumber's putty works great for test mounting a transducer. It is cheap and easily removable so that you can try several locations before committing to a permanent mount location.

I have mounted the skimmer type transducers on the inside of the hulls of several boats and haven't had any issues.

- John

[Greene]

I installed that simple Hawkeye in the starboard side V-berth storage area using slow set epoxy and it has worked just fine.  I've got enough holes in my head, don't need more in my hull.

Mike

[kickingbug1]

im with mike w on this one the lcr's are the best. had a cheap eagle on my fishing boat for 6 years  now and it works great. think it was 80bucks from bass pro.

[millsy]

After trying quite a few different locations in the 23, I ended up mounting my inside- the- hull transducer a bit more off to the side than I would have liked.  The angle is probably more than 10 degrees but works well in this location.  Under the cabin settees would also work in a pinch.  The laminate closer to the centerline in the forward sections is thicker/more resin rich and can have more bubbles in the laminate because of the way the boat is laid up in the mold. Only way to say for sure is to sand it smooth and try it out.

I have used the PVC/mineral oil  and silicone in other inside the hull transducer installations but epoxy seems to provide the best results.   If the transducer does not work after setting it in the epoxy you should have a certain window to give it a sharp rap to free it up and try again (no guarantees but it worked for me !)

[DougN]

Thanks again for all the replys.I had a family emergency and have been down-state for the past four days,just now got back.Left in a hurry and forgot the laptop.You've convinced us to try again,sounds like we gave up too easy.My friend has decided to go the fish-finder route(exelent walleye fishing over here).He's trying to decide on the right unit.We're definitly going to give the plummers putty trick a try.