Transducer Inboard Installation

[ggray]

I put a glob of petroleum jelly on the transducer, "rolled" it in place to prevent air bubbles, and then glued around the perimeter with silicone.

Previous boat had one glued inside, and one transducer thru hull. After a lightning strike that knocked out most electrics including the thruhull depth sounder, I thought the locker this transducer was mounted in wasn't as dark inside as I remembered. Haulout that winter, I found why. The entire guts had been blown out, leaving just the thin plastic top to hold the sea back. Electronics through the hull can be an Achilles heel.

[Marksman]

I also installed my transducer inside the hull, in front of the balast keel. When the epoxy was still fluid I tried the sounder and got terrible results but waited for the plastic to cure as it's uncured properties are not good for sonic transmition. After cure it was amazing. Great transmition static or underway to over 700Ft. Sometimes you just have to trust the instructions.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by stevensc

I have mounted one using silicone it worked fine for years.
Last year I set one in wax, it has worked very well ...

Here I was, shy to mention my silicon and modeling clay mountings. Lots of folks going the "not recommended" thing. Love it

[colo.sail]

will this work the same on a wood-hulled boat?
I was hoping to simply mount my transducer inside without any through-hull cuts.
I have heard the PVC and mineral oil process works best.

[osirissail]

Primarily it is a matter of the density of the material the transducer sound is transmitting through. Wood is probably not dense enough to allow a sufficient amount of the energy to be passed through it. But some woods are as hard and dense as metal, supposedly. But, you could try it if your boat is in the water by temporarily hooking up the depth sounder to a battery or other power source and holding the transducer against the hull and see what happens.