glassing transducer in the bow of a boat

[pbro]

I'm kicking around the idea of putting a graph or flasher up front for the person fishing with me so they have some idea of the depth without constantly asking me.I run at Warrior 177 backtroller with no front trolling motor.It wouldnt need to show depth other than at trolling speeds , so I'm assuming i can glass transducer in anywhere up to where the bow turns up.Has anyone tried this or any ideas or potential issues....Thanks for your help...PS I've never glassed in a transducer so any help along those lines would be appreciated..

[Unlogged T-Mac]

I would be surprised if you could do this.
A transducer must be sitting level with the world (water) to be accurate. Access to the hull inside in the front area is unlikely, but there would be no flat, level spot even if you could get to the hull.

[pbro]

Thanks for your reply...I was thinking I would have to build up a flat area directly above the keel or off slightly to the side.100% accuracy of depth isnt needed, but the more accurate the better...I do have access to the keel in front of floor access for batteries or even in the bottom of the storage compartment in the front deck(although it is lined with carpet)

[Toolman]

I thought I saw a procedure on Ship Shape (TV show) about mounting an enclosure made from a section of PVC pipe to the hull. The PVC was cut on a bevel to point "straight down" and epoxied to the hull. The tube was partially filled with mineral oil and the transducer was immersed in the oil and sealed or capped in some way. Was I dreaming? It seems like it wouls work.

Tim

[Hawker]

Toolman:
The procedure you described is exactly "right on". It's a little timely in getting the PVC beveled just perfect to fit flat against the hull so that it stands verticle, but once it gets epoxied down good so that there are no leaks from the mineral oil, it will work perfectly. An ole timer boat-rigger showed me that procedure a long time ago and that is how I mount my transducers front and rear. The mineral oil acts as a perfect medium for the transducer, but the transducer does have to be suspended inside the PVC so that it shoots straight down. Not too hard to do though.
Hawker

[REW]

There is a much easier solution to your problem.
Simply take the transducer for the bow mounted depth finder, run the cable to the back of the boat and mount the transducer on the back of the boat on the opposite side of the boat from your console mounted depth finders transducer.

I have done this for the last several boats and it works very well indeed.

The nice thing about this installation is that you have full time depth reading on the bow mounted unit.

In fact; I use this unit for most of my high speed running. I set the digital scale to "large size". It is very easy to see the depth finder through or over the top of the windshield.

When I am running high speed, my eyes are trained on the horizon - checking for conditions and on coming traffic. With the depth finder mounted on the bow of the boat, the depth finder is in my line of vision - when I am locked on the horizon. Thus, I don't need to distract myself to look down to look at the console depth finder.

Many times, I have been blowing down the lake, when I came across a structure or school of fish - that I had no idea was there. I will stop, follow my wake back to the spot and proceed to check out the structure or school of fish. I would have completely missed it - if I relied only on my console depth finder; because I seldom refer to it when I am running fast.

It is simple works great and certainly takes care of your issue about "how deep is it now??"

Take care
REW

[pbro]

Thank you..sounds like the perfect solution. One question,what should I use to seal the top of the PVC pipe...

[Hawker]

You don't really "seal" it. You'll need to get a pvc cap which will fit snugly over the pvc pipe. I drill a hole in the center of the cap just big enough for the transducer cord to fit in, then use a hack saw and cut up from one edge to the center hole so that I can get the transducer under the cap and the cord in the middle. I then use a zip tie around the cord to suspend the transducer inside the pvc pipe, one around the cap to pull it back together and use a tad of silicone along the slit in the cap. Hope you get the idea of what I'm trying to explain but a little trial and error and you'll be there. Hope it helps!
Hawker

[Greg Walters]

Hawker,

I wonder if it was the same old timer that showed me the same transducer installation some 20 years ago…
The way I install a transducer in a vertical piece of PVC is to drill a whole in the middle of the PVC cap large enough for the transducer cable to run through. Seal this with some silicone when you figure out how much cable you need inside the PVC pipe. The nice thing about using this type of installation is that you can usually use a transom mount transducer inside the pipe. Just use and/or adapt the standard hardware and screw it in place inside the PVC pipe. This way it doesn’t move around and you can always seal the screw holes with some more silicone. Also, you can use whatever adhesive you want to mount the PVC pipe to the hull without fear of it affecting the performance of the transducer.


Pbro,

I’ve installed several transducers inside the bow of deep-vee boats before. The hardest parts of this were being able to reach where you wanted to and also keeping the epoxy where you want it. These were not installed with any kind of build up to the hull and were pointing at an angle instead of straight down. Depending on the angle of your hull and the depth of water you fish in, this angle won’t make that much difference. Also this will depend on if you want accurate water depth or to just know if the depth has changed and if you are over structure or not.

Still, the easiest rigging may be to run the transducer off the transom as REW suggested.

It’s your call!


Greg Walters at Humminbird