Securing Transducer to Starboard

[AlAdams]

I am picking up a Lowrance HDS9 Gen2 Touch today and and I'd like to mount the transducer to a piece of Starboard secured to the transom.  They only had scraps of 1/2" Seafoam Starboard where I bought it.  Would 1/2" screws be enough to secure the transducer and eventually trim tabs, should I double up the Starboard or should I scrap the piece I have and look for a 3/4" or 1" piece?  A post a while back indicated that using 5200 and counter-sinking stainless screws would work to secure the Starboard to the transom.  Your comments are appreciated.  Thanks, Al

[First Cabin]

1/2" should be plenty.  That's what I have on mine.  Just be sure to use beefy screws with beefy threads to hold the starboard.  Fine threads will strip easy.

I just secured my starboard with a screw in each corner....putting just a little 5200 in each screw hole to keep the transom water-tight.  I wouldn't use 5200 anywhere else.  It wont' adhere well to starboard and is a royal pain to remove from fiberglass.

[croaker stroker]

My transducer is mounted with 5/8" screws into pre-drilled holes in 1/2" Starboard. Still in place after nearly 2 years.

I would use the screw that the trim tab manufacturer recommends. And I would not mount them to the Starboard.

[First Cabin]

Didn't notice the trim tab portion.

I also would not mount trim tabs onto starboard.  You'll need to attach trim tabs direct to transom.

[Yachter Yat]

I'm sorry and excuse me..........but in 2013 people are still attaching transducers to transoms?   :hoboy:

[GregE]

I'm sorry and excuse me..........but in 2013 people are still attaching transducers to transoms?   :hoboy:

Oh yeah, sure you betcha. Not getting effete on us are ya   :biggrin:

[Yachter Yat]

I *did* say I was sorry...........didn't I?   :biggrin:

[First Cabin]

I'm sorry and excuse me..........but in 2013 people are still attaching transducers to transoms?   :hoboy:

I will bite.  What do you do on your Arima?

The Arima design does not lend itself very well to through-hull installations.  Pulling out the fuel tank to gain access to the hull is a pain.  You can mount it down by the bilge pump, but then how do you run the wire?

It seems that I change my transducer about every year or two so I'm not excited about digging into the bilge to try and install it.

[woody]

effete:  No longer fertile.  Having lost character, vitality or strength.  Marked by weakness or decadence.  Soft or delicate. Or Herman Wouk "a god humored boy brought up by maiden aunts".

Well Greg, think I'll just pick the one I like and keep it my secret since my transducer is old enough to be screwed directly to the transom.  Wouldn't recommend now though. By the way Greg, you have been warned.  Keep using big words or words we don't know is a good way to get your self banned.  We are a tad sensitive about our "drop out" status.  My "drop out" status is linked to Timothy Leary though, not schooling.  Results are the same however.

EJ, most of us recommend affixing a piece of starboard "semi permanently" to the transom and ducer screwed to that. Although nice, most of us don't shoot thru the hull.

Woody

[Yachter Yat]

Hey Woody:  Easy on Timothy.........you know he taught school up here at Harvard and some of his ashes were sent to outer space right?  :biggrin:       Hey wait.........what the hell does that have to do with a transducer hangin' out the a$$ end of my boat anyway???   

[Threeweight]

I have 1/2" Starboard mounted to the transom w/ 1" stainless screws in each corner, sealed w/ 5200 (the screw heads/threads, nothing else.  My transducer brackets are then mounted w/ 1/2" stainless screws.  Do not mount the trim tabs to the Starboard, as noted above.  Here's a photo of mine:



Re: transom mount, in-hull, or thru-hull... all work, and all have strengths and weaknesses.  Transom mount is a pain in the butt to position properly, particularly for high-speed readings that avoid turbulence from the hull.  In-hull is certainly more convenient, and they work great.  But recognize it is inherently less sensitive than a transom mount or true thru-hull transducer, because it has to pick up sonar echoes through 1/8-1/4" of fiberglass and gel coat.

There is a reason why commercial fishing vessels, and the highest end Furuno/Airmar set ups, use thru-hull transducers.  I just can't bring myself to contemplate cutting a hole that big in my boat.

[AlAdams]

Thanks everyone.  The last transducer I had was screwed to the transom for the last 10 years or so without a problem.  More than likely this one will be too - unless I somehow become more impulsive than I am.  You never know, I might whack my head on the skip tower too hard one of these days and my whole perspective will change, thus the Starboard.  Drilling holes in Starboard is easy, drilling holes in the transom would be painful for me.  Thanks for the picture 3W.  Al

[Yachter Yat]

ejthomp:  Sorry to be so long responding to your questions regarding my in hull transducer but here goes:  My 16 SC came through with a small hole drilled just behind the fuel tank and just ahead of the transom on the port side.....(accessed from under the bait hatch of course).  This hole is about 1 1/2" in dia. and is so close to the transom that it is only partially covered by the tank. I assume it must have been specifically provided for running cables or lines of some sort from the bilge. So, what I did was "snake" a piece of 16 ga. tie wire through that hole and into the bilge until I could grab it from the access port in the fishwell.

I then attached that tie wire to the transducer plug end by tightly wrapping the tie wire around the transducer cable just behind the plug and securing with electrical tape...........trying not to make it too "bulky". From that point I simply pulled it up and through he hole. I must admit, if that hole had been any smaller I would have probably had to remove the tank and do a little cutting.

The rest is pretty much elementary.  I ran the cable forward up under the port gunnel and crossed over the top of the cabin door (because my A70 sits on my helm dash) and secured it all along the way with small screw-in cable supports. Because these transducer cables can't usually be shortened, the excess cable sits coiled and taped-up to the bait hatch drain tube.......out of the way and out of site. 

I quess it was fortunate for me that this hole made this phase of the installation fairly simple.  But that said, from my experience with the performance of this unit and the neatness and protection to the transducer that it provides, I would be more than willing to remove the fuel tank to get this done. 

Glueing the transducer behind the bilge pump was another thing. Advoiding a few things I've learned from my failures could make this fairly simple as well but I guess we'll have to save this for another chapter.  :biggrin:

Yat

P.S.  Keep in mind, one of the benefits of this installation is there are no holes in the transom. As the Mexican once said: "We ain't got no holes..........we don't NEED no holes.........I don't have to TELL you about any STINKIN' holes"!
   

       

[Aquaperro]

Went direct to the hull when installing my transducer for my Lowrance Elite-5 sonar/GPS. Didn't have the right countersinking bit or a standard point drill bit to chamfer the holes on hand & cracked gelcoat on one driving the screws. Thankfully not too bad & 3M 5200 saved the day with no leaks. All was behind the bracket. Put it directly next to the paddlewheel sensor for my SmartCraft speedo in toward the motor & it's in the sweet spot. Can read bottom at WOT no problem. Wanted to do the King Starboard interface & couldn't wait on install day. Buck Fever..... But I'll probably have to take an air chisel to the transducer bracket when I upgrade my sonar. At that time I'll put the Starboard strip up I guess.


John

[amazing grace]

On one of my 19SR there was a Airmar transducer afixed directly to the transom. It needed replaced and my new Raymarine A50D came with an Airmar transducer with the same screw pattern. So I used some 5200 and remounted the new Airmar in the existing holes directly to the transom. Worked well. Otherwise I would have gone the starboard route which has it's advantages.

[Markshoreline]

Aquaperro,
Screws that are set in 5200 can be difficult to remove.  However, the easiest method I've found is to use a hand impact driver with the appropriate bit.  You hold it on the screw head and give it a whack with a hammer.  The hammer sets the bit into the screw firmly and exerts torque at the same time so the screw breaks the seal and does not strip!

[Aquaperro]

Mark,
Will do if/when an upgrade to my sonar/GPS comes and the Skimmer transducer bracket form factor has changed. Thanks for your advice since I've never tried to dismantle something sealed or bedded with 3M 5200. From research and checking out some friend's boats it's been Lowrance standard for a while as far as the one-piece bracket is concerned. It would be nice to not have to remove it down the road.

John