Depth in hull transducer

[reids]

:confused:
I just bought the Norcross hawkeye depth sounder and installed everything but the transducer. It is an in hull/transom mount. I tried to get a reponse in hull with vaseline by putting in the forward most bilge, near the bow and starboard amidships, but without luck. anyone with experience with this ?

[Bill]

According to a Sail mag article I saw, you use mineral oil and put the transducer in a tube against the hull.

[Dan Maliszewski]

Cap,

Hope your transducer is the one cut on an angle, to allow for a near vertical beam.  If so, try the location under the starboard main bunk, where the hull has a more flattish flare.  Submerge the puck in a 1 qt. "baggie" of baby oil and hold it firmly against the hull interior face (find a smooth spot) oriented so that the "beam" is near vertical, and let 'er rip.  I used this method on my Ariel, it worked, and I then smoothened the area with a small disc grinder and set the puck into place in a bed of epoxy, carefully so no air bubbles get into the bed.  No hull penetration and it works like a champ.

If you locate the puck too far forward, the beam is not able to bounce off the bottom back to the puck, due to the sharper hull flare toward the bow.  The ideal orientation would have the puck aimed straight at Davy Jones.  But don't give up - In Hull does work.  The test location trials are tricky because the echo will not pass through air, bubbles, voids, or anything not solid.

Carry on..

[drm901]

The previous owner created a small well below the floor access panel aft of the head by glassing in a small triangle piece of plexiglass.  Has a stopper for refilling with mineral oil.  The puck is screwed to the plexiglass piece that was glassed in.  It has worked well for years.  Also easy to access, repair if necessary.

[ebb]

Got any photos you can post?  Be great to see it next time you have to 'service.'  Is it on the centerline, off to one side, what is the reservoir made from, what keeps the oil in place, how does the wire exit, and what kind of readout is it that has given you no problems??:cool:

[Mike Goodwin]

I have the same setup on #45 and it works fine , located under stbd bunk , about 1' aft hanging locker.

[S.Airing]

I mounted Siroccos depth transducer inside the hull using a 3 inch piece of pvc filled with mineral oil.It has worked with out fail since 1993 or so.

[S.Airing]

Another angle

[S.Airing]

The end result,it actually works.

[commanderpete]

The skipper of this boat failed to properly monitor his depthsounder for some reason.

[walberts]

I have read the posts about submerging the transducer in mineral oil and I see the picture of the pvc pipe that's epoxied to the hull.  How is the transducer secured in the pipe?  Is it just sitting on the hull, surrounded by mineral oil?  Or do you have to affix it in the oil bath in some way to keep the beam direction consistant?

[Bill]

According to the article in the May 2002  Sail Mag, the transducer is slightly above the hull and surrounded by the mineral oil.  They show a short length of 2" diameter PVC pipe (length depends on the length of the transducer) and a 2" to 1-1/2 " PVC reducing coupling for the top.  The inside of the coupling may need to be filed down to accept the trasducer body.  Cut tiny groves in the flang on the bottom of the transducer so the oil can circulate.  (See page 103 of the 5/02 Sail mag for a complete explination.)

[walberts]

I'm not clear on what holds the transducer in place. Does it just sit on the hull, with the mineral oil around it, or is it epoxied down, or is it suspended in the oil, using some method to keep it oriented properly?

[Bill]

Epoxy the pipe into place and cut the bottom at an angle to match the curvature of the hull.  The transducer is held in the tube by the reducing coupling.

[walberts]

Thanks Bill,

I will give it a try.