transducer mounting

[glasply1]

Recently put a new depth/fish finder on my boat with the transducer mounted on the transom. With the motor running at the dock or underway the depth reading flashes on and off. I shut it off when I get to my fishing spot, then turn it on again and it doesn't flash - reading stays on like it should. Have I got the transducer mounted too high or too low? Thanks for your help.

 

[Boatist]

Re: transducer mounting

You really can not mount it too deep. Too deep just makes it more likely to hit something and adds more drag to the hull. Good starting place is 12 inches to the Starboard side of the motor. Use a straight edge on the deeper side of the hull toward the engine. Mount transducer so 1/2 on the deeper side of the transducer is bellow the bottom of the hull. Transducer should point straight down so the side away from the motor will further below the hull. Now still need to check the bottom of the hull and make sure you do not have a skeg or row of rivets ahead of the tranduser. Anything that might produce air and turblance in the water ahead of transducer is not good.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

Thanks for your comments. I'll be pulling the boat out for annual maintenance in another month or so and will adjust the transducer location then. Seems like I have it a bit too high. Will be nice to have it working properly especially when I'm going up a shallow channel that I use occasionally.

 

[Boatist]

Re: transducer mounting

When moving either mount a transducer mounting plate or just glue it down to test so you do not have to drill more holes. When I first mounted mine I used a 2 inch square 1/4 inch peice of aluminum and glued it in place with silcone seal. This made it easy to remove. I felt like it would hold forever but did not want to take a chance on it hitting something and breaking it loose. Also My boat top speed is 38 MPH. With tempory mount like above you should use some tie wrapes or duck tape to secure the transducer cable near the transducer. This is just in case it breaks loose it will not swing up on the cable and hit someone in the boat.

 

[imported_bjs]

Re: transducer mounting

buy one mount to the floor of the boat i fought the same problem with mine never did fix the problem until i mountrd to floor maybe i just didnt know what i was doing.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: transducer mounting

If the transducer is in a location where it gets in the bubbles from your running motor it can lose signal and begin flashing the last reading it had recorded.<br /><br />Sometimes it is necessary to move it to the side more.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

Thank you all for your ideas and comments. I think I'm going to rig up some sort of a holder that I can attach to the transom (as mentioned above) with a number of slots or holes in it so that I can attach the transducer to it and move it up or down until I find the ideal location.

 

[phantoms]

Re: transducer mounting

Make sure it's in clean water. This means not behind the V of the boat, or the chines or strakes. The main reason you don't want it anywhere in front of the prop is not because of a bad reading, it's because it will cause caviation in front of your prop and this results in reduced power and eventual prop damage.

 

[imported_Curmudgeon]

Re: transducer mounting

Good starting place is 12 inches to the Starboard side of the motor.<br /><br />I probably shouldn't ask, but I've read it before and can't figure what's so magic about the starboard side ...

 

[Boatist]

Re: transducer mounting

There is no real magic and most boats it does not make any difference. Many boats do not have 12 inches clearance from the motor where they can mount. They may have 2 foot wide trim tabs or a big reverse chime. Two reasons I suggest starboard side. As a right hand prop turns in foward on the starboard side the prop is going down into the water. The leading edge of the prop and the face of the prop actually send a schock wave of water down into the water. On the Port side this same shock wave is sent up toward the transducer. While this is very minor and not at the frequency of the transducer it can show up as noise or surface clutter.<br /><br />Second reason is most helms are on the starboard side and most depth finder are mounted on the starboard side. On many boats the transducer cable is not long enough to reach the helm station from a port side mounting. Of course Bass boat and center consoles and small boats cable will be long enough.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

Since I have a left hand turning prop it sounds like having my transducer on the port side is correct and to my advantage. Also, I have my kicker motor on a bracket on the starboard side. That's the way the boat and bracket came when I bought the boat. <br />With an adjustable height for the transducer, I can raise it out of the salt water when the boat is not going to be used for a while. Seems the organisms in the water like to grow on the face of the transducer, affecting the quality of the signals to and fro. I have tried reaching with a brush to clean the face of the transducer when the boat is moored but only get so-so results.

 

[Boatist]

Re: transducer mounting

I agree especially if you ever use your kicker in reverse to slow your drift when of shore. What kind of motor has a left hand prop?

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

Chev 350 with a Volvo 280 outdrive.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

My mechanic says that a switch allows the boat to be set up for left or right hand props. Since the boat came to me (used) with the left hand set up and prop, I left it like that. My only problem with it is that when I return to the dock I slow it with reverse gear at the slip and I invariably bump into the boat next to mine. I use lots of fenders and very little throttle. The owner never says anything, just gives me some weird looks.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

By the way, It just came to me, since you asked, the ability to switch an I/O from left to right or the reverse, would be useful when installing dual engines, so that the props rotate in different directions. Who'da thunk it?

 

[Boatist]

Re: transducer mounting

Unless the winds blowing or you have a strong current slow down early and line up. Kick motor out of gear and just glide into your spot. With a left hand prop when you kick motor in reverse stern will move to starboard some so plan on it and you should be able to put right where you want it.<br />I love watching the old time captains with inboards turn their boats and put it in the slip in tight spaces useing just the prop wash. Rudders on these boats do very little until get water flowing over the rudder but they still turn in a very short space and pull into their slip. A very good book called Single "Screw boat handeling" explains how to turn with a single engine without useing the rudder but I do not remember the author.

 

[glasply1]

Re: transducer mounting

Thanks for the book recommendation. <br />As soon as I enter the marina I have to make a sharp turn to the North, then make a 90 to the East to enter the "fairway" then a 90 to the South to enter my slip. I'm the first slip inside the fairway, so I don't really have a lot of room to line up and aim for my side of the slip. Usually there is some current as the tide is almost always moving, and there's often a bit of wind down the channel. Eventually I will get it right - probably on a day when no one is looking.