posted 09-29-2001 11:40 PM ET (US)            

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I hate drilling holes in my boat and this is especially true for the transom in spots under the waterline. It seems with transducers that there is no standard for the mounts and that every manufacturer does it differently. With these thoughts in mind, I still only want to drill the holes one time regardless of whose depthfinder I am using. I have changed units 3 times now but I have only drilled holes once. I used the idea of mounting a small piece of StarBoard to the transom. Once that is secure, you can mount your transducer to that. If you buy a new unit, you can redrill the starboard while leaving the transom untouched.

I have seen some installations where a long piece of starboard is used. It is long enough that it sticks out of the water about 6 inches and the mounting screws are all into the transom above the water line while the transducer is mounted to the starboard below the waterline. Starboard is pretty flexible and I am not too sure how well this "long" piece works.

posted 10-01-2001 10:57 PM ET (US)            

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How long has that piece of Starboard been glued to your boat? I was under the impression that nothing would stick to Starboard and so I am surprised that you were able to glue a piece of it in place.

- ron

posted 10-02-2001 12:10 AM ET (US)            

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Kim writes about a picture of his transducer installation:

"jimh is not intrested"

Huh? I think I am being misquoted!

posted 10-02-2001 01:36 PM ET (US)            

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The starboard alone won't stick to the 5200 without a mechanical bond. You get the mechanical bond two ways;

First you route dovetail grooves on the back of the starboard and make certain they are completely filled with 5200.

second, you slather the entire back of the board with additional 5200 and bed it to the transom with small spacers at the corners so as not to squeeze out all the goop. Toothpicks work fine.

I've done several boats this way with 2 of them going on 10 plus years without a failure of the bond.

Without the grooves, the sealer will not stick alone. The reverse angle of the dovetail and the sealer filled groove is what makes the bond work.
Bill

posted 10-02-2001 02:24 PM ET (US)         

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Getting back to the original question, the Lowrance large sized "skimmer" transducer is a real pain (impossible!) to install so that it doesn't kick up a huge amount of backsplash and spray. I have been a Lowrance fan for years, and still am, but absolutely HATE that particular transducer, having been uable to install it properly on both of my Whalers. Finally, I just gave up, and removed them, substituting instead their EASY to install little 20 degree
skimmer (best design on the market if you ask me) and a separate block style 50khz transducer flush with the bottom for deep water readings (over 500ft) while trolling.

NWG, I'll be amazed if you can that thing to run with a smooth flow under it. Let us know how you do!

Regarding transducer screw holes in the transom, I just don't see the big deal about it. There is previous discussion on easy ways to plug & gelcoat these, an hours work at best. It seems with the rapid advances in electronics, this is a fact of life. I have been doing this for years, and I have yet to have any of the repairs fail or let water in the transom plywood.