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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Depth Sounders

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kwalsh
1st Mate

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USA
33 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/02/2018 : 07:27:47

Hello All,
Our SR Mariner depth sounder has ceased working. It came with the boat three years ago when we acquired her. I contacted the company, which no longer manufactures the product, but will service the unit if we send it to them. They provided me a dummy transducer plug because they want the entire system for inspection, repair and if economical and efficient. They do have a few new transducers for sale, but no display devices. What advice can be passed on to us to fix the problem? If we should replace the unit, the transom will have a large hole in it. What options have been used before and how best to utilize the hole left by the Mariner? Should we consider upgrading from a depth sounder only to a multifunctional system that compliments our C-25, but not over-spend or over-kill for the C-25? Many thanks and happy sailing to all!

Kevin Walsh
Segelboot
1984 C25, TR/SK
Sail No. 4433

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 08:16:54

I was in the same situation as you several years ago, and I too worried about removing the old transducer and having to patch the through hull opening. Mine is located under the forward dinette seat.

I looked at my options:
1. Somehow repair the current depth meter - either vendor repair or find an EE or Electronics Tech might be able to repair, but labor charges could be prohibitive.

2. Find a suitable replacement - I looked at several standalone depthmeters and a few were small enough to fit directly inside the old cylindrical bezel of the old depth meter. I found a small Hawkeye depthmeter that fit inside the bezel. I left the old transducer alone and potted the new transducer in wax inside the hull under the quarterberth.

For me, the latter option for about $100 worked well.

35 year-old consumer electronics, even expertly repaired, just doesn�t have the reliability I expect for the mission-critical function of depth detection. More than just watching out for sandbars and rocks, it�s a navigation tool I use for charts and verifying a chart plotter.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - Voyager on 09/02/2018 08:23:51

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4275 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 09:50:05

if it cannot be repaired just leave the dummy plug in place and use the wax ring mounting method to mount your new setup.

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 09/02/2018 09:50:30

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3369 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 13:30:41

I had both the SR Mariner depth finder and knotmeter. I sent the knot meter and transducer to them and the meter came back equal to new. The transducer was replaced with new. Has worked fine. The depth finder, I decided to replace with a fish finder since fish finders can be bought new for a reasonable price and you can utilize an in the hull transducer mounted into a glob from a toilet bowl wax ring to get it to operate accurately. The fish finder install is on my website.

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 09/02/2018 13:32:10

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3994 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 13:41:59

I agree, why mess with the old unit. I would guess a repair wouldn't be cheap and close in cost to a new unit. I would just clip the wire and leave the old transducer as long as it doesn't leak then go with the wax ring for the new one. End result is you have a new unit verses an old repaired unit for about the same cost and you don't have to mess with filling/drilling any new holes.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 18:15:22

quote:
Originally posted by kwalsh

If we should replace the unit, the transom will have a large hole in it.

Since you probably wouldn't have your transducer mounted on the transom, I'm guessing you mean your display unit (gauge) mounted on the bulkhead at the fore end of the cockpit, where most of us have instrument displays mounted. It will be hard to find a replacement gauge that will fit in that hole. I'm not going to go measure again, but I think Datamarine might have gauges the same size or larger in diameter. However, they are much more expensive than having SR Mariner repair your unit.

SR Instruments, Inc. serves customers well. I have one of their analog knotmeters. When my gauge failed, they were fantastic in terms of initial advice and troubleshooting, advice on calibration, reasonable pricing, etc. Therefore, I would recommend sending your unit to them for repair.

Side note - SR is not a big operation. When I first called, I was transferred to a guy and had to leave voice mail, but he called me back. It was nice, like the good old days. It sure beat getting "immediate service" from somebody in a call center who doesn't know anything more than their company's website.

Seth
"Outlier" 1987 Catalina 25 SR/SK/Traditional Interior #5541
"Zoo" 1977 Morgan Out Island 30
"Nomad" 1980 Prindle 16
"Lost" 1988 Catalina Capri 14.2 (sold - yay!)
"Marine Tex 1" Unknown Origin POS 8' Fiberglass Dinghy
https://whichsailboat.com/2014/07/27/catalina-25-review/

Edited by - sethp001 on 09/02/2018 18:16:41

kwalsh
1st Mate

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USA
33 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 19:50:54

Thanks, Seth and everyone.
Yes, I goofed up on the correct words. Should I replace the SR unit it leaves behind a large hole in the bulkhead. Interesting, we haven�t seen replies of switching out the SR for an instrument with other features such as offered by B&G or Garmin or Raymarine, etc. The cost may be higher, but you may have more than one feature on a new device mounted on the bulkhead or even inside the cabin. Maybe a lot of Captain�s simply don�t choose this. Glad to learn of good business practices at SR. I have been speaking with Al at SR, who seems to be the point person for the older depth sounders.
Many thanks for all the comments.

Kevin Walsh
Segelboot
1984 C25, TR/SK
Sail No. 4433

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/02/2018 : 20:08:04

Seth, it sounds as if you�ve had a good outcome with SR�s repair of their depth meter. If they replaced old components on the PC board, that would freshen up the circuitry, so as long as the connectors and the display hold up, your depthmeter will be fine. If they completely replaced the circuit card with all new components, then you should be fine for some time to come. Always good to clean your connection points with sandpaper or an emery board. Always check your crimp connectors for corrosion and terminal voltage during operation (should be 12.6-12.8VDC).

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - Voyager on 09/04/2018 05:19:17

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3369 Posts

Response Posted - 09/04/2018 : 03:41:25

The reason it makes sense to get the knotmeter fixed, is like Seth indicated, SR Mariner is a good small company and the knotmeter will basically come back in new condition. In my case, it was like getting a new meter, they changed some of the guts inside and put in a new display crystal. The transducer was also replaced with new. If you go with a new, different mfr's knotmeter, then you not only have to deal with a different sized diameter knotmeter but you probably will have to install a new transducer thru the hull since many mfr's do not have interchangeable transducer housings. A thru hull for the knotmeter is necessary unless you have it transom mounted. This is because the transducer impeller must be in the waterway below the hull.

In the case of the depthfinder, repairing or replacing is a different assessment. Over the years, depthfinders can still be quite expensive but fishfinders have become quite popular, provide same basic readings as a depthfinder but also provide a sense of the waterway bottom contour - where there are valleys, etc, and the low end fishfinders are cost competitive with depthfinders. Above, where I mention that a fishfinder has a sense of the bottom countour is because the fishfinder scrolls, time dependent, and not distance dependent and so the bottom contour (in reality) is somewhat different because the fishfinder measures it over the scroll time. Still, having a sense of the bottom contour can be very helpful to those that have shallow depths in there swimming hole.

But the reason that going with a fishfinder makes sense versus repairing the depthfinder is because the cost of the low end fishfinders is competitive and probably close to same price as having the old depthfinder repaired. Also, a low end fishfinder may actually be less expensive than going with a different brand new depthfinder that probably will have a smaller hole cut than the SR Mariner depthfinder. The real benefit that makes going with a fishfinder an attractive offer besides providing a sense of the bottom contour and accurate depth readings is that a number of fishfinder mfrs offer transducers that can be mounted inside the hull and do not require a thru hull mount. Here are some photos of my fishfinder and in-hull transducer mounted in a glob of a toilet bowl was ring. Install was over 12 years ago and never has had to be reset. As far as covering up the old deptfinder hole and how to mount the fishfinder using a RAM Swing mount - The details are on my website.

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 09/04/2018 04:02:55

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