Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
Has anyone installed a good depth finder/sounder without drilling any holes in the hull? If so, what did you do and what make/model did you purchase. Thanks......
Catalina 25, Hull #779, Built 1978, FK/SR "Miss Natalie"
Catalina 25, Hull #971, Built 1979, SK/SR,"Sea Legs"
"if we get lost, we'll just pull in somewhere and ask directions."
Research fish finders. They have depth finders and a whole lot of other options for about the same price. I bought a Garmin Humminbird that not only shows depth but broadcast out a few feet so you can see oncoming structure on the bottom. It also has an integral GPS unit and drift alarm. Lot's of options out there besides going with a standard depth finder.
I bought a Garmin 140 with the portable battery-powered case that I would use on the sailboat and on my kayak. It didn't require any holes. On the C25 I ran the transducer that came with the unit through the starboard cabinetry, through the head sink cabinet to the v-berth and did the toilet wax ring trick just aft of the sink/head thru-hull there. It worked well. The transducer was the type that uses a suction cup to temporarily adhere it to a hull, but it worked just fine shooting the sonar thru the C25 hull. The only difference I noticed is that the water tempurature read two degrees warmer on the Garmin display compared to when the transducer is physically in the water.
I bought a Humminbird Matrix 17. Used a toilet bowl wax ring glob up forward to hold the transducer against the inside of the hull. Has worked fine for over 7 years. Details on my wensite.
Thanks Larry. I am going to look into purchasing the Hummingbird, as well. I will also follow your installation and use the wax method for the transducer. Someone said that a glob of silicone might do the same thing. Any thoughts on this?
I got the Garmin 540 GPS. Put the transducer under the v berth on the centerline. Used their assembly for transducer. Sanded, bedded their holder, fluid and transducer installed, works fine, no holes.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ftworthsailor</i> <br />Thanks Larry. I am going to look into purchasing the Hummingbird, as well. I will also follow your installation and use the wax method for the transducer. Someone said that a glob of silicone might do the same thing. Any thoughts on this? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Do not knead the wax before installing. It lets air into the wax and you will have erratic or no readings.
Break off a piece of wax large enough for the transducer to sit in with some left around the edges (like Larry's above). Handle the wax as little possible. Place it against the hull then press the transducer into it and compress the wax almost completely. You want just enough wax left under the transducer to make sure there are no air pockets under the transducer.
If you do it right you will get instant satisfaction with a steady depth reading. If not, get another piece of wax and try again.
A basic fish finder device, such as the Eagle Cuda brand, can be purchased for well under $100, and will shoot through the hull of a C25. I'll ditto the wax ring method; works very well. I placed mine behind the swing keel volcano rather than snake the transducer wiring up to the V-berth and found the results to be very satisfactory.
While there are other ways to hook up the transducer inside the hull, the glob of a toilet bowl wax ring is pretty darn good since it is easy to remove the stuff , move the transducer and try another area if at first you do not get a signal. I got a signal the first try and so I had no reason to remove the glob. The wax ring is also readily available at Home Depot or elsewhere and is very reasonable in cost. But others note addl ways to mount the transducer inside the hull and have also had excellent results, so more than one way will work as long as what Gary indicated, no bubbles between the medium used and the transducer/hull.
The Hawking is a basic unit, for under $100, with an in-hull or transom mounted transducer. I couldn't get it to shoot through the hull... but I think it was me. I wound up drilling the hole, and getting a through hull fitting. The newest model has water temp and air temp. Here's a link to the basic unit with an in-hull transducer... http://tinyurl.com/dymeg4p
I couldn't get the Hawkeye to shoot thru the hull either. I guess I'll order a thru hull and drill the hole. I wish I could figure out whether it's the head or the transducer on my original equipment (I think) Standard Horizon. The link that you provided had a comment from a Catalina 25 owner that said Hawkeye sent him a patch cable that allowed him to use his existing thru hull with the Hawkeye head. That would be the perfect solution for me if my transducer is still good. Does anyone know how to test a transducer with the boat out of the water?
Before I drilled a hole in my hull I'd by a different brand of depth finder that is known to work (IE: Humminbird).
By the time you buy the thru hull transducer, a hole saw, sealant, and spend the time and energy to do the job you could come out way ahead financially, and be sailing in a couple hours by just buying a different depth finder.
It comes with a transom mount. Just take the pivoting bracket off and stick the transducer in the wax. Mines mounted under the v-berth next to the Standard Horizon thru hull transducer.
I bought a Norcross Hawkeye D10D 2.5" round depth finder. I figured out how to set it up and mount it inside the old enclosure. The setup included (1) ft vs m, (2) alarm depth (8 ft) and (3) offset = 4 ft. By installing the display inside the old housing, it stays out of the weather and I can see the display thru the glass. I've mounted the transducer under the quarterberth next to the keel. Wax ring works fine, but… … if the bottom is muddy, I get "———" on the display. Sand, rock or hard bottoms read fine. And that's ok since soft mud does very little damage. I may have some air bubbles in the wax. But since it works (mostly), I won't fix it.
I saw this thread before I launched my C-25 for her maiden voyage (85nmi cruise from Branford, CT to East Greenwich, RI). The PO had a fishfinder which he claimed didn't work. I got a toilet wax ring and slapped it down...worked perfectly through the hull right behind the volcano. Thanks for the tip!
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.