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fishfinder question

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/30/2003 : 13:21:03

I've installed my new fishfinder, a Humminbird 100FX that West Marine has on sale for only $69.95. It's waterproof, sunlight visible, and has a quick release mount so you can take the head inside when not in use. Since I have no depth finder other than a lead line this unit opens up a lot more of Mission Bay to my gunkholing, and finds fish, too! I'll post a picture of the nav center I've built in the cockpit when I am 100% done with the installation.

Right now the transducer is on a pole clamped to the stern. The unit works great. I want to move it inside, epoxy it to the hull, and shoot through the fiberglass bottom. I am hesitant to ruin the expensive transducer if I get this wrong. Simply holding the transducer to the inside of the hull and pointing it downward does not work. The manual says this will work if the hull has no core, no air bubbles, and slow curing epoxy is used so that all air bubbles have a chance to migrate out of the mix before set up.

Who has done this? What epoxy was used? How did you hold the transducer down while waiting for the epoxy to set up?

This unit works great and if anyone is looking for a similar instrument, you can't beat the price.

Indiscipline 1978 FK SR #398

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2984 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 13:52:10

While I have not tried it...some say that peanut butter will provide a medium to test for a suitable location.

I like fish finders as depth sounders in that they are a plus when preparing for anchor. They readily show the bottom structure to be hard, muddy or weed strewn.

They also reduce the concentration when negotiating skinny water as the eyes sense a deepening or shallowing course... this removes the mental processing of calling off numbers and recognizing that the number value is getting larger or smaller.

While this may get a chuckle about my computing power... when concentration is spread over many concerns,... removing one is appreciated by this sailor and allows greater focus on other items. For those who can play the piano, playing a whole variety of notes at the same time with multiple fingers, pedeling, reading the music, and sometimes singing along... I'm in awe.

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frankr
Captain

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256 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 14:15:52

My Depth finder transducer is mounted in screw type bottomless jar that is epoxied to the inside of the hull forward of the keel.It just screws on kind of like a top to the jar. It is filled with mineral oil so that it will have no air bubbles and will not freeze.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 14:23:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JimB517
 I've installed my new fishfinder, a Humminbird 100FX that West Marine has on sale for only $69.95...Right now the transducer is on a pole clamped to the stern. The unit works great. I want to move it inside, epoxy it to the hull, and shoot through the fiberglass bottom. I am hesitant to ruin the expensive transducer if I get this wrong. Simply holding the transducer to the inside of the hull and pointing it downward does not work.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I've read that some have installed this type of transducer in a pool of mineral oil inside a section of PVC pipe that was glued to the inner hull. To test if this will work with your transducer, you can take some plumbers putty and form a shallow pool of mineral oil in which to place the transducer to see if the hull will give accurate readings. If it doesn't, simply clean up the putty and mineral oil. No harm, no foul.

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 14:46:10

Jim,

To mount my transom style fishfinder transducer as a shoot-thru, I first poured a puddle of water where I wanted to locate the transducer in the locker under the V-berth. I jury rigged the fishfinder wiring temporarily to verify that the transducer could see through the hull at the selected location.

I then got a PVC clean-out fitting large enough to house the transom style transducer, and trimmed the unthreaded end to fit the contour of the hull. Next, I mounted the PVC clean-out to the hull with a fillet of thickened epoxy. (A bead of 3M-5200 would likely work as well.) I screwed the transducer bracket inside the PVC. I drilled a hole in the treaded clean-out lid for the transducer wire. After adding enough distilled water to cover the transducer, I screwed the PVC lid on hand tight. Every year I check the water level, and add distilled water as needed.

I made a teak "picture frame" mount with a protective Sunbrella slip cover for the readout unit, and mounted it in the cockpit on the aft cabin bulkhead opposite the steering compass.

Going from transom mount to shoot-thru reduced the maximum range of the fishfinder from an advertised 800' to just over 500' in seawater. It can still show weeds, hard vs. soft holding ground, profile any significant bottom structure, and identify any fish big enough to eat.

-- Leon Sisson

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jsummerfield
1st Mate

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USA
96 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 21:07:35

I have a temporary installation that may become permanent sometime. I did not use the PVC cleanout fitting but that is a good idea.

I used the same water test using a plastic dish. Good places to try are forward under the V-berth area and under the quarter berth aft of the stairs. The sandwich bag folks sell plastic storage containers in most supermarkets. These are so cheap that many people throw them away after use.

I cut the bottom out and used RTV silicone type goop to hold this to the floor enough to try the water. It worked well and I set the sensor in but got just a bit of the goop on the sensor. So I left it that way. I use water instead of mineral oil. I pour just a bit at the bottom of the dish each time I go sailing. I mounted the electronics on a small plywood scrap cut to fit the bottom companionway location. The cable runs through the finger hole in the quarter berth cover below the cushion, through a hole that I drilled in the steps and cable was run under the sink area into the enormous cockpit locker to power terminals.

It works great. I sail on Galveston Bay and worry more about the three-foot areas than the 300-foot areas.

Good luck with your fish finder. The fish finders are super depth finders.

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

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USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 23:20:08

Congratulations Jim, I took advantage of the same opportunity and purchaced, I mean Santa brought one to me. The new model will replace an 11 year old unit that has finally given up and only turns on when you push the OFF button and refuses to let me use the menu buttons. But hey, it still showed me the depth and bottom. My transducer is mounted in the above discribed PVC clean out in a bath of mineral oil under the quarter berth. I would have prefered the transducer under the V berth but the difficulty of fishing wires to the cockpit and the lack of supplied wiring lengths made the quarter berth the easiest choice. This set up has worked well for 6 years and with mineral oil you will never need worry about adding water. See photo for the location of the viewer under the tiller. It is out of the way and still visible.

I haven't had a chance to start the winter projects yet and Santa wouldn't let me open the package before last week anyway. Looking forward to the new unit.

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eric.werkowitz
Captain

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USA
283 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 23:28:45

Jim,

I installed a Hummingbird transducer in the Vee Berth area. I bought some rope calk at the Ace hardware store and used it to build a circular dam on the bottom of the hull. I cleaned the transducer with acetone. I poured in a puddle of slow cure epoxy (the lower priced stuff that WM carries, not West Systems). I then carefully slipped in the transducer tipped at an angle to avoid trapping air, then seated it against the hull and put a weight on top until the epoxy cured. It has worked great for three years. I don't think the process is as sensitive as some believe.

Eric Werkowitz
C25 #4969

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RoofRoof
Navigator

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USA
186 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2003 : 23:31:38

Do a search and you'll find plenty of info on this. I know that I have offered my way a few times and don't care to do it again.

Look for RoofRoof posts.

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John V.
Admiral

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USA
559 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2003 : 01:42:04

I just epoxied the transducer right to the hull under the Vee berth.
it works great. Getting it as far forward as possible is important and at that point the view will be angled slightly forward. The problem with a transom mount is that you get to see the rock you just hit rather than having a little warning. you don't need clay dams or pickle jars, pvc tubing or oil immersion. just glue the thing with the pointy end aimed forward.

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