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Can I mount a thru hull transducer to shoot thru the hull instead of drilling that "big" hole in the bottom of my boat. Hull is solid fiberglass. Will I lose performance. Its a 1000 watt Raymarine.
I did that back in the early 90's, and it worked perfect. I took a piece of 4" schedule40 pvc pipe, and cut it to match the angle of the hull, then used 5200 to attach it. After the 5200 cured, I set the transducer in place and filled the pvc with pink anti-freeze. I used that setup for years. That is basically what an M260 is.
__________________ Capt Will, 2002 G/W 282 Sailfish, F225's
USCG Master, 50 Ton; Towing endorsement
Indian River, De
You can use a thru-Hull transducer as an in-hull installation. Putting it in a "well" is one way, another is to glue it directly to the hull. When done right, that works as good, if not better than the well method. However, any transducer that is shooting through the hull will experience decreased efficiency. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply wrong. The question is whether or not the reduced sensitivity still provides an acceptable level of performance for your particular application.
__________________ "Marine Electronics Doesn't Have to Hurt" - NavShack.com
I just installed a 600w Airmar shoot thru hull transducer and it works great. I have not been deeper than 110' as of yet (just splashed last weekend) but it keeps a good bottom lock cruising at 20 knots. The Airmar comes with a well and a housing that you mount and can adjust to your deadrise (up to 22 degrees max). I glued to the hull with 4200, filled with non-toxic antifreeze, then locked in the transducer. So far it works like a champ for me.
Seaclutter is right on, I've siliconed many directly to the hull. I'm running three different ones now on different freqs. My B260 @ 1kw works great. siliconed
__________________
"Fissues" on CH 65
Carolina Classic 28
Mine shoots down to 3000', B260 @ 1kW. I have to set the sonar to manual mode to pick up the bottom, not that I'm trying to mark fish that deep. Most of the time I can mark fish down to 350' which is the deepest I'll deep drop.
For me, the biggest hassle was bonding the tank to the hull and keeping the fluid from leaking. Eventually ended up epoxy/glassing it in, but I read where folks were having luck with 4200 and 5200.
Twisted Wedge - 5/1/2008 10:06 AMEthan, How deep can you read with your B260 siliconed in hull. I am looking to read 1800' Do you think that is possible?
One this to be aware of if you try this on your own is that you'll need to somehow compensate for the dead rise of the hull so that the ducer shoots straight down.
This is from an M260 mounted in the recommended tank. The tank was siliconed down and filled with antifreeze. Like someone else posted in order to get it to read this deep you'll need to adjust the settings manually. Not that you need to see fish that deep, but anyway...
Thanks Jim Z and Mr Chummer,
But it looks like you are both using the m260 as apposed to the b260. I was going to try and mount the b260 inside the hull as a shoot through without using the yellow tank. I don't have enough room for the yellow tank.
Twisted Wedge - 5/5/2008 9:09 AM Thanks Jim Z and Mr Chummer,
But it looks like you are both using the m260 as apposed to the b260. I was going to try and mount the b260 inside the hull as a shoot through without using the yellow tank. I don't have enough room for the yellow tank.
Thanks again
I'd contact Airmar for more more info. My thoughts are either do it right or don't do it and Airmar will shoot you straight. No pun intended...[img]../images/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]
Quote:
EFCBOB - 5/5/2008 12:24 PM Jim Z, Impressive photo at 2,643 feet. Can I ask what sounder you have connected to that M260? Thanks.
tunacious, If I may suggest something it would be the Airmar M260 shoot thru hull transducer Its not the same ducer as B260 (very similar) though the M260 are compensated for thick fiberglass hulls. If you have an area to place the yellow tank in a good position inside your hull then you should not have any problem reaching the 2000´+ depth
I have installed the M260 in my boat and I had only one small place where I could locate and mount it at and it was in front of my gas-tank, under a big battery box/cabinet. But the result show up promising.
This is a screenshot at 1476´at the deepest. If you look carefully on this screenshot you will be able to locate fish at a depth of 100m (328´) and at a depth of 200-250m (656-820´)
I have been at a depth of 550m (1800´) but have no screenshots from that event. I will post pictures asa I have been at those depths.
__________________ Regards
the Halibut in Hardanger
Does anyone know if an in-hull transducer would work in a Pro-Line? I have a 2006 21' foot and the dealer told me that in-hull wouldn't work. I don't know if it is because it has a foam core and wouldn't work or if they make more money installing thru-hull or transom mount.
After reading some of the comments, be careful when choosing the sealant. My "factory installed" m260 was mounted with silicone and it leaked out during the winter. I love the unit but I need to reinstall with 4200 or similar epoxy. Search the Airmar site and ask questions. They are great, very helpful. If you can't find the answer to a question on their inquiry board, ask and they will respond within 2 days. They no longer recomment silicone for the shoot thru install and also recomend non toxic antifreeze over mineral oil as the medium. Good luck.
The Airmar instructions called for GE Silicone which I had from a previous bathroom job. For some reason the damn stuff would not cure and after 48 hours I had to swab the junk out and prepare the surface again before using the tried and true 4200. A few hours later the install was done.
As mentioned above, even cored boats (like mine) may have a spot in the bilge with solid fiberglass. A shoot thru will not work through an airspace.
I have a M260 in a hydrasport 2596. It has a cored hull. He's right, the only way it'll work is if you take a dremel tool and cut the top layer of fiberglass in the bilge/side area, then scoop all the foam out down to the fiberglass hull and prep that surface with some light scuffing. Then you can mount the transducer of your choice. Just make sure you seal it back up so that water cannot get into the cored/foam area.
"In Hull" transducer mounting 
