24 Superboat In-Hull/ Shoot-Through Depthfinder Transducer Installation

[blackeye]

Looking into installing a new GPS/ Depthsounder in my 1983 24 Superboat. Looking for advice/ feedback on a Brand/Model that would be a good match for the boat as well as location and method of installation...

I'm pretty sure I want to get a "shoot-through" transducer that installs on the inside of the hull and also from what I've read, my boat is constructed with balsa core. So once I decide on a location, I'm thinking I'll use a hole saw to cut the inner skin and carve out the core so I can install the transducer on the inside of the outer skin. Thinking that I'll look to install a transducer on one or the other side of the keel toward the back of the bilge. If I'm correct the deadrise at the stern is 24 degrees so I'm going to need a mounting solution that allow me to cant the transducer at that angle.

I'm wondering if anyone has done such an install in boat like mine and looking for any advice or feedback on getting the best results. If any of my idea or concepts need correcting, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

[blackeye]

Bumping... Thanks ahead of time : )

[ghost28]

most shoot thru the hull transucers are available with an angled pod that allows for the deadrise...in order to properly install one in a 24 super you have to hole saw an oversized hole thru the skin and the balsa...carve out the balsa....grind an area around the hole and in the hole and glass over it with a couple layers of glass to seal up the balsa...If not done properly you will cause water to get into the balsa and destroy it...No bueno....after thats done the transducer gets epoxied into the recess you have now made...time consuming and labor intensive...personally i dont see the advantage of a depth sounder on a 24....

[RobF]

you will want a tilted element to account for the deadrise

remember at a certain speed it will probably no longer be effective , and as ghost said be very cautious about the balsa

[Baja170]

This is where one of those belongs and works accurately. This one is from a Lowrance bottom mapping unit.

[RobF]

I hope you dont mount that ugly thing on your (balsa core) shadow transom either lol

that will also def lose reading at any speeds

[Baja170]

Don't worry, it is on my wife's pontoon for a reason.:eek: I have been running fast boats on lake Watauga since I was 23 years old, I am 49 now. ;)

Thanks though Rob, that made me almost choke on my beer!!! Good one!!! I hope to do some business with you sometime in the future.

[RobF]

pontoon and fish boats always get a pass :cheers:

[blackeye]

Thanks for the posts!

For me, going out on the boat isn't just about having a fun and safe time on that trip. It is also about learning. I won't always be going flat out. Many times I use the boat to ferry for dinner or a day at the beach and often I'll be travelling at night and at a more conservative pace. And sometimes, I'm poking into an unfamiliar area at idle. If and when I can get a good reading on depth, it will help confirm my position and the data will constantly be adding to my understanding of the waters I navigate.

When I learned to navigate there was no GPS and having depth data on a planing hull was not too practical. Now that better technologies exist, I want to take advantage of it as much as possible so that each time I go out, I'm seeing the data that can help me be a better captain. This past season, I ended up using the Navionics application on my phone with a very solid suction cup mount and it worked very well, but still isn't a nautical solution. Being from the "old school" I still note my landmarks, use the compass and dead reckoning. I think of the GPS as something to teach me more about water ways and a sounder can only add to that. Plus, the 24 OB isn't the only boat I use. Getting depth data at whatever speeds I can still get a signal will only expand the areas I can go with confidence.

So it seems ghost is confirming that my hull is balsa core. I have some experience cutting one skin and the core on sandwich construction and then filling to maintain the integrity of the core. It is good to confirm what I've been thinking. Just to be sure, ghost, you are not talking about laying cloth or fibers down are you? You are talking about taking resin ( I would most likely use epoxy) to coat and seal the sides of the hole I make to seal up the exposed core, right? Then gluing the transducer to inside of the outer skin, correct?

I've wondered if anyone completely fills the hole with solid resin and then mounts the transducer on top of that solid section... It would maintain the integrity of the hull better in that area, but might be too thick to shoot through... Just wondering out loud.

Rob: I happened to pass your yard today on my way to Copiague to look at a boat with a friend and one of the boats there caught our attention. It looked like a Betram with a center console and an OB bracket. It looked sharp. Did you customize that at your yard? What size is that?

Thanks again for the feedback and help gentlemen! :cheers:

Mike

[RobF]

Thanks for the posts!

For me, going out on the boat isn't just about having a fun and safe time on that trip. It is also about learning. I won't always be going flat out. Many times I use the boat to ferry for dinner or a day at the beach and often I'll be travelling at night and at a more conservative pace. And sometimes, I'm poking into an unfamiliar area at idle. If and when I can get a good reading on depth, it will help confirm my position and the data will constantly be adding to my understanding of the waters I navigate.

When I learned to navigate there was no GPS and having depth data on a planing hull was not too practical. Now that better technologies exist, I want to take advantage of it as much as possible so that each time I go out, I'm seeing the data that can help me be a better captain. This past season, I ended up using the Navionics application on my phone with a very solid suction cup mount and it worked very well, but still isn't a nautical solution. Being from the "old school" I still note my landmarks, use the compass and dead reckoning. I think of the GPS as something to teach me more about water ways and a sounder can only add to that. Plus, the 24 OB isn't the only boat I use. Getting depth data at whatever speeds I can still get a signal will only expand the areas I can go with confidence.

So it seems ghost is confirming that my hull is balsa core. I have some experience cutting one skin and the core on sandwich construction and then filling to maintain the integrity of the core. It is good to confirm what I've been thinking. Just to be sure, ghost, you are not talking about laying cloth or fibers down are you? You are talking about taking resin ( I would most likely use epoxy) to coat and seal the sides of the hole I make to seal up the exposed core, right? Then gluing the transducer to inside of the outer skin, correct?

I've wondered if anyone completely fills the hole with solid resin and then mounts the transducer on top of that solid section... It would maintain the integrity of the hull better in that area, but might be too thick to shoot through... Just wondering out loud.

Rob: I happened to pass your yard today on my way to Copiague to look at a boat with a friend and one of the boats there caught our attention. It looked like a Betram with a center console and an OB bracket. It looked sharp. Did you customize that at your yard? What size is that?

Thanks again for the feedback and help gentlemen! :cheers:

Mike

mike,

i would figure out the size of the hole you are drilling, go a little larger and remove the core from the inner hull and fill solid, then drill for the necessary hole. If the ducer ever hits ground or the trailer there will be no possibility of the core being compromised. At the very least if you drill the correct sized hole take a pick and remove 1/4-1/2 of the core from the hole and pack that solid with a poly or epoxy paste.

with 2 superboats in the yard you noticed the little bertram lol (have 4 bertrams right now )
its an older painted with a brush boat but we are refinishing it. Besides the DIY paint job and was originally an i/o boat its not customized. Funny because i might have another 20cc coming in a couple weeks.

[Baja170]

Thanks for the posts!

For me, going out on the boat isn't just about having a fun and safe time on that trip. It is also about learning. I won't always be going flat out. Many times I use the boat to ferry for dinner or a day at the beach and often I'll be travelling at night and at a more conservative pace. And sometimes, I'm poking into an unfamiliar area at idle. If and when I can get a good reading on depth, it will help confirm my position and the data will constantly be adding to my understanding of the waters I navigate.

When I learned to navigate there was no GPS and having depth data on a planing hull was not too practical. Now that better technologies exist, I want to take advantage of it as much as possible so that each time I go out, I'm seeing the data that can help me be a better captain. This past season, I ended up using the Navionics application on my phone with a very solid suction cup mount and it worked very well, but still isn't a nautical solution. Being from the "old school" I still note my landmarks, use the compass and dead reckoning. I think of the GPS as something to teach me more about water ways and a sounder can only add to that. Plus, the 24 OB isn't the only boat I use. Getting depth data at whatever speeds I can still get a signal will only expand the areas I can go with confidence.

So it seems ghost is confirming that my hull is balsa core. I have some experience cutting one skin and the core on sandwich construction and then filling to maintain the integrity of the core. It is good to confirm what I've been thinking. Just to be sure, ghost, you are not talking about laying cloth or fibers down are you? You are talking about taking resin ( I would most likely use epoxy) to coat and seal the sides of the hole I make to seal up the exposed core, right? Then gluing the transducer to inside of the outer skin, correct?

I've wondered if anyone completely fills the hole with solid resin and then mounts the transducer on top of that solid section... It would maintain the integrity of the hull better in that area, but might be too thick to shoot through... Just wondering out loud.

Rob: I happened to pass your yard today on my way to Copiague to look at a boat with a friend and one of the boats there caught our attention. It looked like a Betram with a center console and an OB bracket. It looked sharp. Did you customize that at your yard? What size is that?

Thanks again for the feedback and help gentlemen! :cheers:

Mike

I can understand what you mean. I have never had a bottom mapping GPS before and I am learning more and more about what lies under the water in the lake. I find it very interesting. So far I have found big trees and huge boulders some 40' tall on the bottom and then smooth bottom in some of the deepest parts of the lake. I figure they were farm fields in floodplains or something like that and smooth before the land was flooded. There is supposed to be a town you can find but I need to find out the exact coordinates, local divers say a lot of the buildings and picket fences are still intact after all these years.

Yes they are cool and I sure am enjoying mine. Not sure the model number but I do know it is a Lowrance unit. I can do split screen where one side shows all the data and the other shows the contour of the bottom. Pretty cool and easy to use.