Filling old transducer screw holes - What to use?

[Bruce]

I drilled the holes one size larger, vacuumed them out then filled the holes with JB Weld Water Weld.



The Water Weld product was available at my local WalMart for around $6. It is a two part putty epoxy. You simply slice off a piece, I took about 3/8", and knead it with your fingers until it is all one color. It cures to an off white color. I rolled up pieces into cylinders and shoved them into each of the holes. I then used the back end of a smaller drill bit to push the first piece further in. Then I rolled up balls of the epoxy and pushed them into each of the holes until they were completely full. While the epoxy was still workable I took a paint scraper and smoothed the epoxy some. After it cured I used a razor scraper to work it smooth. I will be keeping the remainder of the Water Weld in the boat in case of any emergencies. I also have a similar Attwood product in the boat, but I was not sure how much I trusted it.

I placed the new transducer in a similar location so it covered the epoxy. I measured and drilled holes for the new transducer then filled each of the holes with Life Caulk and spread Life Caulk over the area of the filled holes. This is the end result. I believe the camera makes the transducer appear to be slanted but I will verify that it is level before testing it out. At this point I have only installed two of the mount screws for the transducer. I will install the third after verifying it functions correctly.

 

[steined]

Looks good @Bruce ! I have the same transducer to install soon. I'm wondering about the placement. As I understand it this is where your boat had it from the factory. The Raymarine instructions seem to indicate placing it in the middle of twin engine setups is ideal. I was considering placing it to the right of the drain plug. Were there any other considerations as to why you placed it there? I ask because I like that it is a little higher than the bottom of the boat and I think that's a pretty good idea, I'm just wondering if the Raymarine instructions are "Generic" or to be followed as closely as possible. Thanks!

 

[Bruce]

Looks good @Bruce ! I have the same transducer to install soon. I'm wondering about the placement. As I understand it this is where your boat had it from the factory. The Raymarine instructions seem to indicate placing it in the middle of twin engine setups is ideal. I was considering placing it to the right of the drain plug. Were there any other considerations as to why you placed it there? I ask because I like that it is a little higher than the bottom of the boat and I think that's a pretty good idea, I'm just wondering if the Raymarine instructions are "Generic" or to be followed as closely as possible. Thanks!

I considered moving closer to the center but the mount is too tall to fit beside the drain plug on my SX230. It is in the same left to right position as the factory transducer but lower. It is slightly above the bottom of the hull. The mount allows for about an inch of up or down movement. I considered mounting it below the scupper valve but that would place it at a step in the hull. I believe that the turbulence created by changes in hull shape and the jets is what we need to avoid and that it is positioned well to do that.

 

[txav8r]

Bruce, when I did my Garmin install, I mounted the transducer opposite the stock transducer on the other side of the center section. I moved the speedo pickup to the aft edge. It was a little jumpy back there. I think there is more turbulence off the center section than up in the well. Both the garmin and the stock depth sounder continued to function perfectly in those locations. But the speedo picked up 4 mph and never returned to normal.

 

[steined]

Thanks @txav8r and @Bruce I didn't realize there was a step in that center section of the hull. That would probably add quite a bit of turbulence.