Transducer mounting/cable running on 2008 Utopia 205 SE

[TheTripletDaddy]

(cross-posted on SeaDoo forum website)

Hey folks, just picked up a 2008 Utopia early this spring and have been enjoying the water all summer. Decided I wanted Nav and Fishfinder. After a ton of research, and really wanting to leverage both the DI and SI capabilities of my new Helix 7, I've decided I want to go the transom mount route.

So, my plan is to use a Stern Pad to avoid having to drill through the hull as much as possible. Also, after inspecting the bottom extremely close up, there's a pretty clean spot directly to the left of the speed sensor. I can't see any friction down the hull in front of where I want to place it and, because it'll be near the lowest point on the hull, it should always be touching water on or off plane with little to no bubbles/cavitation.



So far, so good. Now is where I have the problem. Where do I run the wires back into the hull?



I'm trying to find a drain inlet that I can tie into, but I don't really see one back there. I saw an install from a "pro" who used a drain by feeding it up through the drain in the back of the boat, inserting a brass t-fitting in the engine bay on that same drain line where he then reconnected the drain on both sides, but exited the cable out of the "T" and filled around the cable with silicon. Looked pretty cool.



Does anyone know if that's a drain I could leverage?

So, I'm not opposed to drilling a hole in hole on the bottom side of the swim platform. It's mostly out of water unless everyone is standing on it, but it may be my best/only access point. Anyone done this?

Also wondering if this distance between the transducer and the jet when in reverse would put a ton of pressure on and/or create a lot of turbulance for the transducer?



My last thought/question here is whether or not anyone with a boat that came with a depth gauge replaced it with a puck transducer leveraging the hole that's already there? (see below diagram)

 

[tdonoughue]

My install is here: https://jetboaters.net/threads/garmin-striker-plus-9sv-on-an-ar240.21395

Not the same boat, I will grant you, but you can see how I ran it just up to where the transom started to curve and punched a hole there. Problem with going up to the underside of the platform is putting the straps that will need to hold the cable so it doesn't hang down. I didn't want to mess with that.

No regrets where I have mine (so far).

 

[TheTripletDaddy]

My install is here: https://jetboaters.net/threads/garmin-striker-plus-9sv-on-an-ar240.21395

Not the same boat, I will grant you, but you can see how I ran it just up to where the transom started to curve and punched a hole there. Problem with going up to the underside of the platform is putting the straps that will need to hold the cable so it doesn't hang down. I didn't want to mess with that.

No regrets where I have mine (so far).

That’s great to hear and thanks for sharing. Unfortunately, I can’t find any place on my helm fuse panel to plug in the + and - wires, so I’m going to have to add an extension with an inline fuse all the way back to the battery. A little unsure on splicing 18awg to 12awg wire and exactly what type of extension cable is the best to use. Hard to find butt connectors for 18->12awg, as well as insulated 12/2 wire w/o a ground wire.

 

[tdonoughue]

If you can't find a butt connector, you can always go old school and solder. Get a small section of shrink tubing, put it over the 18 gauge, tin both wires (heat them up and put some solder on them). Twist them together, add some solder and heat again to fuse them. Then slide the shrink tubing up over the joint, heat with a heat gun or flame to shrink.