Need Some Help Guys

[Jamey]

I'm installing an indash depth finder in my 1980 Entertainer this weekend. I would give anything to avoid drilling a hole through the transom, and the unit I selected does have the capability to give through-hull readings. However, it specifically states cored hulls will reduce effectiveness, and recommends using the in-hull setup for solid fiberglass or aluminum hulls. If I place the transducer in the engine compartment directly below the engine, will the unit work at all on an older Checkmate? Or is there too much wood in the hull for it to get through? Am I going to have to drill holes to make this thing work?

 

[Chris E]

how accurate do you need this? if you are concerned about shoals and rocks in uncharted water then you want this to be accurate. install it on the transom. when i put one in my dads boat it was a transom mount unit. one thing i did was cut the wires so i didn't have to drill a huge hole for the connector (it was bigger then half an inch). i did that for 2 reasons, i didn't want a huge hole in the back of the boat for a 1/4 inch peice of wire and i didn't have a drill bit big enough (that's the main reason). however, i did solder everything back togther (outer shield and inner core) and it works flawlessly and is dead on with the depth.

 

[Jamey]

That's interesting Chris ... I have a big enough bit, but i don't want to put that big a hole in the boat if I can avoid it. The instructions call for a 3/4" hole, which seems excessive to me. So you cut the wire and resoldered it ... is it just a standard single strand wire inside, or did you have to solder a lot of strands back together?

 

[KevinR]

Just use the thru hull method it works fine. I used one when I mounted mine in the pulsare and it works great. I didn't want to drill any more holes in the trans so I figured try the thru hull to see if it work before drilling any hole and it ended up working great.

Good Luck

 

[Chris E]

you're making me use my memory now, if i remember correct, the inner core was a twist wire the outer was sheathing like cable wire is. just make sure the two don't touch and you're fine. i put electrical tape around the inner wire solder job, then did the outside wire, that way there was no touching. i wrapped all those thin wires together and then soldered. worked well. i didn't have the 3/4 bit and was damned if i was going to buy one for one job. what depth sounder do you have. i put in a lowrance 3500. works pretty good. i have 2 1/2 swim platforms on the transom and drilled the hole on the bottom of the platform. that way no one can see the wire (i'm anal). i siliconed it like crazy to make sure i had no leakies. all in all, it wasn't a bad job. i did that job as my brother in law did the gimbel ring - ha - i got the good end of that deal!!

 

[Jamey]

Mine is a Hawkeye. Chris, I took your advice and cut the wire and drilled a small hole which seemed to work great. I soldered the wires back together and put heat shrink wrap around each individual wire, then used electrical tape to rewrap the wire. The big stress factor was attaching the transducer to the bottom of the hull beneath the waterline (Kevin, where were you 48 hours ago!!!) Anyway, I bought some LocTite Marine sealant and coated everything as thickly as I could, and put globs on the screws before I attached it. When I drilled the balsa in the transom was just as white and clean as you could possibly hope ... if this winds up letting water in eventually I'll never forgive myself!!!

 

[Chris E]

you should be fine, remember, it was only in the last 15 years or so that engine mounted pitot tubes came along. before it was all screwed to the transom. i always jam everything up with silicione and never had a problem. sounds like you'll be fine.