Randy, Would it be possible put the tranducer in a few inches of some type of gel in the cavity to get the same effect as water? I seem to recall a couple of years ago someone successfully mounting a tranducer in a blob of silicone, which might have some gel-like properties after it sets. Tom Jenkins ----- Original Message ----- From: "R.K.Graves" <rkgraves@gmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 6:56 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Chincoteague Bay/Newport Bay Cruise
Skip,
Sounds like you guys had a wonderful trip! Enjoyed reading your report.
I've also had trouble getting my dept sounder/fish finder to work reliably through the hull. My unit is a dual-frequency Eagle Cuda. It's a fish finder/depth sounder and reads battery voltage and water temp. (a nice unit other than not working reliably through the hull). While having the boat in a slip I tried a variety of locations and mounting techniques; I.e. sanding off the interior gelcoat, special epoxy, etc, etc. all with marginal results.
Also, like you if I hang the transducer over the side of the boat it work amazingly well; reading reliably to several hundred feet. The best I have come up with (I have an M 17) is mounting the transducer submersed in water in the cavity just aft of the keel. The area Tom Smith referrers to as his "wine cellar".
My take on all this is that the older single frequency units work better through a fiberglass hull. But am anxious to hear what experience others are having.
Randy Graves
On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 6:15 PM, <wcampion@aol.com> wrote:
I just spent the last 3 days sailing the Chincoteague Bay and Newport Bay.? I left from South Point across from Assategue and headed south to Virginia.? The bay is wide, but very shallow.? You needed to hug the western shoreline to find enough water.? The wind was great and the weather was even better!!? The mornings started out with a light breeze which continued to build throughout the day.? By mid-day the wind had picked up enough that I had to put in a reef.?? I know a lot of you don't get excited until?the winds begin to blow 20kts, but I prefer 10kts.? The storm clouds began to build so I headed for shelter.? I spent the rest of the day tied up to a small dock and met a few of the locals swimming at the hot spot.? The rain eventually came but was light and eventually ended by dinner time.? The next morning my son and I headed north to explore Newport Bay.? The winds were blowing from the?southwest so the ride back was quick and easy.? We sailed as far north in the bay as
possible exploring the marshy areas.? Eventually the water became to shallow and we had to head back to find deeper water.? We found a quite cove with some private piers.? The building lots were never sold and developed so I tired?up and spent the night.? I made a mesh hatch cover for this trip which came in?very handy at night.? When the tide was out and the marsh mud shores were exposed the bugs come out!!!? Wow, you haven't lived until you wake up in the morning to the aroma of swamp mud.? I was affraid to make coffee in the morning for fear the whole cove would explode!!!? The next morning we finished exploring the coves and wildlife and then eventually headed back to South Point?to pull out and head home.? It was a great sail.
I do have a?question for all you experience sailors.? I had installed a depth finder in my boat in preparation for this trip.? I placed the transponder in the forward hatch just forward of the ballast bump.? I read on the MSOG website that another boat owner located their transponder there and it worked well.? Well, I must have a cheap unit, because the transponder will not shoot through the hull, even though the manufacturer claims it will.??I ended up having to?rig a quick external mount?and place the transponder in the water just below the bow to get a reading.? Here's my questions.? What units do others have that actually will work as a thru hull unit.? Has anyone rigged a removable bracket so that they can mount the unit off the bow when in use and removed when on the trailer?? Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
Thanks, Skip Campion "Wild Guppy" M-15 1982 #201?????????? _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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