Fishing Articles and Information

Question: Transducer Mounting

I have a Humminbird fish finder, can the transducer be mounted in the live well with water over it and still read the depth accurately?
BDCarol

Answer:

The answer is no.

In fact I would be surprised if it worked at all.
In a hull mount installation, there are a lot of factors to consider.

If the bottom of the boat is metal you will need a bronze transducer, mounted using epoxy or silicone but it is best to use the manufacturers recommended application.

Humminbird states "Inside the hull mounting of the transducer generally produces good results in single thickness fiberglass hulled boats. Humminbird® cannot guarantee depth performance when transmitting through the hull of the boat, since some signal loss will occur. The amount of loss depends on hull construction and thickness, and the installation."

If it is a standard installation, you are looking at a Plastic Thru-Hull Transducer and drilling holes in your boat. If there are any layers of insulation between the fiberglass your looking at problems of sensitivity.

The angle at the bottom of the boat will also cause problems if the deadrise is greater than 8 degrees.
If it is less you do not need to use a levelling block. You will need to adjust for the angle by cutting leveling blocks at the appropriate angle and drilling the hole thru the hull perpendicular to the waterline.

If the transducer is round it may have a notch on the housing and stem which indicates the forward side of the transducer. This transducer is directional and must align with the front of the boat.

I have heard of people using mineral oil under the transducer to help increase the sensitivity. All in all for a transducer to work properly it needs some type of fluid or medium to shoot thru and receive signals other than air.

Tip: If your boat remains in the water for long periods of time, you will get marine growth, so, periodically, clean the transducer face with hot water.