Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

Yacht Dr.

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

mtorts said:
Hello all the fishing season has arrived and it's time to mount my new humminbird. I have read several threads where people are attaching starboard to the transom with 5200 then screwing the transducer to it so it eliminates drilling holes into the hull. My question is can I just use a white poly cutting board or does it have to be starboard. It seems to be much cheaper this way but I'm not sure how it would hold up agains years of UV from the sun??
Click to expand...

Sorry .. I did not know it was a tinny boat :) ..

Why not just screw and glue (5200 fast cure) that puppy right to the transom ?

You could also use Alum rivets and 5200.

YD.
 
M

mtorts

Seaman
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
66
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

The only prob I have with screwing it in is because if I don't get the transducer in the right spot the first time then I have to fill those holes and drill another 2 more. People often have to play with it a bit before getting it proper so it reads while at top speed. Unless there is a way to temporarily put it on until I know it is in the right spot before drilling
 
F

fishrdan

Admiral
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
6,989
F

fishrdan

Admiral
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
6,989
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

mtorts said:
The only prob I have with screwing it in is because if I don't get the transducer in the right spot the first time then I have to fill those holes and drill another 2 more.
Click to expand...

Make a bigger ducer plate. On my 18'er the ducer plate is 18" long with 2 ducers and a pitot tube mounted on it, lots of room to move things around.

5200 bonds just fine to aluminum, if in doubt, scuff it up with sandpaper first.
 
M

mtorts

Seaman
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
66
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

Google: Marine Adhesive/Sealant 5200 (Tan) - 3M. It shows all the specs of 5200 and bonding strengths to different materials. Thought it would be useful if anyone is considering using it. I couldn't figure out how to send just the link properly. Sorry
 
smokeonthewater

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

get some 4200 instead of 5200... it cures in hours instead of days and is plenty good for this job... use it to bond the ducer directly to the transom.... once satisfied drill the holed and use more sealant on the holes for the bolts.... ever hear the term K.I.S.S.?
 
S

ssobol

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Messages
503
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

When I was going to mount the transducer on the back of my FG boat, I was also concerned about getting it right and not having to make multiple holes in the transom to figure it out. I also had to mount the xducer on the opposite side from what the instructions said so I was more than usually concerned that it would work ok. I also have a narrow transom and knew the xducer was going to be closer to the engine than it was supposed to be.

I ended up getting the portable transducer mount kit for my transducer from Airmar (they OEM most of the transducers). This has a suction cup mounting that sticks to the back of the boat to hold the transducer. It is meant to allow you to move the transducer between multiple boats. Anyway, I used this to test the xducer position and operation before drilling holes. The suction cup held the xducer very well. I had it on the boat for a whole day in the water with no problems. Once I was satisfied with the depthfinder performance I just traced the suction cup position so I could mount the xducer permanently.
 
P

pootnic

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Messages
447
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

3M 5200 will do fine on aluminum boat with the cutting board.
After it's sets,it is almost impossible to get off
There's are also adjustable brackets that could be bought or made...seen a magnetic mount the other day on youtube,might be an option as well.
 
Yacht Dr.

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

mtorts said:
The only prob I have with screwing it in is because if I don't get the transducer in the right spot the first time then I have to fill those holes and drill another 2 more. People often have to play with it a bit before getting it proper so it reads while at top speed. Unless there is a way to temporarily put it on until I know it is in the right spot before drilling
Click to expand...

Indeed .. what is it your trying to mount and what brackets are involved with your ducer plate ? ( Model/make )

I have installed Sonar .. Im sure a few straight edges and some measurements can comply with your install if done correctly ( Yes even I would have to measure and locate where the ducer mount would be ). But you should have 1/2" play up or down kinda thing ..

So basically you Dont know how to locate the screws to install a ducer mount in your transom correctly close enough to Play with it ? Take it to a pro then and have it hard mounted if thats your problem.

YD.
 
M

mtorts

Seaman
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
66
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

The unit I have is a humminbird 597 ci hd di. I believe the transducer is XNT 9 DI T. It looks like ur right about having 1/2" to play with and I'm sure I can get it close enough but was just looking for safe ideas and opinions. I only installed one transducer before and I just bought a new boat so I'm taking all precautions
 
Yacht Dr.

Yacht Dr.

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 26, 2005
Messages
5,581
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

mtorts said:
The unit I have is a humminbird 597 ci hd di. I believe the transducer is XNT 9 DI T. It looks like ur right about having 1/2" to play with and I'm sure I can get it close enough but was just looking for safe ideas and opinions. I only installed one transducer before and I just bought a new boat so I'm taking all precautions
Click to expand...

I understand what your thinking :) .. Still its better to mount it directly on the transom. If it were a fiberglass boat you could do other things to it.

Just my 2 cents ..

YD.
 
M

mtorts

Seaman
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
66
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

Ok thanks for all the info everyone on this site has been great and willing to share there tricks and tips. Thanks again to everyone who replied
 
B

babbot

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
112
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

Just found this online. Do a google search for AlumaDucer. Its a shoot through transducer for aluminum hulls.
I have a shoot through on my fiberglass boat and it works great even at full speed.
 
M

minuteman62-64

Lieutenant
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Messages
1,350
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

I mounted mine on a plate that was fastened to the aluminum transom with 3M 4000 UV. No problem holding for a year now and I can pry it off to move it if I want.
 
M

mtorts

Seaman
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
66
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

Hey minuteman what was the material of the plate u used aluminum, plastic etc??

Babbot alumaducer looks great but I require my temp reading and speed for fishing
 
M

minuteman62-64

Lieutenant
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Messages
1,350
Re: Mounting a transducer without drilling holes

It was a piece of 5052 aluminum plate, about 1/8" thick. I've got a post on here somewhere with some pictures.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top