Is it possible to mount a depth finder to a single plate aluminum
hull from the the inside? I know that it is possible but will the DF
work without interference from the AL hull? I own a 60 foot Lazy days
houseboat and mounting a transducer near the outdrives doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense and mounting a thru hull seems to be asking
for trouble when you beach the boat.

Eric

Are you talking Depth finder or fish finder? Depth doesn't seem
necessary for such a shallow draft boat. I have a fiberglass hull and
the depth finder reads fine through that -- dunno about aluminum.

Wonder if you could rig some sort of swing up bracket for the Sounder
hear You could raise it when you want to beach it.

moyo wrote:
Is it possible to mount a depth finder to a single plate aluminum
hull from the the inside? I know that it is possible but will the DF
work without interference from the AL hull? I own a 60 foot Lazy days
houseboat and mounting a transducer near the outdrives doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense and mounting a thru hull seems to be asking
for trouble when you beach the boat.

Eric

"moyo" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to mount a depth finder to a single plate aluminum
hull from the the inside? I know that it is possible but will the DF
work without interference from the AL hull? I own a 60 foot Lazy days
houseboat and mounting a transducer near the outdrives doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense and mounting a thru hull seems to be asking
for trouble when you beach the boat.

Eric

I have heard it doesn't work too well. That said, it is easy to try by
making a small corral out of clay or caulk and filling it with water.
Put the transducer in the corral full of water and try it. Or use a
plastic bag with water in it to couple the transducer to the hull.

del cecchi

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 02:00:13 GMT, moyo
wrote:

Is it possible to mount a depth finder to a single plate aluminum
hull from the the inside?

It is possible to mount it? Yes.

Will it work? No.

I know that it is possible but will the DF work without interference from the
AL hull? I own a 60 foot Lazy days houseboat and mounting a transducer
near the outdrives doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense and mounting
a thru hull seems to be asking for trouble when you beach the boat.

The transducer has to "see" water and the only way that can happen is
if it's in contact with the water.

You can mount the transducer by the outdrives, just keep the
transducer in clear water - when you run the boat, just take a look
over the stern and note where there is clear water and mount the
transducer there.

As I have no idea what the hull of a Lazy Days houseboat looks like, I
can't say much more than that.

However, do you need a depth finder? If you can beach a 60 foot boat,
there can't be much draft to the vessel making the whole point of a
depth finder mute.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...

You can mount the transducer by the outdrives, just keep the
transducer in clear water - when you run the boat, just take a look
over the stern and note where there is clear water and mount the
transducer there.

Another option, based on my experience: I found that there IS no perfect
place on the transom of my yacht. But, I wanted the depth finder primarily
for learning the bottom shapes of my favorite bodies of water, for fishing
purposes. The instructions said that if the thing didn't work right, it
would be mostly at planing speed. I figured that I was more likely to
investigate specific spots at much lower speeds, so I went ahead and bought
the depth finder. Using some existing hardware on the transom and the
outboard's bracket, I mounted a temporary piece of wood to use as an
experimental mounting surface. After trying about 8 locations, I narrowed it
down to one spot. The depth finder's bracket had slotted holes, which
allowed me to fiddle further with vertical adjustment.

Yet another idea: He could design some sort of post on which to attach the
transducer, making the post so it could be slid upward a few inches to get
the thing out of the water for beaching. PVC tubing comes to mind, but that
might vibrate too much as water moved past it. Perhaps some of the synthetic
decking lumber....

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 14:46:00 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .

You can mount the transducer by the outdrives, just keep the
transducer in clear water - when you run the boat, just take a look
over the stern and note where there is clear water and mount the
transducer there.

Another option, based on my experience: I found that there IS no perfect
place on the transom of my yacht. But, I wanted the depth finder primarily
for learning the bottom shapes of my favorite bodies of water, for fishing
purposes. The instructions said that if the thing didn't work right, it
would be mostly at planing speed. I figured that I was more likely to
investigate specific spots at much lower speeds, so I went ahead and bought
the depth finder. Using some existing hardware on the transom and the
outboard's bracket, I mounted a temporary piece of wood to use as an
experimental mounting surface. After trying about 8 locations, I narrowed it
down to one spot. The depth finder's bracket had slotted holes, which
allowed me to fiddle further with vertical adjustment.

That board deal is a great idea ~~ writes in idea book ~~
Yet another idea: He could design some sort of post on which to attach the
transducer, making the post so it could be slid upward a few inches to get
the thing out of the water for beaching. PVC tubing comes to mind, but that
might vibrate too much as water moved past it. Perhaps some of the synthetic
decking lumber....

I've done this - I wonder why I didn't think of it.

It works pretty good too as I remember.

Good ideas.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

I've done this - I wonder why I didn't think of it.


My bwains is shmarter than yers. :-)

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
removed
However, do you need a depth finder? If you can beach a 60 foot boat,
there can't be much draft to the vessel making the whole point of a
depth finder mute.

I was thinking that if you 'beach' a 60' boat, a through hull
would be the least of your worries. :^)

-Jim

When he mentioned beaching it, I envisioned bringing the bow close to the
beach and tying it to whatever, but also having the anchor straight out
behind the boat so the stern wouldn't swing around and onto the beach.


"Jim" wrote in message
...


Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
removed
However, do you need a depth finder? If you can beach a 60 foot boat,
there can't be much draft to the vessel making the whole point of a
depth finder mute.

I was thinking that if you 'beach' a 60' boat, a through hull
would be the least of your worries. :^)

-Jim

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 17:14:37 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


I've done this - I wonder why I didn't think of it.

My bwains is shmarter than yers. :-)

More than likely.

Then again, I ain't all that smart. :)

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653