Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason
I am not trying to encourage anyone to do this. I just wanted to verify, from my own experience, that this can be done without compromising safety.....
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Built in the hull and through hull transducers are the oldest, most reliable and most tested methods for installing transducers.
Transom mounted transducers are relatively new in comparison and of limited use compared to through hulls, do to the fact they are pretty much relegated to small craft..
I got my idea for building my set up from an older 56 ocean sportfisher I captained. When we put it in dry dock to install a Furuno searchlight sonar (18 grand) I got the chance to pull out several old transducers out that were originally glassed right into the hull. They were working but we still replaced them with new state of the art, industry standard bronze thru-hull transducers that look and function almost exactly like the one you put in your kayak.
Your average big boat has maybe a dozen thru hulls in it, drains, intakes, as well as transducers. They only time the fail is when they are over tightened or stripped or when elctrolisys takes out a bronze thru-hull.
I've never heard of a transducer thru-hull leaking or failing on a large boat, and considering the fact they have a much deeper water line and more water pressure on the seal, I'd say it's extremely unlikely you would ever have a leak using a traditional threaded thru-hull like the one you put in your kayak.
I mean realistic you're talking a water depth of inches, and using units that are designed to seal against water pressure caused by many feet of water.
The wet well transducers may work much better then the gooped ones, but a properly mounted thru hull transducer has even better performance the a transom mount transducer properly hung down in the water on the back of a transom of a boat, and the threaded ones are even easier to install.
When installed in the hull of a yak they actually give the exact same performance, as they do in a high end boat, so it's simply the best method of installation performance wise ..period.
I mean it all depends what you want.
Possibly having a thru-hull in you yak may lower the resale value, but for me the performance is worth it. Personally I'm more worried about catching fish now then what I can sell my yak for later down the line....
.... and I'd say there is no safety issues with thru-hull transducers (especially like yours) at all.
When I saw Bing post his, I figured the cat was out of the bag, and that there would be a bunch of people following suit and switching over, as a threaded thru-hull is a simple install that anyone can do. I think down the road it's going to be the standard procedure as to how kayak guys rig their transducers.
Im surprised that one of the manufacturers has not made a inset for them to keep them level when placed to the side to keep then from getting scratched up. Personally I don't like seeing them on the center line where the get dragged on the sand, but I imagine you will see something like an 1/4 inch inset for them down the line.
Since airmar makes the vast majority of them for pretty much all the brands the smaller plastic thru-hull transducers are pretty much all the same size wise, so essentially once the hole is drilled they are interchangeable.
Bottom line... Properly installed they will never be an issue, and the will outperform anything out there.
Jim