Kongsberg Simrad ST90, Reference Manual

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Painting the transducer face
Marine growth (biological fouling) on the transducer face reduces the performance. We
recommend that you paint the transducer face immediately after installation, and then again
as often as required to maintain the protection. It is particularly important to do this if you
operate in waters with a lot of marine growth.
Prerequisites
The vessel is in dry dock. The ST90 system is turned off. The following tools and
consumables are required:
• Personal protection
• Fresh water
• A mild synthetic detergent and a plastic brush
• Fine-grade sandpaper (240 inch grit size)
• Primer
• Anti-fouling paint
Note
Because some paint types may be aggressive to the polyurethane in the transducer,
consult our list of approved paints.
• Wet film gauge
• Airless spray
Two persons are needed to do the task.
• One person must stay in the sonar room to operate the hull unit.
• One person must stay in the dry dock, under the hull, to make sure that the transducer is
not lowered too far down.
Proper oral communication must exist between the sonar room and the dry dock personnel.
Context
The transducer has not been designed with any protection against biological fouling.
Anti-fouling paint may therefore be applied to the transducer face. To minimize the negative
acoustical effects the layer of anti-fouling paint must be as thin as possible.
Maintenance procedures