13
hours, fill the remaining space with polyester resin. When the job is
finished, the hull is watertight and structurally sound. Remember, the
sonar signal must pass through solid fiberglass. Any air bubbles in the
fiberglass or the epoxy will reduce or eliminate the sonar signals.
Shoot-thru-hull transducer locations for
high speed or trolling speed operation.
Testing Determines Best Location
Ideally, the shoot-thru transducer should be installed as close to the
transom as possible, close to the centerline. This will give you the best
performance during high speed maneuvers.
To choose the proper location for shoot-thru-hull mounting, follow these
testing procedures:
1. Anchor the boat in about 30 feet of water. Add a little water to the
sump of the boat. Plug the transducer into the sonar unit, turn it on,
then hold the transducer over the side of the boat in the water. Adjust
the sensitivity and range controls until a second bottom echo is seen on
the display. (You'll need to turn off Auto Sensitivity, Auto Depth Range
and ASP
™
. Try a range setting that is two to three times the water
depth. The harder (more rocky) the bottom, the easier it will be to get a
second bottom signal.) Don't touch the controls once they've been set.
2. Next, take the transducer out of the water and place it in the water in
the sump of the boat, face down. (The transducer face is shown in the
figure on the following page.) Notice how the signal strength
decreases. The second bottom signal will probably disappear and the
bottom signal intensity will likely decrease.
3. Now move the transducer around to find the best location with the
strongest possible bottom signal. If you find a spot with an acceptable
bottom signal, mark the location and move on to step 4.
Transducer location
(trolling speed)
Transducer location
(high speed)
