Mounting a new transducer on back of a fiberglass boat. Needs new holes so don’t want to drill anymore . What do people use ? Is cutting board satisfactory? Sikaflexed on ?
TIA
Best option IMO is a piece of Starboard or Seaboard (available from any good plastics supplier) and as well as a liberal application of sika or similar to seal it against the transom (nothing really sticks it all that well) , use the old holes and countersunk fasteners of the required size for the old holes.
Those stern savers seem to be the bees knees, comes with an epoxy, do it yourself, different sizes etc.
I think there not cheap, about $70-80 a piece, but come as a kit.
That's going to be my plan when I get up to hanging stuff off the transom
Blue bottle marine have them. If I was any good with epoxies, I'd save some coin and follow what they've done...
Col
I went to a local plastics supplier and bought some 20mm HDPE offcuts and screwed & Sika'd it to the transom
Then I mounted the transducer to that, I didn't want to keep drilling holes either
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Haven't posted in a while but saw this thread and thought I would share my method. I have used "Marineboard" I think it was calls but this is the same as Starboard and seaboard i.e. HDPE. All I did was cut a piece, drill some holes around the perimeter and then use a tap set to put some groves in the hole, taped one side with painters tape and filled with a 2 part epoxy. I had already sanded the area on the transom where I was going to locate it and placed the block and taped it into place with painters masking tape. Once the epoxy goes off I removed the tape and drilled holes to my hearts content to locate the transducer.
Looks a bit hillbilly but does the job. I can take a pic if anyone is interested. I think it is better than the sikaflex method and similar to what Stern saver does, just not as neat.
Another option is to lay up a solid block of fibreglass and sika that on. More time consuming but gets around the issue of stuff not sticking to HDPE. Can also be gelcoat colour matched for a seamless look.
I like that idea ScottOriginally Posted by scottar
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It's really hard to get anything to stick to that HPDE plastic permanently, (it's made out of the same stuff the plastic stirring sticks are made out of) lots of stuff will stick to it for a while, but, it will come off, along with your transducer eventually.
Yep. Plenty of stories similar to that if you dig around enough which is why I have always recommended a couple of screws or bolts. I used to change transducers a lot when I was in the industry and started doing this when I got my last tinnie - would have been about 25 years ago. I changed the mounting blocks a couple of times and only used to silicone them on rather than sika as for my application I knew they would have to come off one day once they looked like swiss cheese. A 3/16 bolt either side was all it took for it to be rock solid and a couple of insulating washers and a bit of sealant on the inside took care of any corrosion issues. You can apparently heat treat the stuff which will make glues stick a bit better or as Berger posted, provide a mechanical attachment that will increase the holding power but with holes already in the area from existing transducers, a couple of screws is an easy option.
There is still the problem of it sticking. If you are going to that trouble perhaps you might as well fiberglass the new block to the transom. Or seeing you already have drill holes why not just screw a plastic block to the transom using those holes then screw the tranducer to the plastic only?
This may be another option..depending on a few things...someone..Dignity??? did a post on making a transducer box a while back...decided it was worth a try and it works really well...two less holes in the transom...cleaner wake and stable clear image on the screen...but there are some limitations that may make it unsuitable for your use....
est way to build an in hull transducer wetbox
Started by CT, 29-07-2019 08:11 PM 12
Thanks guys, yeah I’d love a transducer box or through hull bu the northbank has a false floor hull so it’d be a fair bit of glass work to do
Sika and the like will stick to a fibreglass block without issue - so well in fact if the surface is properly prepared, that attempting to remove it with sheer force later will most likely result in a delamination - learnt that the hard way. What it doesn't stick to is the plastic. In this case, personally I would use the existing holes but if the OP doesn't want too and simply wants to stick a block in place but has concerns with it letting go, a solid glass block is a viable option.
I have used a block of PVC board which will sika to the transom extremely well then screw a block of starboard to that and then the transducer to the starboard. No holes into the transom. I'll see if I can get a photo.
TMC
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