Got Away With It

[DennisS]

If I didn't no one would know about it. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things. I bought a Hummingbird Side Imaging Sonar with a transom mount, the transom mount didn't work with inboards. I had to go to a thru hull mount. The do it yourself boatyard rate was about $200 for a haulout. I tried all week to contact them and left messages.

I went over the procedures drilled a hole in a board and did a dry run. Then it was show time. If you want to get the adrenaline going, get a hole saw and put a 1 1/8 hole in your hull, while the boat is in the water. The water comes in real fast but the plug stopped it.

Then it was on to phase two, underwater plug with a hole and a slit. I filled the connector with silicone grease, coated the transducer with 3M 5200, hung the transducer over the side with a thread and put on the dive gear. I went over the side and started pushing the inside plug with my thumb. I got to thinking this wasn't a good idea, having my thumb stuck in a hole could get hazardous. Whacked it with my palm, it popped out, the water rushed in, I got the connector in and then the plug with the cable in the hole. It started sucking the slit plug through the hole ( it was one of the new style kayak plugs) I grabbed the corner before it went all the way in. I got all the cable in, broke the thread and put the transducer in the hole, it held.

I climbed out, got out of my gear and the water was rushing in through the transducer. I pulled it tight, put the block on top loaded with 5200 and bolted it down. Mission accomplished. If I failed I never would have admitted to doing something this dumb.

It was definitely time for a cold beer.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Sweet. Nice work dude.

 

[The Chad]

Thats awesome hope you were running the bilge pumps

 

[captain]

I changed propeller shafts for my inboards while in the water.

 

[Nemrod]

Let me ask a dumb question but how do you know the place you drilled the hole is a good place? The Humminbird side scan transducer needs to be vertical to work correctly. Is there a shim or something to align the transducer vertical--perpendicular to the sea bottom?

N

 

[Tom Winters]

Well that was a brave step drilling on a live boat like that. I used to glass-in a coffer dam when I wanted to drill though a live hull - basically a big cylinder higher than the waterline thay conformed to the curve of the hull. That way, though-hull transducers or other fittings could be fiddled with and aligned before leisurely being sealed them in place.
After the install, the cylinder could just be cut off or left as desired.

 

[mddolson]

Gutsy to say the least. Glad it worked out.

Mike D