# Transducer mounted on the wrong side of prop... change?



## LastCastIPromise (Jan 28, 2018)

I recently purchased a 16' jon boat which didn't come with any marine electronics. However, one of the previous owners had at one point had a Garmin installed. The transducer and wire are still in place, but they are mounted on the wrong side. With there already being a pretty generous hole drilled at the top of the transom and a transducer mounting block, I am considering trying a new unit/transducer in the same position. I just hesitate to drill any more holes if I don't have to.

Would the water disruption from the prop cause too much interference?


----------



## Bob9863 (Jan 28, 2018)

I bought a boat set up the same, that far to the side it should be fine, but damn thats a big hole.


----------



## Scott F (Jan 28, 2018)

Because the prop sits more than a foot behind the transducer, and your current mounting position is as far to the left as it can get, there is a good chance, it will work just fine. If it were me, I’d mount your new transducer in the same holes and see how it works. Only switch to the other side if you are having issues.


----------



## LDUBS (Jan 29, 2018)

Scott F said:


> Because the prop sits more than a foot behind the transducer, and your current mounting position is as far to the left as it can get, there is a good chance, it will work just fine. If it were me, I’d mount your new transducer in the same holes and see how it works. Only switch to the other side if you are having issues.



x2. Since it is already there, move it only if you have to. And yep, that is a big hole. Maybe he thought he had to push the whole transducer through it?


----------



## LastCastIPromise (Jan 29, 2018)

Yeah, that hole is huge... the connection on the wire where it would connect to the unit is large and would have needed a hole that size... it was a Garmin unit, not sure of the age.


----------



## eshaw (Jan 29, 2018)

I'm no expert, that being said I don't think it matters which side it's mounted to. I have a jon with a transducer on the rear and it's mounted approximately the same as your boat and I've had zero problems with it. I think the problems start when you get too close to the prop where there is more turbulence in the water.


----------



## beetlespin (Jan 29, 2018)

I think the bigger problem is the exposed wood in the transom :shock:


----------



## LastCastIPromise (Jan 29, 2018)

beetlespin said:


> I think the bigger problem is the exposed wood in the transom :shock:



How would you go about getting that sealed up? I also have some other wood on that transom I want to seal as well


----------



## eshaw (Jan 29, 2018)

To leave the hole but seal it up, they make grommets for computer desks that you pass cords through. They're available at hardware stores. I'd just take one of those and slop some sealant on it and stick it in the hole.


----------



## richg99 (Jan 29, 2018)

Hmmm... pretty good suggestions already about placing the new one where the old one is. 

IF....if doesn't work all that well, I imagine that you have enough cable to .....Move the T'ducer to the new location...BUT...use the same hole in the transom to run the wire. 

All that it would take would be some Wire-mold. Run the Wire-mold straight up the transom; make a 90 degree turn to run the wire to the old side, and use some more Wire-mold to re-route the wire to the old hole. 

Transducer moved...Hole is not moved. 

( You actually don't need the wire-mold, it would just look a bit neater.)


----------



## earl60446 (Jan 30, 2018)

I don't see why the guy drilled any hole at all. Just run the transducer cable over the transom. That is
what I would do even now, then I would cut a plug for that hole and seal it in there with 3m5200.
Make it water and weathertight.
Tim


----------



## onthewater102 (Feb 1, 2018)

Looks like it's mounted so the ducer is too far below the plane of the bottom of the boat. Pull up the manufacturer's mounting instructions and you'll see what I'm talking about.


----------



## wmk0002 (Feb 1, 2018)

I believe at its current location that it is far enough away from the prop that it doesn't really matter that it's on the left side. As to drilling new holes, I am a big fan of gluing on a piece of 3/4"+ HDPE board with 3M adhesive and attaching and drilling the transducer into that. I would also seal the hole up top and add a grommet. Did they do that so that the could pass the entire transducer through it instead of working backwards and passing the plug end through? And why drill a hole at all? Lol


----------



## LDUBS (Feb 1, 2018)

earl60446 said:


> I don't see why the guy drilled any hole at all. Just run the transducer cable over the transom. That is
> what I would do even now, then I would cut a plug for that hole and seal it in there with 3m5200.
> Make it water and weathertight.
> Tim



x2. I agree. I see no reason to route it through the transom. Just run it over the top & plug the hole like Earl suggests.


----------



## LastCastIPromise (Feb 3, 2018)

Just for curiosity sake, here is a picture of the transducer connector that goes to the unit... :shock: :shock: :shock: 
I'll be working on sealing up this hole.





Here are some pics of the wood from the other side.. I would like to get ALL of this sealed up. Any suggestions for the inside of the transom?


----------



## justin sumner (Feb 6, 2018)

If I were you I would go to a Marine store or dealer, buy two of the plastic mounting boards they make "image attached"
Also get a tube of Marine below water grade sealant
cut a piece of that board to size up to cover the big hole, and the small holes
You can use the existing screw holes to fasten the mounting board to the back of your boat, be sure to first apply beads of sealant on the mounting board around the screw holes, and also liberally in a square around the board and zig zag to get a good waterproof seal
On the inside of the boat use RTV blue to seal the nut/bolt/boat surface, no way water is getting in

Later maybe you could add a speedometer or something to that board

Now for the second board, you can repeat the same process on the proper side of your outboard, do not be afraid to drill into your boat, it is not a big deal using bolts and sealant...............the cool thing about the boards is you just have to make holes once, you can swap out transducers, change location up/down left/right if you are not getting the reading you want on your sonar, what sucks about no using a board is you have to make new holes to move it around, the board allows for fine tuning and adding and moving whatever you want

I certainly hope that hole was for something else originally, that would be my guess, it is one of the more ghetto things I have seen on a boat ha ha 

Hope that helps, google and youtube about how to get a good seal, buy some good sealant dont be cheap you want it to last, I wish I knew about the boards on my first install


----------



## justin sumner (Feb 6, 2018)

forgot to mention, I would just go to a paint store and ask for a can of screwed up wood stain or paint, 
screwed up as in they got the color wrong when mixing it, they always have them and sell the cheap
paint the wood, also you could go to home depot or lowes, in the bathroom/doors section you can buy some plastic sheets, I forget what they call it, but it is cheap, I am going to use it to line the bottom of my boat under my front deck to raise my bags up off the ground, when it rains and I am fishing all the water runs to the front of the boat, its annoying
but really I would just paint it and be done with it, wood already looks rough, heck painting it might not help either, might just trap moisture in it since the wood probably was not treated to begin with, no way to seal up the back side, and if you are taking the wood off, may as well replace it and seal it up properly


----------



## gnappi (Feb 7, 2018)

justin sumner said:


> If I were you I would go to a Marine store or dealer, buy two of the plastic mounting boards they make "image attached"
> Also get a tube of Marine below water grade sealant



Those plastic mounts are a GR8 way to mount transducers.

I used one on my boat in a less conventional way... vertically. I made no holes below the waterline (I hate doing that) and went through the wood support for the motor and secured with long SS bolts inside. The boat is only 10' and very light so on the right handle I attached a motorcycle handle bar tie down strap for handling the boat without the handle. I could have moved it away from the handle but the position is good to keep the transducer further away from prop wash interference  the little electric motor may cause 

This is the second boat I've used this scheme on and it works great.


----------



## bcbouy (Feb 7, 2018)

magnetic transducer mount,amazon.if you plan to run a bow mounted t/m,i'd also consider a t/m trans mount.i had all kinds of issues with prop wash with mine mounted on the stern from my bow mounted t/m past the second speed.


----------



## richg99 (Feb 19, 2018)

Wow...that inside of the transom looks like the wood is rotting or at least splitting. How does the transom feel if you grab the motor and pull it back and forth?

Sorry for the very late reply to this message. My computer has been throwing responses on this site into the SPAM folder.


----------



## ProduceMan (Feb 19, 2018)

Justin, what is that on the right side of the mounting board? A water pickup of some kind?


----------



## LDUBS (Feb 20, 2018)

ProduceMan said:


> Justin, what is that on the right side of the mounting board? A water pickup of some kind?



Suspect it is a pitot tube (for a speedometer).


----------

