Voyager 248 - Thru-Hull Transducer

[aa331]

Grady Voyager 248, dual HPDI 150s. head unit is a Lowrance LCX 38c HD. Original Lowrance transom mount transducer is shot.

Would like to install a thru-hull transducer / airmar b60 (20 deg) but here are my concerns:

No clean / designed location on the hull for thru hull ducers. Grady recommends transom mounted ducers for this hull, but say some have gone the thru hull route. Grady recommends putting in on the stbd side but the port has much more room to work with. Would that matter?

Measuring deadrise right behind the fuel tank (using iphone app) revealed a 20 deg angle on the outside, but a 23 deg angle (not flat either) on the inside. !! Apparently theres a hump on that spot (both port and stbd). This is of great concern, and not sure if theres a good / solid solution that I want to tackle.

I dont want to go with the shoot-thru solution, not a sure bet on how it would work, plus I have bottom paint.

Any ideas? Thinking of paying someone to install it (any recommendations of a trusted installer in Miami), or giving up and settling for a p66 transom mount.

Thanks

 

[nitrox32]

I have a '97 Voyager, it has "transducer flats" on the rear of the hull, that is where my thru-hull transducer is mounted, does the '96 have "tranducer flats"?

 

[GW VOYAGER]

I have a '97 Voyager, it has "transducer flats" on the rear of the hull, that is where my thru-hull transducer is mounted, does the '96 have "tranducer flats"?

Yes

 

[aa331]

Thanks so much for your response. Great news. I was going by the info provided by Grady customer service, sounds like they got it wrong.

Is this area on the centerline forward of the two seacocks (saltwater washdown / livewell intakes) ? Yesterday I did find a picture of someone who had it installed there, didn't look like a flat area to me but I may have been wrong.

Or is it against the stern / transom / plug.

Any pics would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nitrox32]

The "flats area" is forward of the drain plug and about the same distance forward on the hull as the raw water pickups, it is outside of the pickups and is a molded fiberglass indentation with a "flat" area. I installed the high speed fairing in the flats area and get great returns while underway in waves up to 2'.

Here is a link to a discussion regarding thru-hull installation on the 248: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13813

Here is a pic of the area with my high speed fairing mounted on the flat the pic is from the front looking to the stern of the boat:

 

[aa331]

Thanks so much for the pics. Makes perfect sense now.

Here's someone who implemented it flush to the bottom at the centerline, up against the fuel tank bulkhead http://www.thehulltruth.com/marine-elec ... e-out.html

Wondering which option would perform better, specs are different, not sure how to read them or if the difference really matters.
B45 http://www.airmartechnology.com/2009/pr ... f=Lowrance
B117 http://www.airmartechnology.com/uploads ... s/B117.pdf

Lastly, any idea why GW recommend transom mount for that hull (currently the 257) http://www.gradywhite.com/faq/pages/Tra ... ations.php

 

[aa331]

Update.

Found the "transducer flats" in the owners manual (thanks GW VOYAGER), exactly as shown by nitrox32 in the pics. But I'm also reading around that GW no longer recommends using this location due to possible turbulence issues. This explains why when I called GW they said there is no location for a thru hull transducer, contradicting their own owners manual.

At this point I think the safest bet is a B117 straight on the centerline, up against the fuel tank bulkhead (slightly ahead of the two pickups).

Last thing I need to do is to sand off the bottom paint at that location to check the health of the gelcoat. Would hate to find any surprises after drilling the 2" hole.

 

[aa331]

Had someone installed it for me. Didn't have time, plus the peace of mind of it being done right by someone with experience. I was going to go with the 0 degree on the centerline, right up to the fuel tank bulkhead, but he recommended to put it ahead of the baitwell pump on the port side to get a truly flat surface, and thus a 20 degree transducer was used (B60-20). Ran it yesterday, works great, keeps bottom on plane.

 

[GW VOYAGER]

That is great news! Do you have any pics?

 

[aa331]

Thanks.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I wish to lend another observation here. I have a shoot thru the hull airmar and it works very well. It holds the bottom to 1300 feet and in choppy water or in seas 3 to 4s it holds the bottom well.