help please.....silicone

[paul123]

Hi guys....fitting a fishfinder on the weekend,what silicone should i use to fix the transducer and where can i get it from??Thanks in advance.i live in swansea by the way

[lozz]

hi paul i used sikaflex does the job and available from most diy stores found best way to avoid air bubbles is to slice top off the tube you get a nice lump of air free mastic to bed transducer in

[SeaDooDavid]

Hi guys....fitting a fishfinder on the weekend,what silicone should i use to fix the transducer and where can i get it from??Thanks in advance.i live in swansea by the way

 

Hi Paul

 

I have successfully used bog standard silicon for the last few years but I believe sikaflex is supposed to be the best ( I think most big chandlers have it) someone here will put you on to it near your location. What I would recommend is using a method of "bubble free" application that I found on this forum, and that is to cut the end with the applicator completely off leaving the whole tube open at that end!. Do this when you are ready to go and have everything to hand.

 

Push out a huge blob (slightly longer than your transducer (ducer)) right where you want the transducer to be fixed and use your finger or a piece of scrap plastic to cut off from the tube. What you are trying to achieve is a solid tube of mastic which will be bubble free. Push the transducer into it (facing the right way!) slowly push in and slightly move forward then backward on the way down to the bottom. When it gets there apply a weight to the top (or wedge a stick or something to hold it down onto the hull while it dries) You can smooth the "blob around the top of the transducer if you want it to look neat, but it does not really matter, the important thing is that you havn't squirted in a load of mastic like spahetti and then mixed it with a spatula or a finger etc, which will always have air bubbles in it!.

 

The method I used to weigh the ducer down while drying was to cut a piece of hard foam packing (pipe insulator cut flat would do) to the shape of the ducer top. I pressed the ducer top (the part with the fins that would attach to the bracket if you were to mount it outside a boat) This left indentations in the hard foam and I cut a rough shape out with a craft knife. This then fitted over the ducer perfectly and the top of the foam being then flat was perfect to balance a weight on top of (I used a few small dumb bell weights left over from my more ambitious fitter days, errhem!) Perfect!!!

 

Here's the hard bit ~~~~~~ leave it to dry, untouched for a good 24 hrs or 48 if you can hack it!! The better the set, the less chance of bubbles the better etc etc!.

 

This is my 3rd year with my ducer mounted this way, and like Speciman said on another post on this forum, I can see my weight, line and feathers go down to the sea bottom (really!) on my humminbird matrix17. The "picture" is glitch free and I have compared it to my mates who has a similar F/F but on his boat and mounted on his prop and mine is as good if not better and he admits this ha ha!. The ducer is mounted "rock solid" and I am sure you could lift the yak up by it ha ha!.

 

I have mounted it roughly below where my feet are and I shove a beach ball inside my hatch and inflate it to make a kind of bulkhead, which enable you to still pack kit in the front hatch and also adds bouyancy (I also squidge anothe beach ball right up into the bow for the same purpose, this also stops any packed kit sliding about (even your battery box if it not tied in somewhere!) You could use bow and stern proper bags if you like (about £25 a pair) but beach balls are 50p each!

 

Which ever way you choose to mount it, good luck mate and I am sure it will work out fine. The good thing about silicon fitting is, if it goes wrong, unpeel, pick off all the silicon bits (very theraputic!) and have another bash!

 

Use the rest of the silicon for other jobs after the ducer has dried (tape the applicator end back on!) I taped the end over with masking tape and it is still usable in the tube!!!!

 

All the best

 

SeaDooDavid~~~~~

Edited September 14, 2007 by SeaDooDavid

[Mark Crame]

I used sikaflex for my second attempt as the first stuff I used lasted 6 weeks. Sikaflex is still stuck.

 

I found the easiest way was to put a full blob directly onto the transducer, then put the transducer in place. Beware that the stuff gets everywhere though!!

[SeaDooDavid]

I used sikaflex for my second attempt as the first stuff I used lasted 6 weeks. Sikaflex is still stuck.

 

I found the easiest way was to put a full blob directly onto the transducer, then put the transducer in place. Beware that the stuff gets everywhere though!!

 

Corking idea

 

SDD~~~~

[Martin Hurst]

Marine Goop - top stuff

[paul123]

Marine Goop - top stuff

 

Cheers guys

[paul123]

Cheers guys

 

One more thing guys please.....is it sikaflex 291 i need???...it says it comes in black or white,i assume by white,they mean clear????

[SpeciMan]

they mean white

[richi]

It is 291 that you need,be sure to rough up the hull a bit first!