I bought a new boat couple of years back, it is an aluminum Crestliner 17ft dual console.
The shop was to leave the transducer install to me and not make any holes, well let just say that did not happen.
Few emails to owner, he corrected the mistake and other installation issues.
That was last year, and then off it went back in storage for nearly 1 year. Last week I brought it home from storage.
I wanted to mount the transducer on a piece of wood and then mount that to the transducer using 3M VHB tape.
I have never used VHB tape till now so I was did not have any clue how well it can work with wood substrate.
1. Scuffed up the outside of the transom with a scotch brite pad and cleaned with acetone.
2. Picked up some exotic teak(ish) wood from a local wood supply store
3. Cut wood to match contour of bottom and top.
4. 3M says if wood is used, then it should be sealed. I used wipe on polyurathane fisnish I had for my kitchen cabinets, I applied one generous coat and wiped off the excess.
5. Let the poly on wood cure for couple of days
6. Doubled up the wood at the transducer mount to give it depth for the screws to bit and not protrude the transom. I used gorilla glue to bond the 2 pieces of wood together
7. I sealed the wood on ONE side only, the transom side where vhb tape will used.
8. Not knowing how strong this stuff is I went a little vhb crazy (see pic)
9. I enlisted the help of my 9 year old to eyeball the top of transom for alignment
Results - wow, I mean wow, I think had I used a 5 inch piece of the vhb tape, it would have enough holding power. I am going to call this a success.
Finally one project I am able to cross off my list,
Lessons Learned - cut wood much shorter than transom and JUST aligned the bottom, much simpler that way. Draw lines for wood to be true to transom.
Don't stop a 9 year old on her way to ride her bike to help you with install.
Don't put half the roll of vhb on the wood.
Uploading pics later.
Pics,
I like the woods natural color
It looks sticky enough to stay stuck, Shibs !!
Yeah, I think I can tie my anchor to it and it will not go anywhere ;D
Good deal---no holes. That's one thing I like about a kayak, you can put holes in it. The body is relatively thin and plastic and rubber gaskets with thread torque should be good enough.
Looks real good Shibs. Got me thinkin bout it. There's special transducer mount, resessed into the bottom of my Hobbie, made I believe for a Lowrance system. Would dragging the yak on sand wreck it?
That is a great idea, Gobi —
But being old fashioned, I would do the same thing — except I would drill (2) 1/4" holes near the top of the wood piece — then use (4) SS washers and (2) SS lock nuts along with (2) SS through bolts.
Just a thought...
Best,
Fred
Thank you very much for this post. Tapes have come a long way.
-steve
Hi Gobi, Not drilling holes in transom is a good thing ! full stop.
I've had a lot of mates come up with alternatives for this issue, every method from fully urathaning mounting blocks, similar to your set up,
And have seen plenty of failures to boot, with mountings flying off and getting "propped".
3m have some amazing technology now in there tapes, I use some of there water tapes in my work and it's powerful stuff.
I was just mentioning this in my thread on my rebuild, as I will be up to this soon. What I have sourced, is a plastic type product, which comes in different sizes and different thicknesses, can't remember it's name, but they sell it in a kit form. It comes with a 2 part epoxy, which you then mask up the transom area, give it a light sand and acetone clean, then epoxy the part to the transom. This works the same as your system, except it's perminantly epoxy'd to the transom rather than double side tape.
Either way, as long as it stays on, it's got to be better than putting all and sundry holes in a transom and the potentual damage that can do when water starts seeping in......
Col
Quote from: milne on August 03, 2019, 12:04:13 AM
Hi Gobi, Not drilling holes in transom is a good thing ! full stop.
I've had a lot of mates come up with alternatives for this issue, every method from fully urathaning mounting blocks, similar to your set up,
And have seen plenty of failures to boot, with mountings flying off and getting "propped".
3m have some amazing technology now in there tapes, I use some of there water tapes in my work and it's powerful stuff.
I was just mentioning this in my thread on my rebuild, as I will be up to this soon. What I have sourced, is a plastic type product, which comes in different sizes and different thicknesses, can't remember it's name, but they sell it in a kit form. It comes with a 2 part epoxy, which you then mask up the transom area, give it a light sand and acetone clean, then epoxy the part to the transom. This works the same as your system, except it's perminantly epoxy'd to the transom rather than double side tape.
Either way, as long as it stays on, it's got to be better than putting all and sundry holes in a transom and the potentual damage that can do when water starts seeping in......
Col
x2,,,,,,, :D. I have used 3m tape for many years and it doesn't like heat or moisture,,,,,, :) but this mite work fine 50/50 chance this tape I think was originally designed for car moldings,,,,,, ;) but that's ok,,,,if that doesn't work 3m panel bond 08115 will,,,,,,,, ;D
This reminds me of a common solution to using large 1-5kw bronze thu hull trasducers on smaller vessels I became aware of after moving to Hawaii. Universal manufacturers and other metal fabrication shops have been fabricating transom mounts for thru hull type transducers for years here in Hawaii, to the point where they are somewhat common here on the islands. I had never seen one before moving here. A sinple/inovative solution to a common problem.
This allows one to mount thru hull trasducers without drilling holes below tue waterline. Many allow for adjustment of height, tilt or can be made removable.
Just thought I'd share
John
With all those rivets or screws already on the transom a couple more won't make any difference!
If your tape ever fails you, try this stuff , it's called M1 Adhesive (made by Chemlink).
https://www.chemlink.com/Products/Multi-Purpose/SKU-8264-M-1-Universal-Adhesive-and-Sealant
I use it at work for gluing brackets to structures without penetrating. It's urethane so it loves moisture and actually cures quicker when it's humid or even wet. We use in in some hostile environments, mostly oil field, tank farms, chemical plants, etc. It stays flexible so it will flex with your hull when it flexes. You can pick it up at almost any roofing supply for about $7 a tube.
-Mike
Quote from: milne on August 03, 2019, 12:04:13 AM
I was just mentioning this in my thread on my rebuild, as I will be up to this soon. What I have sourced, is a plastic type product, which comes in different sizes and different thicknesses, can't remember it's name, but they sell it in a kit form. It comes with a 2 part epoxy, which you then mask up the transom area, give it a light sand and acetone clean, then epoxy the part to the transom. This works the same as your system, except it's perminantly epoxy'd to the transom rather than double side tape.
Either way, as long as it stays on, it's got to be better than putting all and sundry holes in a transom and the potentual damage that can do when water starts seeping in......
Col
Col,
I saw those, I had a urathane block screwed to the transom by the shop, I had them take it off, I did not want to go with any epoxy, I really wanted to try this tape and I love wood, this is the ONLY wood on the boat supposedly, well maybe plywood inside the transom (which I am not happy about).
the epoxy requires a lot of sanding off the paint and I was planning on doing this when it was cold outside at ice out (well such is life, I am 4 months behind). Hence I shot down the epoxy idea as I store my boat outside.
Post your install, I am curious how it hold up over time. Will it stay soft over time?
Quote from: Gfish on August 02, 2019, 05:30:43 PM
Good deal---no holes. That's one thing I like about a kayak, you can put holes in it. The body is relatively thin and plastic and rubber gaskets with thread torque should be good enough.
Looks real good Shibs. Got me thinkin bout it. There's special transducer mount, resessed into the bottom of my Hobbie, made I believe for a Lowrance system. Would dragging the yak on sand wreck it?
Post a pic of your spot for the transducer, I am curious, if it hits sand, it should swing up and not be damaged.
Quote from: foakes on August 02, 2019, 05:42:31 PM
But being old fashioned, I would do the same thing — except I would drill (2) 1/4" holes near the top of the wood piece — then use (4) SS washers and (2) SS lock nuts along with (2) SS through bolts.
Fred,
That is just it, I can't bring myself to make any holes,
Mark,
You have a point, with all the screws/rivets on the transom one more ain't going to break the bank.
Just can't do it, plus I am not really happy about all the screws on the transom, I bought the boat sight unseen, crestliner advertised it as all welded, NO rivets, well they forgot to mention 1000 screws on the transom.
Benni, Yes, I am also skeptical about how long it will last, the tape I bought it meant to be used outdoor. So we shall see.
John, I need the side sonar mostly to find those lunker walleyes and chinook salmon. Unfortunately, through the hull ones won't do that. I know a few guys who like to see their downscan at 40 knots and they have through the hull.
Mike, Thanks, I have install some lights and tool holders etc (rigging up my boat like some who likes a red cooler, no butts about it :P)
I am sure this will fail someday, but my boat was in the water 2x last year. So with my level of usage I might be collecting social security by the time the switch out the wood.
I like wood and I wanted a little bit of teak on my boat.
Now I have to mount the marine radio, lights, and other stuff, guess what I am using?
I have a closed box gunnel and I was told only way I can mount rod holders on it is by drilling holes and riveting them on to the gunnel.
I am going to take one and see how it goes, I will put a rope on the rod/reel, don't want to lose that too.
More later this weekend, I am on the road now,
I bought the 3M 5952 VHB tape,
now that I think about it, I might used a different roll I had or amazon sent me the wrong roll :o
I am pretty sure the # was 2x6x or something, oh well.
FYI: I got the idea of using the 3M tape from camper, trailer being built using this tape.
I was looking into building an expedition vehicle using my duramax chevy and I found a canadian outfit who builds the att fiberoptic camper shell they use in california. They use this tape too.
One can also use:
Stern Saver glue-on transducer mounting system
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stern-Saver-glue-on-transducer-mounting-system-for-Triton-Aluminum-Boats/141584373813?epid=1312445264&hash=item20f7161835:g:LzYAAMXQVERSvzZZ
or
VEXILAR MARINE SUCTION CUP BRACKET
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VEXILAR-MARINE-SUCTION-CUP-BRACKET-TRANSDUCER-KIT-BK0044/163102367610
I use
Vexilar product.
The glue on product uses an epoxy and it requires some buffing of the paint plus one can never be sure how the grip is between the piece and boat transom.
I like the suction cup solution, I can take the cups off and use my 3m glue tape.
I can conclude that from my first install I overkilled it,
FYI: Next time I will use a 6x4 inch teak wood and stick that to the transom,
I do paint and body work for years,,,,,3m double sided tape is good but I don't trust it with water,,,,, ;) 3m panel bond is the way to go,,,,, :) yes you got to suff it up a little bit first,,,,but I would panel bond and drill holes that's what I did,,,,,, ;D
It's sort of nit-picky, but teak may not be the best choice if there are adhesives involved. It has so much oil that things tend to come un-stuck. Something like oak or hickory or maple might be better.
-steve
Benni, I had the same concern, the 3m tape I used was rated for exterior/water, but you are correct, I doubt it it is rated for water immersion. I need to look up the 3m panel bond, Danke!
Steve, yes, you are correct, I forgot which wood I used, a buddy in my spoonplugging club used a piece of pine and he fishes 500 plus hours a year and his piece is still working, he has it clamped to the transom.
I applied poly to the surface in contact with 3m tape, to increase the bond strength but left the top unsealed so the wood can dry.
This is purely an experiment
$7 for piece of exotic wood and $8 for 3M tape, I have tape left over for couple of additional projects.
FYI: I tested the strength by trying to pull the wood out and hanging from it somewhat, the piece did flex a bit but did not come off.