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My 1990s RayMarine depth sounder died. My 1989 Raymarine radar still works, but looks like something from a museum and takes up much room on the bridge. I have a 2005 Garmin monochrome chart plotter that works well, but is now almost 10 years old.

Looking at the new Garmin setup with multi-function display. My local dealer recommends leaving the old football shaped transducer in place, saying it would be too hard to remove and that the new transducer hole needs to be larger - 4" - than the old.

Any suggestions, or lessons learned will be appreciated. Any experience with Garmin setup? Others?

Thanks.
PaulJ
1973 - B28 "PALADIN"

Unless the transducer has been built up over where access is next o impossible, pull it and use the hole for the new one if it will work or glass over and drill new hole.

Old transducers are not hard at all to get out.

I just hate the can't do attitude of most marine places.

Bruce,
I have full access to transducer both in the bilge and below. It's just Stbd of center near cabin bulkhead. I thought that I could pull the nut and bang it out the bottom with a 2 lb hammer. Theres a wedge on the bottom to keep the transducer at level. Could I use a chisel and break it off? Then temp fill the hole so I could key-hole drill the larger hole where the old one was located. I really don't want yet another hole in my boat so I like the idea of reusing he old, but making it bigger.

Thanks,
PaulJ

I have heard lots of good about Garmin... And I'm liking my older Garmin 3010C based setup that came with my boat... Having said that, I've heard that the new 4G solid state radars by Simrad are the bee's knees (or is that the bull's bollocks?) as far as radar's are concerned... One thing though, at the Miami show I spend a lot of time experiencing Raymarine's new offerings... Their latest operating system (Lighthouse II) is the BEST I have seen!...

Basically there are good arguments for most if not all manufacturers and assuming you want (you should) interconnect ability it comes down to selecting what you deem most important (e.g. radar, plotter (MFD), sonar etc) and then going for the rest from the same vendor...

I installed a new Simrad last year. In the process I removed 3 old transducers. Glassed in 2 holes. For the 3rd hole I cut a plug to fit that hole. Does not have to be tight. I then screwed a backer board onto the plug. Drop the plug in from the inside & have some one stand on the ends of the backer board. You can now easily cut your new hole with a hole saw. I only got a B60 xducer that needed a 3 3/8" hole. Advantage of that xducer is no fairing block is needed as the xducer is tilted in the housing.
Al

Thanks. This is the same type of transducer I'm looking at. I like the idea of the plug/method to cut larger hole.

Simrad

Depending on what was used to bed the transducer, banging it out may not work. May need to heat the face to break the seal of the bedding compound.

You can grab the body of the transducer with a set of channel locks or pipe wrench and twist to break the seal as long as 5200 wasn't used after removing the nut.

A backer for drilling new hole is the way to go. Can be fastened a number of ways.

The new Garmin stuff is pretty nice. Got to install their GPS, Auto pilot and create a 2000 network that tied in a FloScan flo net system last year. Angles are built into the transducer so no tilt blocks are needed much anymore.

Once you set up the 2000 network, its just plug and play for multiple devices and using one screen.

Most all electronics run the 2000 network now.

Go to the CoPilot product here to cut a larger hole centered where a smaller hole was originally...

http://www.centurydrill.com/Image/Catal ... 0Flyer.pdf

I have something similar and it works perfectly.