So this winter I have been going through things and one of them is my transducer puck. It had some type of white silicone/caulking on it to hold it to the floor. But does it matter what you use to adhere it to the floor? Flex seal, loctite marine adhesive sealant, and etc. And does it need to be level. Or the angle of the v bottom be fine? And I assume no air gap between it and the floor. But does it need to be buried in the adhesive?


Thanks for your help.

I've been researching this very subject. From what I've gathered so far, needs to be level side-by-side and front to back (with boat in the water). Cannot have air, wood or silicone between transducer and the water. Fiberglass/resin is ok (up to a point). The more glass/resin is in the path, the less the transducer can receive the reflected signal.
If you have coring in the area, you'll need to cut thru it or find a better spot ( non-cored) to mount it. I just mounted my new Airmar transducer using a special adjustable fixture that allows transducer to be level with up to 22 degs of deadrise. After fixture is attached to bottom, it's filled with RV anti-freeze so the bottom of transducer is submerged. The sound waves travel thru anti-freeze, thru fiberglass and into water. The Faria depth gauge I just bought comes with the special transducer and special fixture. Haven't had a chance to try it yet since eng is still out.

If you have a stepped bottom, transducer is supposed to be mounted in front of first step where the water is "clean".

Here's a pic of something very similar to what I got. Appears Airmar makes the transducers for most, if not all the different depth finders.

Amazon

Amazon

There's a thread in the Electronics section called "Need a new depth finder" with more info.

Thanks, For all the info and time!

What caulk/sealer did you use to attach the adapter to the inside of the bilge (without letting the anti-freeze "bath" leak out)?
I'd like to make it very secure BUT not permanent (in case my initial location is not optimized).

In my case, I knew where to install it (same place as factory install) so I went with 5200 right off the bat. I would think RTV would work to secure the adapter gizmo to the hull temporarily.
I've seen where people fill a large ziplock bag with water (put sensor in the bag) and move it to different areas looking for the sweet spot but I did not try that.
Mine is under the starboard eng so access is virtually impossible once the eng is back in.

BTW, the Faria gauge has been working great with my install. Good readings while on plane. Only issue I've had is when I have it on when starting engs. The voltage spike from starting sometimes causes it to lockup. Cycling it's dedicated power switch straightens it out.

I use plain old clear silicone. about a good tube.... get it nice and high and push the puck into it .
I have 2 , one towards the front and one in the back. 8 years later no issues.

Thanks!

I stuck my transducer down with clear silicone to test the location. That was 3 years ago, test is going good!!

Same here lol. I thought it would be a temporary test and 8 years later ,...

Do you have to be careful to get a good "finish" on the inside of the transducer mount adapter (which gets siliconed into place)? Does a clean bead inside help with reception/clarity (as opposed to globs of silicone sealant reducing the sonar fidelity)?
Thanks,
Tom