Airmar R99 Transducer

[CClassic28]

Anyone using one on their 32 or 35? It is really large in size (22" long 5-1/2" wide & 4" tall) and I am concerned it may effect the boats performance. Any input or insight would be great. My other option is the Airmar R199 which is an in hull tank mount version of the thru hull but with the hull thickness I was told I will lose about 25% of its power.

Thanks,

Chris

[Tswann]

The actual loss, since the bottom is 100% SOLID glass, is on the order of 3 - 5% if installed correctly. On the 32s (I have posted about this before and should be findable since it was after the site last crashed) a wet box in between the stringers in the engine room to the rear of the front engine mounts . . . Feel free to drop me a note if you need more info on 'ducer options and locations . . . and NO, NADA, NO-Way on the use of high speed fairing blocks without talking to Mac about boat performance issues!!

As always Keith, Wade or Mac can always tell you what has and has not worked, and what will work . . . . We are constantly undoing problems associated with improper placement . . . .

Best of luck.

[CClassic28]

Tres,

Thanks, I was planning a call down to the factory tomorrow but figured I'd throw it out here to see what end users had to say.

Basically, your take is go with the R199 in hull & forget about the loss (Airmar told me 25% on strength only, no loss to speak of on target discrimination)

My personal feel was to go thru hull if there was no performance issues but with ducer that large, it seems nearly impossible.

Thanks again,

Chris

[Tswann]

In hull with a wet box is the best long term solution in my opinion. You have no extra holes in the bottom of the boat, there is no growth/fouling issue to deal with, the performance loss is minimal -- so the performance of the 'ducer is going to be stable/predictable. On a hull basis, you escape the possibilities of decreased eficiency and/or speed, running attitude changes, etc.

Before the recent generation of in-hulls, our options for good bottom/target discrimination were limited to through hulls and transom mounts, both of which have their ups and downs . . This does not mean that it is not possible to do a traditional through hull installation, but with other good options out there why poke and taunt the 400 pound ape . . .

[CClassic28]

seems like the answer, does anyone know the dimension between the 2 centerline stringers on the 32? The wet box of the 199 is something like 17" x 8" not certain it will fit without creating a "damb" in the bilge.

Thanks again,

Chris