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Old 07-19-2020, 11:42 AM   #1
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How to remove airmar thru-hull housing for depth sensor

All,
Looking for your advise. I have old airmar thru-hull depth sensor which is a retractable tube inserted into 2inch plastic housing in the boat hull. I need to remove it to replace it with at 2 inch fish finder. How do I go about removing the plastic thru-hull housing ?

Thanks,
Roman
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Old 07-19-2020, 12:24 PM   #2
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What are the diameters of the shafts of the old and new though hull fittings (what size hole do you have? What size do you need?)?

Ted
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Old 07-19-2020, 12:45 PM   #3
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I had to change my Airmar transducer once because the temperature started showing nice, warm 34 degrees C. here in Sweden on a cold November day. It only got worse...and internet research said change it.

So, I had it changed when the boat was out of the water for the winter. BUT, I noticed in my box of bits & bobs and yet-to-be identified stuff that came with the boat, an AirMar "blanking plug" that is intended to screw on in place of the transducer. So, if your fish finder is Air Mar...and sort of "plug & play" and if you're thinking of trying to make this change while the boat is in the water, it might be nice to have this plug handy, if you find that you have one on board. See photo below.


Apologies, if this response turns out to be totally irrelevant!!
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Old 07-19-2020, 01:00 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Romanp View Post
All,
Looking for your advise. I have old airmar thru-hull depth sensor which is a retractable tube inserted into 2inch plastic housing in the boat hull. I need to remove it to replace it with at 2 inch fish finder. How do I go about removing the plastic thru-hull housing ?

Thanks,
Roman
I am not sure what exactly you are asking. If you just want to pull the thru hull out of the assembly and put a new one in, then there is usually a screw on ring on the top that you unscrew in order to pull the insert transducer out.

If you are changing the entire assembly and need to get it all out of the hull in order to put a completely new transducer in then it depends on how it is installed. Chances are that the transducer is installed with 5200 which is very tough to get out. I would probably use a multi tool and just cut the old transducer out. I did one on my boat last winter and the multi tool allowed me to cut one side off flush with the hull and then pop the other side out. I was just getting fir of the transducer so I glassed the opening closed.
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Old 07-19-2020, 01:05 PM   #5
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I note, now, that the OP said "housing". So, kindly disregard my prior response, RomanP!
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Old 07-19-2020, 02:26 PM   #6
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It would really be helpful to know the model. Otherwise, we're all just guessing. There are usually labels on both ends if the cable and also a way to look in the MFD to see the transducer it is set to talk to.


If wildly guessing, what you are describing seems to be an arrangement similar to an airmar B744V. If so, this doc should explain how to remove the insert, itself, or the insert and valve together. If you need to remove the transducer body, that is done from the outside.

http://www.airmar.com/uploads/Instal.../17-438-01.pdf
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Old 07-19-2020, 04:46 PM   #7
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What are the diameters of the shafts of the old and new though hull fittings (what size hole do you have? What size do you need?)?

Ted
The point I was trying to make was that if you required a larger hole through the hull, there is a technique to bore the larger hole without removing the existing transducer sleeve.

Ted
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:06 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Comodave View Post
Chances are that the transducer is installed with 5200 which is very tough to get out. I would probably use a multi tool and just cut the old transducer out. I did one on my boat last winter and the multi tool allowed me to cut one side off flush with the hull and then pop the other side out.
Same issue. Installed with 5200. Same solution. Cut it out with multitool.
If you're in the water yard can do a short haul where they leave you in the slings for an hour. If you need more time they will put you on blocks but rate goes up significantly.

I was on the hard so took the time to redo the fiberglass around the old transducer opening.
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:18 PM   #9
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I have this type of the setup, It comes with a 2inch housing then then insertable transducer https://rm.factoryoutletstore.com/de...ogitemid=16209

What I've purchased is P319 2inch transducer but unfortunately I can't insert it into the existing housing as the transducer itself is 2inch wide

https://rm.factoryoutletstore.com/de...ogitemid=16209

Now now I need to figure out how to remove the old housing which is glued with 5200. I hear people use multitool. Do you mean Oscillating Tool ? have one but I'm not sure how would I approach cutting it out. Let say I cut off the head of the transducer which is at the exterior of the boat, now I have a shaft with the threads and 5200 glued to the hull, how to get that out ?

I was hoping that airmar engineers would have installed notches inside of the tube so I could use thruhull puller to unscrew it out of the boat, but I don't think their engineering thought goes that far. And if you are in the business of making tranducers why wouldn't you design ONE size housing and all other transducers could be just inserted into it ?
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:25 PM   #10
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Same issue. Installed with 5200. Same solution. Cut it out with multitool.
If you're in the water yard can do a short haul where they leave you in the slings for an hour. If you need more time they will put you on blocks but rate goes up significantly.

I was on the hard so took the time to redo the fiberglass around the old transducer opening.
My boat is on the blocks so I have access to the bottom of it.
I'm not sure I understand, if I cut out the head of the sensor from the bottom, I still have the shaft of the tube inside of the hull, how do I get that thing out ?

I was thinking to use a monkey wrensh, grag the tube inside of the boat and start turning it counterclockwise and see if 5200 will give way and I can unscrew the whole assembley out of the boat ? I was actually thinking about removing the inner transducer and use resiprocal saw to cut along the length of the housing in several places and then try to remove the separate pieces with a chisel
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:38 PM   #11
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I've seen fiberglass delaminate before 5200 would give way.
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Old 07-19-2020, 05:45 PM   #12
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Would you consider leaving the old one in place/abandoned and the new one epoxied inside the bilge? Or just install it in a different spot. 5200 is a blessing and a curse. I believe the other poster is saying he cut out the fiberglass around the transducer and then repaired the huge hole left behind. Please correct me if I misunderstood SoWhat.
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Old 07-19-2020, 06:56 PM   #13
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Would you consider leaving the old one in place/abandoned and the new one epoxied inside the bilge? Or just install it in a different spot. 5200 is a blessing and a curse. I believe the other poster is saying he cut out the fiberglass around the transducer and then repaired the huge hole left behind. Please correct me if I misunderstood SoWhat.
I cut the old one out with a mutlitool.
I then used coarse grit on DOA sander inside and out to smooth surfaces and remove 5200.
Then a dremel to smooth out edges of hole.
Reglassed to build up thickness and to ensure core was sealed.
Sanded, recut hole, and reinstalled with 4200.
Holes were similar in size.

No problem leaving old one in and cutting new hole. Just make sure edges are sealed with epoxy to protect core and laminations.

I would not epoxy in-hull for a fishfinder. Fine if you just want depth but shooting through fiberglass will lose some resolution.
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Old 07-19-2020, 07:00 PM   #14
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There is a technique where you double stack hole saws on a single mandrel. The smaller hole saw acts as a guide in the existing housing hole. The larger hole saw cuts the desired hole. In this situation, you're basically boring out the plastic housing to reuse the hole. Obviously there will be some cleanup of the remaining 5200 in, and on both top and bottom surfaces of the hole. Likely a drum sander on a drill would clean out the hole.

I don't see you removing the plastic housing in one piece, if bedded with 5200.

Ted
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Old 07-19-2020, 07:12 PM   #15
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The other technique to refill with a hole saw is to insert a wood plug in the existing hole. That let's you use the normal hile saw with a pilot drill/hole in the plug
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Old 07-19-2020, 07:20 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by O C Diver View Post
There is a technique where you double stack hole saws on a single mandrel. The smaller hole saw acts as a guide in the existing housing hole. The larger hole saw cuts the desired hole. In this situation, you're basically boring out the plastic housing to reuse the hole. Obviously there will be some cleanup of the remaining 5200 in, and on both top and bottom surfaces of the hole. Likely a drum sander on a drill would clean out the hole.

I don't see you removing the plastic housing in one piece, if bedded with 5200.

Ted
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Old 07-19-2020, 10:25 PM   #17
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It ain't gonna be easy no matter how you attempt to remove the old one. Just think twice to avoid getting in over your head. Leaving the old one intact, abandoned and cutting a new hole is simple, straightforward and unlikely to create any new issues. If you decide to try and remove the old one be prepared to have the boatyard fiberglass dept to step in just in case. I truly wish you luck whatever you decide to do.
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Old 07-19-2020, 10:26 PM   #18
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I cut the old one out with a mutlitool.
I then used coarse grit on DOA sander inside and out to smooth surfaces and remove 5200.
Then a dremel to smooth out edges of hole.
Reglassed to build up thickness and to ensure core was sealed.
Sanded, recut hole, and reinstalled with 4200.
Holes were similar in size.

No problem leaving old one in and cutting new hole. Just make sure edges are sealed with epoxy to protect core and laminations.

I would not epoxy in-hull for a fishfinder. Fine if you just want depth but shooting through fiberglass will lose some resolution.
OP said it was a depth finder not a fish finder.
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Old 07-19-2020, 10:29 PM   #19
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I really don't believe this is so hard or time consuming as to be worth making another hole in the boat. Cut it in a small few places longitudally with a hacksaw or multitool, take it out in pieces, clean it up, and reuse. It is just time and effort, not brain surgery.
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Old 07-19-2020, 11:11 PM   #20
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OP said it was a depth finder not a fish finder.
No, OP wants to install a fishfinder. He is removing a depth transducer.
"I need to remove it to replace it with at 2 inch fish finder."
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