My boat ran aground :-(

[Jackyhosailing]

My boat ran aground on today , please don't ask me why but I can tell you one of the reason is my transducer don't work, may be it sitting on bunk when my boat on trailer. Hauled out my boat checked the bottom Seem doesn't have big damage ,only small scratch close by rear of the keel. Also, it looks like some white sealant come off from that 3 bolts holding the rudder skirt (right in front of the skirt anode)

My question is that 3 bolts all cover with sealant or cap with sealant ? The propeller and the rudder looks ok , anything I should put attention ? Moreover , it look like I have Garmin Airmar P79 in hull transducer and it is not recommend for cored fiberglass hull that why my sounder sometime work but most of time doesn't work?
Thank you.

 

[Irish Mist]

Sorry to hear you ran aground. You should keep an eye on your charts ,and avoid areas that are less then double your required depth. By the time your depth sounder lets you know it's too shallow it is usually too late if your going any speed. The hulls of your ranger are not cored. They are solid fiberglass . Most likely your transducer has come loose and needs to be re attached. If there is any air under it it will not work. If you can reach it and it is loose at all you will need to remove it and re glue it in a bed of epoxy. I am not familiar with the screws you speak of so I am no help with that, but you will have lots of replys soon
Mark

 

[Stevan47]

Hi Jackyho.....: Don't worry to much - more embarrassing things than that happen at sea: I can vouch for that personally! One small thing: you may care to check that the plastic vessel(cup device) your transducer is in has sufficient fluid (water, glycol, etc) remaining. Without this fluid (the transmitting medium) it will not generate and/or receive a sound wave return. Make sense? Regards, Stevan47 (Rhapsody).

 

[Kenny Marrs]

Hello Jackyhosailing,

We use Bostik 1100 for our sealant. The screw holes should be filled with sealant before the screws are installed.

As for the transducer, I agree with Mark that you should check the installation to make sure the transducer itself is secure.

When you noticed the transducer wasn't reading were the numbers for depth flashing or flat lined? If they were flashing that tells me your transducer is working but can't find the bottom. If the numbers were flat lined that tells me the transducer isn't transmitting. This info will help me a lot troubleshoot what the issue may be.

Thanks,
-Kenny