A few questions regarding Ariels -- what's level -- depth sounders.
Spent some time tearing out the old Icebox, and being winter with a nice heater in the Ariel, I started to think of a few things I'd like to change around, but have a few questions....
Did search, but all the terms I used came up with so many results I was just as lost.
1
With the Ariel, can any interior part can be regarded as being 'level' when floating? side berths, counter, v-berth, sole? Asking because she has two inclinometers installed, and while both agree to a reasonable extent (both on same side of zero, and neither over 1) they don't agree with anything I can check, and nothing else agrees with each other.
2
any chance of finding a depth meter that works with the original transducer?
3
I really hate through hulls, I've found one post on installing cockpit drains that are routed to the transom or counter, but all I could see is some tubes heading aft.
Never had the Ariel in the water so I have no idea how the cockpit sole sits when floating, is it sloped towards the bow, or can I just plug the original drains and drain through the aft bulkhead into the outboard well?
I figure most of these questions would be obvious to anyone who's owned or sailed an ariel or commander, but, mine was purchased shortly before fall.
Thanks
Ken.
Shoot Through Hull Transducer
SJ23 Tech Tip E05 - Depth Sounder Installation, Shoot Through the Hull [google]
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/23..._tips/e05.html
For oil immersion housing many people have adapted a threaded pvc pipe coupling and a threaded plug. Or a threaded cleanout.
If the cleanout pipe after carving for the slope of the hull is not deep enough then a threaded pipe with a threaded cap might be adapted.
Probably best if the transducer itself is installed absolutely flat in the housing:
Taking an idea from the techtip:
You have to remove all gunge and paint from the shoot-thru site - down to green fiberglass. You can then get some idea if there is air trapped in the laminate and find a good solid spot.* Then create a dam and pour on epoxy to make a deadflat 'waterline' level.** Putting a cleanout on solid flat ledge would then be easy, and if the ledge is oversized might allow a little moving around room to find the sweet spot (using the bag of water trick - also mentioned on the SJ23 page.)
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* if you choose a place for the transducer that is over tabbing done when furniture and bulkheads were glued in, you likely could find bubbles or plain slapdash laminations. Pearson used roving for layup and tabbing which can entrap small dots of air.
**Creating a flat ledge in an A/C hull is problematic. You may have to do two or three pourings to avoid heat buildup. Getting epoxy hot creates bubbles. My choice would be a good quality 100% solids laminating epoxy. The thinner stuff won't trap bubbles.
imco.