A few questions regarding Ariels -- what's level -- depth sounders.

[bill@ariel231]

depth sounder: quote - "any chance of finding a depth meter that works with the original transducer?"

there isn't much of a chance, you will need to find an antique. i wired my original transducer to a period electromechanical depth sounder display i picked up for $1 at the consignment shop. the flasher display was ok, the 'ducer wasn't. Even if you get it to work, the unit will be power hungry and noisy.

a better choice is to spend $100 and get a new thru hull depth sounder (or mount your transducer in an oil filled tube 'glassed to the hull). I went with the thru hull for a better signal, but i've seen some installs with the transducer transmitting thru the hull that seem to work ok in shallow water.


cheers,
bill@ariel231

[John]

In my Commander, I had a mechanical speedlog, and it used a speedometer cable to drive the indicator head. When the bearing in the skeg died, I removed the skeg and glassed over the hole, after grinding it a bit to give me a reasonable bonding surface. I drilled a hole forward in the bilge section just ahead of the mast. It works but I do have to pull it every so often to clean off the stuff. I thought if I needed a depthfinder, I could mount a combo unit there and be reasonably accurate.

Glassing up the hole in the cockpit wall was a bigger job and I have not been able to match the color of the wall.

If you want to go through a flat area, you are looking for something under the berths probably, The issue is that even when motoring, you are not going to be level. In either case you want an area that is accessable and not one that is going to be hit by things being stuffed in a storage area.