29 OUTLAW

I also read a long time aqo that they will not work thru any cored hulls, not just balsa cored. The hull must be pure fiberglass. I don't know of any builders who do not use cored hulls (perhaps Cig., I 'm not sure). At any rate, the 5 or 6 times I have used mine, it seemed to work fine. I simple don't use mine. The depth of the river where I boat can go from 100+ feet to 10-11 feet and back to 100+ feet within a span of a 100 yards. I would go nuts if I rode around watching the depth gauge all the time. I just happen to know the river and use the markers to stay out of trouble.

My Donzi had a transducer that was mounted to the outside of the hull and I hated it. It was the kind that would "break away" and flip up if it met resistance. The only problem was that 55mph was enough to flip it up and once up, it would not flip back down by itself. It has to be manually reset. It was basically worthless.

Also - I like to keep my transom snow-white and rust-free. More crap mounted to it just makes that harder.

Baja232

ok,

I called the service department at 2 baja dealers today, Dick Simon Marine (southern Cal) and Beaverton Marine (Oregon) and they both told me that they mount depth guages with shoot thru hulls all the time on Bajas, and never have a problem. They claim that I do not have a balsa core and suggested that I mount it right on the flat spot next to the bilge pump. They both said it's an easy job and said to just do it myself) (I'm going to pay for a shop to do it for me, as I'm afraid to cut the 2 inch hole into the dash)

Anyway, The mechanic at Dick Simon said he does it all the time and has never had a problem. I told him 'that i heard from some people' about the cored hulls etc. etc. and he said not to worry, and I would love the result of the Gaffrig guage I bought.

So there you go........If Baja dealer mechanics don't know, then I'm not sure who would.

(I may still run the question by the Baja factory on Monday)

thanks for everyones help

Red Stripe

I added one to my boat a couple of years ago. I bought the Uniden one with thru hull transducer. I just epoxyed the puck to the flatest part of the hull and it works great. I am not sure if Baja still uses the same materials now as they did back then. Just thought I would let you know.

FBRONCO

The hull should have a spot that is hollowed out inside the bildge area. I have a 95 24 outlaw and it came from the factory with a hollowed out portion of the balsa in the bildge to mount the transducer.

voodoo

I cut out the inner liner and the balsa coring with a Roto-Zip cutter. I merely set the depth at 1/4 for the first cut and went through the inner fiberglass. I then pushed and awl through the balsa to guage the thickness. I set the Roto-zip less than that depth and made another cut. The balsa is lightweight so you can dig it out with a screwdriver. Simply clean the area and epoxy the puck to the bottom. Be sure to completely cover the hole you cut with epoxy. If water hits the balsa it will soak it up and swell.

Baja232

What I'm confused on now is why did the two dealers tell me that I have no balsa coring to worry about, but alot of people here are saying they cut thru the balsa coring????

Does the year of the baja make a difference? I have a '97' 232.

Did they make the hulls differently in different years?

99BOSS272

232,
My buddy just mounted his new depthfinder in his 252. The puck shoots through the floor of the engine bay. He launches Friday so we'll see how it works...

Baja232

thanks,

Let me know how it works out. I'm taking my boat in on the 15th to have my depth guage installed. I've heard it's easy to do myseld, but I'm afraid to screw it up.

RazorRay

You DO have a layer of 3/4" balsa on the bottom of your entire hull. There should also be a "dent" or "dip" in the glass under your engine on the starboard side about the size of a donut. This is where the factory mounts a transducer puck when the customer orders one. When you find this spot all you do is scuff it up real good with some course sand paper and epoxy it in making sure there are no air bubbles or voids. Feel free to call Baja directly. They will get you in toch with someone that will gladly help you.

Baja232

I finally splashed the boat for this season and tried out the new depth guage. I had it mounted on the port side of the engine floor about 8 inches in front of the transom along the bottom stringer. It worked GREAT!!! I was getting readings at all speeds and am glad I finally have one. We were up at Lake Don Pedro (California) and camped and boated and now I know how deep the lake is in parts (50-200 feet) most of the day.

So if there is balsa coring, the thru-hull tranducer didn't seem to care.