transducer mount

[JSmith]

Had a new experience today launching Muskrat- The yard put the slings in the same old spot-but not really.

The forward strap was just forward of the lead shoe/keel and on the way to the slip we noticed the hull was crushed there!

I had the plans and it shows a pocket there for a transducer mount and there was just a thin fairing cover over it. Who woulda thunk it.

Question is the yard was concerned about fiberglass sticking well to the lead keel- the rest is bonded well and after a good cleaning/grinding I would think it would be ok- there are two screw holes in the lead to fasten a cover over it so we might do that as well.

Any thoughts?

[Quetzalsailor]

Wouldn't hurt to brag that Muskrat is a lovely Alden Challenger and its design quirk is probably not all that common.

I'd repair the 'glass so that the keel is again encapsulated (if the encapsulation was compromised and my memory is correct that the ballast is indeed encapsulated).

I don't see where a couple screws into the lead would do any harm. I don't see how/where the wire from the transducer makes its way into the hull. I don't see any problem bonding polyester or epoxy to the lead, given that the lead is nice and clean; I'd probably lap it onto the adjoining 'glass.

If that spot is a handy/obvious place for a Travellift strap, maybe a solid repair and locating the transducer to some less vulnerable place is in order.

[JSmith]

Actually our transdcr is mounted in a different location- this was never used and hidden. I cann't believe in the past it was never crushed. It is the right spot for the strap as it is on a bulkhead inside- guess they never thought of travel lift issues in 1958 when they designed her- only railways in those days.