Carver Owners Forum

Good morning
On the bottom of my boat I have this sensor? Anyone know what it might be? The wire coming off of it looks like a radio antenna wire or RCA cable.

Thank you

That's a transducer used for a depth sounder. The only sounders that used that type of connector back in the day that I know of were the old flasher type sounders/fish finders commonly used and pretty much the only option back then for recreational boating/fishing. Pretty sure flashers are still available today though I don't know why one would prefer it over a graphic display unit except for the price point.

Datamarine also used an RCA connector for their transducer for their digital depthsounder.

I guess I know the answer but could I pull this one and mount a modern thru hull for my fishfinder?

The short answer is yes. You might have to do some extra work if the hole is a different size from that of the new one though. The other thing you might want to consider is just leaving that one there and install a transom mounted unit which is perfectly acceptable for a sterndrive application which I think is what you have. It's an easy install.

If you're going to put a new one in the same spot, figure out the angle of the hull at that location and get a ducer that's designed to work at that angle without having to use a fairing block which you'd have to cut on an angle to match the hull. It might be a little more expensive but will save you time on the installation, and it will sit flat on the hull rather than having a block there that could cause drag.

I agree with putting one on the transom with your boat. Leave the old one there if no leaks/rot etc.

One other to consider is a shoot thru the hull type.....many ways to do that that work just fine unless you want to see the bottom over 1000'..... and bonus no holes.

The shoot thru ducer is fine as long as it's a solid hull with no core which I'm not sure about on this particular vintage build. It can be done but you should remove the core and replace it with glass/resin for best performance.