Fitting the Transducers
Before installing your Ultraguard transducers, plan out where the best location is for each transducer.
Transducers should be located directly onto the inside (dry side) of the hull’s outer shell. Each
transducer has an effective antifouling radius of five metres on uninterrupted surfaces. Acute angles
and reinforcements can reduce the transmission of the sound waves. For this reason, we recommend
locating transducers in pairs, one on each side of the vessel to ensure that the antifouling effect is not
lessened by the acoustic waves having to pass through the keel of the vessel. Each Ultraguard Master
Series control unit can operate two transducers. If your vessel’s underwater area is longer than ten
metres, you will need to add additional Ultraguard Master Series control panels to protect the entire
length of the underwater hull. For larger vessels and ships, Ultraguard’s AC powered commercial UG
series systems may be more suitable.
If your boat is a multi-hull vessel, you should treat each
hull sponson as an individual hull.
It is best to locate transducers as close as possible to
the halfway point between the waterline and the
moulded keel (not including attached keels, drop keels,
dagger boards etc).
Ideally, we recommend locating transducers away from
any framing there may be on the vessel. The object is to
set up a microvibratory response in the shell off the hull
and this is better achieved by locating the transducer as
equidistant as possible between frames, stringers and
bulkheads.
If your vessel’s hull has a sandwich laminate construction with a foam, plywood or honeycomb core
between an inner and outer skin of GRP/Carbon fibre/Kevlar, then a disk slightly larger than the
transducer head will need to be cut out of the inner skin and the sandwich core. This cut-out should
then be filled with solid resin/fibre laminates ensuring that there are no air gaps created to build a base
for the transducer that allows the transducer to transmit the acoustic waves directly to the outer shell of
the hull.
If the inner surface of your hull has a rough GRP finish that can’t be sanded smooth it may be necessary
to apply a skim of resin to the transducer locations before fitting the transducers. This is done to avoid
air gaps between the transducer head and the hull. This is extremely important as air gaps that are
subjected to powerful ultrasonic waves can cause erosion of the surface.
