Installation manual

Transducer location
Boundary water layer
When the vessel forces its way through the sea, the friction
between the hull and the water creates a boundary layer. The
thickness of the boundary layer depends upon vessel speed and
the roughness of the hull. Objects protruding from the hull, and
dents in the hull, disturb the ow and increase t he thickness of
the boundary layer. The ow in this boundary layer may be
laminar or turbulent. A laminar ow is a nicely ordered, parallel
movement of the water. A turbulent ow has a disorderly pattern,
full of eddies. The boundary layer increases in thickness when the
ow goes from laminar to turbulent. The gure below illustrates
the boundary layer of a vessel moving through the water.
(CD17004P)
BAC
Boundary water layers:
(A) = Turbulent ow
(B) = Laminar ow
(C) = Air bubbles in the water
Furthermore, air bubbles in the sea water are pressed down below
the hull and mixed into the boundary layer. The boundary layer
is thin underneath the forward part of the vessel, and increases in
thickness as it moves towards aft. If the sides of the hull are steep,
some of the air bubbles in the boundary layer may escape to the
sea surface along the vessel sides. It is our experience that a wide
and at bottom, with a rising angle less than around 13 degrees,
is prone to giving air problems for the transducer. In any case a
transducer location in the forward part of the hull is p referred in
order to minimise t he inuence of the boundary layer.
Propeller noise
The propulsion propeller is the dominant noise source on most
shing vessels, research vessels, merchant vessels and pleasure
crafts. The noise is transmitted through the sea water. For
this reason, the transducer should be placed far away from the
propeller, which means on the fore part of the hull. Positions
305270/A 7