replacement of speed paddle wheel

[crieders]

has anyone replaced our speed paddle wheels, which keep getting mucked up, with the new ultrasonic variety?

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : I use a spray anti fouling paint that is made for transducers.  It does a fairly good job.  If there is no signal I've found that putting the boat is reverse and giving it some throttle usually "breaks" the wheel free.

A few thoughts

[waughoo]

Though I don't have experience with the transducer you are asking about, I have had otherwise clean and rolling paddlewheel transducer still not work, until I replaced the paddlewheel and bearing shaft.  It was a simple removal of the speed transducer then pull the shaft out, replace both the paddle wheel and the shaft (with new) and put the transducer back in.  This solved a rather intermittent paddlewheel.

[Gary Brockman]

I think I recall that Airmar suggests that you should replace the paddlewheel and shaft every five years.

[Jim Hardesty]

has anyone replaced our speed paddle wheels, which keep getting mucked up

You don't say where you are.  Mucked up could be a lot of things.  Here in Lake Erie the problem is zebra muscles.  I use VC17 bottom paint a very thin paint, I thin it down even more and put a very thin coating on the paddle wheel (removed from boat and transducer).  Works most years.  Some years it quits late in the season, then I remove the transducer, in the water, and clean it up.  It's not as scary as it sounds.  When the transducer is pulled out there is a rubber flapper that keeps most of the water out.  I put a dummy transducer, a plug really, in for the few minutes it takes to clean the paddle wheel.  Get maybe a cup of water in the boat. 
Don't know if you have the same set-up or if you still have the OEM plug. 
That's what I do.  Not a recommendation to pull a transducer that hasn't been pulled for a long time while the boat is in the water.
Jim

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I believe that all Knot Log boat speed transducers originally with a dummy plug.

You just have to be fast on removing the real one and putting in the dummy if you are in the water.  I've done it a few times an then sopped up the water - just do it FAST!! 

A thought