mounting transducer - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

TJones · 07-11-2013, 08:07 AM

i have a revolution 13 with a hummingbird 898 si . to run the unit i needed a 18 amp battery which i concluded, with my body weight was more weight than the yak could handle . so i switched to what the other guys were using . a lowrance 5 . what is the best way to mount transducer? right now i have it mounted with a soft putty i bought from home depot that remains pliable and does not dry up . i was thinking about mounting doing a wet mount with plastic container . anyone have pictures or suggestions. in the past i have done a wet mount mount with this putty which is pretty good because everything is temporary . thanks for any help . also i will sell the 898 for any reasonable offer .

easyday · 07-11-2013, 08:10 AM

In the innovations thread there is a pretty good write up on how to do a wetound using abs.

bus kid · 07-11-2013, 08:21 AM

I did a wet mount thru the rear scupper on a custom bracket on my revo, i will post some pics when i get off the freeway!

danjor · 07-11-2013, 09:14 AM

Get a flush mount transducer. The look great and on paper should work better.

bus kid · 07-11-2013, 10:30 AM

here you go.
2013-02-17_12-49-12_368.jpg

2013-02-17_12-42-57_965.jpg

2013-02-17_12-47-17_296.jpg

2013-02-17_12-48-12_112.jpg

2013-02-17_12-49-00_489.jpg

more to follow still downloading to my tablet from the cloud

bus kid · 07-11-2013, 11:03 AM

last 2
2013-02-17_12-07-27_260.jpg

2013-02-17_12-47-46_965.jpg

It works great,I just have to be mind full of when I slide the hull along the bed extender to load and unload.

MrPatrick · 07-11-2013, 07:10 PM

Put a spacer between the nut and the kayak. This lets the scupper do what it is supposed to do. I cut the corner of a heavy duty plastic hanger so there is a lot of contact between the the hanger corner and the nut for the transducer mount. It drains slower but doesn't swamp in the surf.

Jimmyz123 · 07-11-2013, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJones

i have a revolution 13 with a hummingbird 898 si . to run the unit i needed a 18 amp battery which i concluded, with my body weight was more weight than the yak could handle . so i switched to what the other guys were using . a lowrance 5 . what is the best way to mount transducer? right now i have it mounted with a soft putty i bought from home depot that remains pliable and does not dry up . i was thinking about mounting doing a wet mount with plastic container . anyone have pictures or suggestions. in the past i have done a wet mount mount with this putty which is pretty good because everything is temporary . thanks for any help . also i will sell the 898 for any reasonable offer .

Why change the mount that you have? It works great and won't move? You'll get correct readings and you're good to go. I personally love the Electrical Putty install the best. I just purchased a DI/SI system and so I need to put the transducer in the water or I would keep using the putty installation.

TJones · 07-12-2013, 06:43 AM

will not degrade the signal much if at all ? that is my only concern . one other good method which might be better is using the putty to build a well around the transducer and putting water inside the well . have you figured out how you are going to mount the s/i transducer in the water ?

captnblood34 · 07-12-2013, 07:13 AM

DUCT SEAL, its cheaper than a sabiki. Look under the share your innovations tab and you will see various versions of ducer mounts. Mine is the Tarpon 120 (mango) with the duct seal bowl mount as you suggested. Apparently the shaped bowl with water in it is not necessary. It was explained to me once but I forgot..... Good luck.

J

TJones · 07-12-2013, 07:35 AM

just leave it the way it is, dry mounted with duct seal?

StinkyMatt · 07-12-2013, 08:20 AM

I ran a goop install for 9 months.

A water well in the hull for almost two years.

A putty in the hull for for over6 months.

Same kayak and FF. The only variable was the install of the ducer.

Based my observation of all three intallations with fairly controlled variables over a period of three years I conclude that the water mount is superior in performance to the other two.

steveooo · 07-12-2013, 08:33 AM

My thoughts on the transducer, although this topic has been covered pretty extensively.

The best possible location for a transducer is in the water. That will give you the best readings.

If you can't do that, you will want it to shoot through the least amount of material as possible.

Transducers will not shoot through air. Any material that has bubbles in it, or has the chance of a bubble getting under it will degrade the signal to some extent. How much it degrades the signal is up for debate. IMO we make a bigger deal of it than it really is. Prior to my current install, I used Marine Goop on several kayaks. Every Gooped transducer I would pull up to transfer to another kayak, had little tiny bubbles. I also got great readings from those transducers, dispite all the bubbles. I was able to see small jig heads and track them to the bottom in 100 feet. I wasn't exactly using the best fishfinders on the market either.

If directly in the water isn't an option, I think you will have good results with whatever method you use (wet mount, goop, putty) unless you have a very large air bubble under the 'ducer.

I get good results in my current install, but if someone doesn't want to cut a big hole, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Goop install done properly, because I've seen how well it works.

Jimmyz123 · 07-12-2013, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJones

just leave it the way it is, dry mounted with duct seal?

You don't need water around it at all. I have used the Duct seal install on 5 different FF and it's worked perfectly on each one. I even dropped my Kayak off the top of my SUV 2 times and the ducer never moved, wasn't too good to do to the kayak or Ducer, but they both lived.

Jimmyz123 · 07-12-2013, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJones

will not degrade the signal much if at all ? that is my only concern . one other good method which might be better is using the putty to build a well around the transducer and putting water inside the well . have you figured out how you are going to mount the s/i transducer in the water ?

I built a temporary setup similar to what Andy is using until I can buy the Pelican box and the Ram mount setup. It works, it's not pretty right now, but it will work until I get the other setup.

07-11-2013, 08:07 AM	#1
TJones Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 2,523	mounting transducer i have a revolution 13 with a hummingbird 898 si . to run the unit i needed a 18 amp battery which i concluded, with my body weight was more weight than the yak could handle . so i switched to what the other guys were using . a lowrance 5 . what is the best way to mount transducer? right now i have it mounted with a soft putty i bought from home depot that remains pliable and does not dry up . i was thinking about mounting doing a wet mount with plastic container . anyone have pictures or suggestions. in the past i have done a wet mount mount with this putty which is pretty good because everything is temporary . thanks for any help . also i will sell the 898 for any reasonable offer .

07-11-2013, 08:10 AM	#2
easyday Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Oceanside Posts: 1,469	In the innovations thread there is a pretty good write up on how to do a wetound using abs. __________________

07-11-2013, 08:21 AM	#3
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	I did a wet mount thru the rear scupper on a custom bracket on my revo, i will post some pics when i get off the freeway! __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

07-11-2013, 10:30 AM	#5
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	here you go. 2013-02-17_12-49-12_368.jpg 2013-02-17_12-42-57_965.jpg 2013-02-17_12-47-17_296.jpg 2013-02-17_12-48-12_112.jpg 2013-02-17_12-49-00_489.jpg more to follow still downloading to my tablet from the cloud __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

07-11-2013, 11:03 AM	#6
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	last 2 2013-02-17_12-07-27_260.jpg 2013-02-17_12-47-46_965.jpg It works great,I just have to be mind full of when I slide the hull along the bed extender to load and unload. __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

07-11-2013, 09:14 AM	#4
danjor Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Riverside CA Posts: 673	Get a flush mount transducer. The look great and on paper should work better.

07-11-2013, 07:10 PM	#7
MrPatrick Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Waiting to launch Posts: 1,381	Put a spacer between the nut and the kayak. This lets the scupper do what it is supposed to do. I cut the corner of a heavy duty plastic hanger so there is a lot of contact between the the hanger corner and the nut for the transducer mount. It drains slower but doesn't swamp in the surf.

07-12-2013, 06:43 AM	#9
TJones Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 2,523	using the putty will not degrade the signal much if at all ? that is my only concern . one other good method which might be better is using the putty to build a well around the transducer and putting water inside the well . have you figured out how you are going to mount the s/i transducer in the water ?

07-12-2013, 07:13 AM	#10
captnblood34 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Otay Posts: 704	DUCT SEAL, its cheaper than a sabiki. Look under the share your innovations tab and you will see various versions of ducer mounts. Mine is the Tarpon 120 (mango) with the duct seal bowl mount as you suggested. Apparently the shaped bowl with water in it is not necessary. It was explained to me once but I forgot..... Good luck. J

07-12-2013, 07:35 AM	#11
TJones Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 2,523	bowl with water is not necessary ? just leave it the way it is, dry mounted with duct seal?

07-12-2013, 08:20 AM	#12
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,168	I ran a goop install for 9 months. A water well in the hull for almost two years. A putty in the hull for for over6 months. Same kayak and FF. The only variable was the install of the ducer. Based my observation of all three intallations with fairly controlled variables over a period of three years I conclude that the water mount is superior in performance to the other two.

07-12-2013, 08:33 AM	#13
steveooo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,921	My thoughts on the transducer, although this topic has been covered pretty extensively. The best possible location for a transducer is in the water. That will give you the best readings. If you can't do that, you will want it to shoot through the least amount of material as possible. Transducers will not shoot through air. Any material that has bubbles in it, or has the chance of a bubble getting under it will degrade the signal to some extent. How much it degrades the signal is up for debate. IMO we make a bigger deal of it than it really is. Prior to my current install, I used Marine Goop on several kayaks. Every Gooped transducer I would pull up to transfer to another kayak, had little tiny bubbles. I also got great readings from those transducers, dispite all the bubbles. I was able to see small jig heads and track them to the bottom in 100 feet. I wasn't exactly using the best fishfinders on the market either. If directly in the water isn't an option, I think you will have good results with whatever method you use (wet mount, goop, putty) unless you have a very large air bubble under the 'ducer. I get good results in my current install, but if someone doesn't want to cut a big hole, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Goop install done properly, because I've seen how well it works.