Transducer mounting

Hey guys, lookin for ideas on mounting the transducer for a fish finder. Is there a submursible type transducer you can get?. Any ideas or internet resources would be appreciated. Thanks

In general, the transducer that comes with the fish finder will work fine.  Most kayak anglers mount the transducer to shoot through the bottom of the kayak hull.  There are two basic schools of thought on moutning a shoot-thru transducer.   

1.) Old School.. use some Marine Goop lay down a nice bead press the transcuder into it and make sure you have no bubbles.  Set a weight on top to hold it in place and let it dry.

2.) New School... cut out a hole in some closed cell foam that just fits the transducer, glue the foam to the bottom of the inside of you kayak.  Once it's dry you add some water to the little cup you just made and then place the transducer into the cup.

I've heard good things about the "new school".. you can move your transducer between kayaks if you have more than one, and the signal is supposed to be better.

I personally like the "old school" because I don't have to deal with the water and setting up my transducer everytime I take the kayak out.

There are some good how-to posts on the web for both of these methods.  Try searching http://www.ncka.org or http://www.kayak4fish.com, two California kayak angling websites that have a ton of info.

Brian

Over time the old school method can degrade.  I have black stripes for the first 5 feet of water on a couple of goop jobs that are 1 year old.  Upon inspection I see some bubbles and the material is more opaque now.  So I plan on popping them out and giving the new school a try.

-Allen

When I installed the transducer in my Outback earlier this year, I found this link very helpful:

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/articles_view.asp?Kayak_Articles=39

What I ended up doing was scuffing up the inner hull of my Hobie just behind the mirage drive mount with a piece of sand paper.  I cleaned the area with alcohol, and then let it dry.

While that was going on, I cut a 6" x 4" piece out of some closed cell foam I had laying around.  I then put my transducer against this foam and marked out it's shape, then carved out a slot matching it using my swiss army knife.

I then applied marine goop to the bottom of this foam and stuck it against the kayak hull in the area I had roughed up.  I placed some weight on top of it and let it set up for 24 hours.

I then came back the next day and applied some silicone-based caulking into the slot in the foam (being careful not to create any air bubbles in it), then put my transducer down into the slot, and pressing it against the hull.  Put more weight on top of the whole thing, then let it sit 48 hours.

The finished project looks a lot like this one:



It has been in place since May, and has worked very well for me (roughly a dozen trips on it).  I installed a Scotty socket on the left side of my kayak just in front of the forward molded-in rod holder, and put my fish finder there.  I have the wiring running  through a hole drilled there, and I use a plastic "through-the-hull" fitting a got at Fishermen's Marine to seal it all up nice and tight.  I've been meaning to take a picture and post it, but haven't gotten around to it.

Allen, both of my old school mounts have lasted 3+ seasons with no problems.  Maybe you just need to work on your gooping technique.

ThreeWeight, thanks for posting about you "new school" mount.  I was too lazy to describe it in detail or even hunt down a link.

Brian

I guess mine is a hybrid of "new school" and "old school".  I went with the foam because I was worried about the transducer slipping and sliding around while the adhesive was setting (I had a couple false starts).  For setting the transducer itself, I went with the silicone caulking based on the theory that even when cured it would be fairly soft and less likely to peel/crack than marine goop, plus it would be easier to pull the transducer out and re-do the whole thing if I needed to.

Allen, both of my old school mounts have lasted 3+ seasons with no problems.  Maybe you just need to work on your gooping technique.

Maybe you need to fish more ... 

I'm not saying it's broken, just that I can't see the top 5 feet of water clearly, something you usually don't look at anyway.  The gooping technique looks fine initially for the first few months.  I'm suspecting heat/cold cycles somehow "age" the goop.

-Allen

I have the old school set up in my Outback and the new school in my Xfactor. I did the new school because I went to BAM and get the new yak and wanted to set up my FF right away to fish that day. The great scwafish @ GWKC did the set up w/ a noodle gut perpendicularly and then cut the silhouette out in the middle. Sanded the bottom of the yak, cleaned and gooped it down.

It's worked flawlessly so far and the trans fits so tightly that no water escapes even when it's flipped over. I haven't even messed w/ it for the last 3 trips. They both seem pretty comparable to me.

Z

Maybe you need to fish more ... 

No kidding...  I did however manage to get out to Lake Sonoma one last time on Sunday morning and I did my last abalone dive about a week ago.

Brian

Maybe you need to fish more ... 

No kidding...  I did however manage to get out to Lake Sonoma one last time on Sunday morning and I did my last abalone dive about a week ago.

Brian

Nice one. Are you thinking of continuing diving up in OR?

Z

Mine's been stuck with goop for 10+ seasons (why yes, I am the original OG) and it works great. and yes, I need to fish more. All that said, my new new school is no goop at all. I cut a transducer shaped divot in the end of a short length of pool noodle. Jambed it under the seat and the pressure from the foam holds it in place. Initially I tried it just to test it out before gooping it, but it worked so well that I left it. Its also completely removable. 

Nice one. Are you thinking of continuing diving up in OR?

Z,

I may dive in OR for abs, but I haven't a clue where they are to be found.  Seems like there are long stretches of sandy beaches which to me doesn't exactly say "abs live here".  Maybe southern OR?  It'll be an adjustment going from 3 abs a day and 24 for a season to 1 a day and 5 for the season.  I may give it a try anyway just because.

Brian

Nice one. Are you thinking of continuing diving up in OR?

Z,

I may dive in OR for abs, but I haven't a clue where they are to be found.  Seems like there are long stretches of sandy beaches which to me doesn't exactly say "abs live here".  Maybe southern OR?  It'll be an adjustment going from 3 abs a day and 24 for a season to 1 a day and 5 for the season.  I may give it a try anyway just because.

Brian

**Threadjack Alert**
How about getting into spearfishing? I've been thinking about continuing to pursue it up here.

Z

All that said, my new new school is no goop at all. I cut a transducer shaped divot in the end of a short length of pool noodle. Jambed it under the seat and the pressure from the foam holds it in place. Initially I tried it just to test it out before gooping it, but it worked so well that I left it. Its also completely removable. 

So no water or goop is needed?  Just the transducer to lay flat against the hull?  Seems like an awesome setup

Or if you're like Spot, just fill your hull half full of water, and then the 'ducer is definitely not seeing any air bubbles.