Transducer Mount!!! Help!!!

 I have read ever article about how to mount a transducer to your kayak. I tried the one where you make a Styrofoam cradle and fill in with Vaseline. But on my test run today it failed to work! So do I use Marine goop or two part epoxy to stick it to the bottom? Or does anyone else have a better idea? I have a O.K. Prowler 13 and a Hummingbird 220 Piranha. Zac

I've never done it but from what i gather Use marine goop, just gotta make sure there is no air bubbles in it.. Fill your pocket with goop press the transducer down firmly and put some weight on it. Let it dry real good. Don't use two part epoxy cause if it doesn't work properly you might ruin the transducer getting it off.

Think of it more as a mold or foam bracket than a cradle.

What I do is mark the outline of my transducer on some 1" flexible foam I have laying around, then cut out the center (where the transducer will go), and cut out enough foam to give me about 1" all the way around the opening.  I rough up the inside of my kayak where I want it to go with sandpaper, then clean the area with alcohol.  I let that dry, then apply a thin layer of Goop to the bottom of my foam "bracket" and stick it to the area where I intend to mount the transducer.  Put some weight on it to hold it in place, and then let it dry over night.

The next day you should then have a foam bracket mounted securely in the hull.  Next apply Goop to the inside of the bracket in a nice even squeeze of the tube.  I tend to put a lot in there, maybe 1/2 depth in the bracket.  I then put the transducer in there, pressing it down firmly and wiggling it a little bit from side to side to squeeze any air bubbles out.  Once that is done, I apply some weight to the top of the transducer and let it sit overnight.

On two different kayaks, this has worked well for me.

Personally, I'm pretty darned happy with my removable xducer mount.  Just cut some closed cell foam to shape, goop the foam in your yak, fill the resulting reservoir with water and put your xducer in.  Voila!

-Mark-

I've had good luck with the marine goop transducer mounts.  However, I recently decided that I like one of my fish finders better than the other and the removable transducer mount Spot speaks of allows me to swap it out and use either kayak with it.  Results seem to be able the same.

Brian

I have pics of the first install in my gallery pics. I think I used to much foam. I could not tell If I had air bubbles in there or not. I might just use goop! But what kind? Zac

better yet, where do ya buy GOOP??

W.R.

There is a product out there that is actually named "Goop" and it's for fixing tennis shoes mostly.  Once it dries, it's not too much different than the marine silicone that we use on our kayaks but I wouldn't use it cause it's a lot stiffer and probably a whole lot harder to get back off of your kayak than marine silicone.

ALSO:  I noticed that no one has ad:ressed the fact that S.C. paddler mentions using styrofoam for his mount instead of closed cell foam.  S.C.P., don't use the styrofoam!  Buy some closed cell foam which is going to be a lot more flexible and will work for your mount a lot better.  Think of the material that pool noodles are made of, or the blue pads for backpacker to sleep on.  That's the stuff that you want.

W.R.:  To answer your question, you can buy the silicone at West Marine here and there across the country and certainly around Seattle.  Or you can buy nearly the same stuff from Kayakfishingstuff.com.

Fishin-T

Fishin-T

kewl, thanx 

WR:

You can find Goop in almost every place that sells hardware (Home Despot, etc.) in the adhesives section. Goop comes in a whole bunch of flavors (Marine Goop, Household Goop, Sports Goop,,,,) but its all the same stuff.
(Here we go again,,) I am the original goop use poster for sticking down a transducer (the post has been lost somewhere in the archives of yakfishing.com)   Mine has been stuck to the bottom of my Cobra XL for 10+ years with a quarter sized dollop of Household Goop (its what I had on hand at that moment) and it still works great!
Lately though in all my other boats, I have been just jamming the transducer down with short length of pool noodle, dry. Works great and totally removable. Try it, and add glue or what ever if you don't like it.

I am the original goop use poster for sticking down a transducer (the post has been lost somewhere in the archives of yakfishing.com)   

   That brings a whole new meaning to the term "O.G."   

You DA MAN Walli!