Transducer mounting
 

Hey all just letting everyone know that I used Duct Seal from Home Depot which is basically electricians putty to mount my transducer inside my kayak. It works great and it's clean and easy. It costs about $2.00 and is just like putty. Just put a small 4" x 4" amount or so flatten it down and press you transducer down on it and your done. I know there was a previous post about this a while back but tried it out today with great results! Just thought I would pass it on.

I did the same thing but i pur more duct seal so i just put water once and it doesnt leak out.

So what doesn't leak out?

This is what I did.

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1356834556

Its only leaked once and that was when I went to Mammoth back in August, the change in altitude caused the water to leak out.

Honestly I used putty and that's it. No container and no water. The ducer scans through the putty all that other stuff is unnecessary

This is the only way I will install a transducer from now on. There's nothing to it no mess, and it works as well if not better than all the other mounts. I think the only mount that could be better than electrical putty install is actually in the water through the scupper holes. I'll never use a wet mount, or anything other than the Electrical putty install. Takes about 10 minutes total to install.

The water, you dont put water in the putty?

No water needed, if you're putting water, you're not doing it like I know.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../TrasInst4.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../TrasInst5.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1.../TrasInst6.jpg

I use a sponge to make the form but you don't need that. On my Malibu Kayak I had, I didn't use a frame I put the putty directly on the bottom of the kayak. As you can see in the photos I just placed the putty in the center of the form and smooshed it flat. Then I put the ducer in the form and pressed it down. No water added at any time. I get perfect temp readings, perfect depth readings, and the ducer does not move, even if you drop the kayak off the top of a Ford Explorer, trust me I've done it.

I mounted mine in my new PA like the one below. I made a reservoir using the duct seal / putty...set my ducer in middle...folded putty flaps over to hold ducer in place and filled reservoir with water.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/g...7/100_1729.jpg

Your installation is very much what was done on the video posted below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZ9_C1iKP0

I went off of this video posted by a buddy of mine, John Oast. At the end of the video it looks as though he put water in the sponge but I have not done that with my installs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u1d3_UeD3k

All I know is the Electrical putty install is the easiest and quickes way to install. Best of all, it works.

I did this but put water in there and sealed it with more putty.

I'll agree, the electrical putty method is definitely the easiest with almost no possibility of error when compared to other methods such as the 'goop' install where you have the unforeseen air bubbles issue.
I should also add; the only reason I used this method was because jimmyZ was such an advocate of it......THANKS JIMMY!

I think you might get a general idea of what the water temp is after being out on the water for a while, but I don't know that this would be the ideal method if you are looking for temp beaks, or really wanted an instant accurate temp of where you are fishing. I think it would probably take a while for the hull of the kayak and the putty to adjust to the actual water temp in the spot you are fishing.

Is a degree or 2 difference in temperature that important? Probably not, because the conditions will be what they are and we can't control that. I like being able to have the odds & info in my favor when i get a chance to fish. I'll fish an area whether it is 60 degrees or 64 degrees, but I'll start getting serious about fishing when I see that 62.5 break show up on the sonar, especially when looking for :wsb: in the springtime.

As far as how well the putty actually allows the sonar to work and transmit an image? A pic of a nice :wsb: in your lap, or a couple of these :yt: in your hatch would probably make me start looking at this as the preferred method if it is not possible to get the 'ducer in the water :biggrinjester:

No question that in the having the 'ducer in the water is best. Hobie has the best of both worlds now on the PA 12 and PA 14, allowing the 'ducer to be mounted in the water without any serious modification.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ps1423f4f3.jpg

I like the idea of the putty install. Simple is good. I'm sure if it is the real deal, we'll see a few more guys do this in the future.

Steve

No argument that the best place for the ducer is to be in the water itself. However my feeling is the next best thing is using the electrical putty. Sometimes people are afraid to try new things but when I say how easy and accurate this installation is, I bought into it 100%. One of the toughest things is that many of the scupper hold transducers are an extra $60 or more to purchase, it' worth it for sure, but many of us are on a budget that doesn't allow the extra purchase.

I have to say I love seeing all the ideas people have come up with for installing their equipment.

Been using the duct putty for a LONG time, on several kayaks. It works well and is one of the easiest methods to do, and does not screw up your transducer if you want to keep the transducer when you sell your kayak.

On the other hand, forget accurate temperature readings. Ever feel the "woosh" of hot air that comes out of the kayak when you open a hatch on a hot day? Kinda' like leaving a thermometer on the floor of your car with the windows rolled up and expecting an accurate temperature reading. The contact with the cool plastic hull does not have enough isolation from the warm/hot air inside the kayak, making any temperature reading unreliable.

I'm with Steve, when you go fishing, you go fishing. If you wait for what you believe is the "perfect" temperature you'll frequently be surprised by who caught what when...