Scotty Transducer Mount

[Amish Ed]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

Hey Ed, have you mounted a FF to your Ride yet?

I picked up the last Midnight 135 that Andy had, and now I'm playing with ideas for the transducer. The way I had mine mounted on previous Ride's (keel mount) wont work this time as I'm going to put a rudder on this one.

Yes, I'm using a MFG Micro Liberator w/TDA for the Transducer. On the Trident I had it mounted to a Yakattack gear track, so it fits the Ride no problem. My back is jacked up at the moment, I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.

What happened with the Thresher?

Freddofly, transducer in the water is definitely the way to go. Sounds like you have the FF/battery mounting decided, you just need to decide on the transducer mount. I would venture to say that the space needed for the mount will determine which one you choose.

[FreddoFly]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

Freddofly, transducer in the water is definitely the way to go. Sounds like you have the FF/battery mounting decided, you just need to decide on the transducer mount. I would venture to say that the space needed for the mount will determine which one you choose.

Thanks Ed... I'm not 100% of the FF/battery but leaning that way (portability!).

For the transducer, it's about 6" long and I need a tough mount (I imagine)...

[Amish Ed]

Do you have a pic of the transducer w/the mounting bracket on it?

[FreddoFly]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

Do you have a pic of the transducer w/the mounting bracket on it?

Hi Ed...
Nope not yet. I could toss it together for another picture or two tough so maybe tonight I'll get that done.
Thanks!

[FreddoFly]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

Do you have a pic of the transducer w/the mounting bracket on it?

Hi Ed (All),

Here's the image Ed. I didn't attach the transom mount on this because I think I'll be making a couple of bushings and getting a long SS bolt to go through the whole assembly and onto the end of an over-the-side mount. The bracket isn't heavy at all. SS hardware adds up though... Thoughts?

BTW - The extra threaded inserts in the transducer are for the trolling motor mount option....

@ Dave L: You mentioned "debris" ... Are you referring to the transducer picking up stuff in the water like weeds or debris on the sonar (bad signals or something along those lines)?

Thanks all for your help as I sort this out.

[Dave Legacy]

Yeah, you'll literally pick up strands of eel grass, kelp, etc that will drag like a streamer off the arm. so far it's all migrated up the arm to the surface and hasn't been hard to clear or obstruct signal. Just annoying!

[FreddoFly]

Originally Posted by Dave Legacy

Yeah, you'll literally pick up strands of eel grass, kelp, etc that will drag like a streamer off the arm. so far it's all migrated up the arm to the surface and hasn't been hard to clear or obstruct signal. Just annoying!

Ah - I hear ya Dave. This ought to be fun!

The rotation you mentioned.... How does that occur? Is the rod twisting? The RAM Mount shouldn't be slipping I imagine. Would you fill me in please?

[Dave Legacy]

Originally Posted by FreddoFly

Ah - I hear ya Dave. This ought to be fun!

The rotation you mentioned.... How does that occur? Is the rod twisting? The RAM Mount shouldn't be slipping I imagine. Would you fill me in please?

My ram ball is actually a wedge mount that I put in an existing flush mount rod holder. My theory is that due to the design of the wedge mount, being held in by friction alone, there are many points along the way that allow minor degrees of "wiggle". Add up all those minor bits of "wiggle" and you end up with something noticeable. To be honest if I were to smack the arm on something stationary I would much rather prefer the arm give than my hull having to be the weak point!

It is minor though and I've often thought that if I was using a fixed ball it wouldn't happen. RAM clamps offer a little play though in general if one puts some leverage on them. If you put too much pressure on them they will also permanently indent.

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

Yes, I'm using a MFG Micro Liberator w/TDA for the Transducer. On the Trident I had it mounted to a Yakattack gear track, so it fits the Ride no problem...What happened with the Thresher?

Good call. I totally forgot about that company.

Thresher had a twisted hull. No one is really sure how/why it happened, but of course Andy took care of me and got me into the Ride instead. I liked the Thresher, but I LOVE the Ride (and I better considering it's my fourth Ride I've owned now.... LOL)

[Amish Ed]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

Good call. I totally forgot about that company.

Thresher had a twisted hull. No one is really sure how/why it happened, but of course Andy took care of me and got me into the Ride instead. I liked the Thresher, but I LOVE the Ride (and I better considering it's my fourth Ride I've owned now.... LOL)

That's weird that the hull was twisted. Glad you got into something you love though. I'm loving mine too.

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

That's weird that the hull was twisted. Glad you got into something you love though. I'm loving mine too.

Yeah, super odd and one situation even Wilderness had actually never even seen before. Again, I'm so happy to be back with Wilderness and their service. Malibu was great, but Wilderness is home.

The Ride is such a great platform, I'm glad to see it recreated into the Radar for future use. I'm very comfortable and confident in the Ride. I'm just somewhat concerned about talking it BTB...

[Amish Ed]

Yeah. I think it would launch fine, but I wouldn't want to try and land one in any kind of surf.

[MITCHELL]

I ended up using a ram mount and flat aluminum bar on my cobra hope there's no interference with metal....on a hook 5

[Dave Legacy]

I almost didn't get an over-the-side transducer mount, because of a lot of negative feedback from the various forums. Ultimately I'm glad I took a chance on it, because I haven't found the negatives to be that serious. It does pick up some debris that I will periodically need to clear, but I left my transducer arm a little long and the debris has a tendency to move up toward the surface and clear away from the transducer.

I bent the rod in such a way to allow it to sit very tightly to the hull, and I don't really notice much drag. Since I'm paddling (not gracefully either!), not pedaling, I don't really notice the water noise that some complain about. I also swing it up on deck when I'm getting from point-A to point-B. This works well for traveling on the water, but I undoubtly miss out on noticing stuff I might not want to miss! Obviously one wouldn't want to choose this method of transducer mounting over a hull that has a designated recessed mounting point, but it's a good alternative for those of us who don't have that luxury.

I think the Scotty might have an advantage over the RAM arm if it doesn't have slop/flex in it. My ram mount wants to rotate a bit when underway. It's fine because it rotates into the hull, but the spline system on the Scotty I'd imagine really holds it in place well?

Originally Posted by MITCHELL

I ended up using a ram mount and flat aluminum bar on my cobra hope there's no interference with metal....on a hook 5

A genuine RAM transducer arm is nothing more than an aluminum stock rod with a corrugated plastic cable conduit over it, so I doubt you should have any issue.