Kayak Thru Hull Transducer

[peguinpower]

Originally Posted by buki

penguinpower,

do you get a better picture and depth reading with the new install?

i have an eagle cuda that stops working when i'm at depths greater than 125' and i suspect it's the transducer install that is causing this.

thanks in advance.

I'll let you know after this weekend when I do sea trials. my old gooped install saw all the way to 800 feet. the reason I am doing this is the get better pics on the screen. how useful that is, is a personal preference.

I am not the first to do this. Jim Day did his first and a few other guys confirmed that the OK scupper mounted fish finders perform much better than internal installs.

regarding if my tx fit in this tx. its a whole new transducer I had to buy. if you have a new Humminbird FF, send the OG transducer to the company and they will exchange it for free.

again, I do not recommend that anybody else does this. its all up to your skills and if you want a better performing FF.

[buki]

Originally Posted by peguinpower

I'll let you know after this weekend when I do sea trials. my old gooped install saw all the way to 800 feet. the reason I am doing this is the get better pics on the screen. how useful that is, is a personal preference.

I am not the first to do this. Jim Day did his first and a few other guys confirmed that the OK scupper mounted fish finders perform much better than internal installs.

regarding if my tx fit in this tx. its a whole new transducer I had to buy. if you have a new Humminbird FF, send the OG transducer to the company and they will exchange it for free.

again, I do not recommend that anybody else does this. its all up to your skills and if you want a better performing FF.

I saw Jim Day's post and it got me interested. After seeing yours, I'm seriously thinking about doing this. Your install is much simpler and looks like something I can do. I already have a kayatank and this isn't a big change for me.

Thanks for the info on the Humminbird. I was going to ask about that. I cracked the LCD on my Eagle Cuda a few weeks ago and I may have to swap it out for a Humminbird.

Thanks.

[dorf]

Looking at your install I have a couple of questions.
1. Is that caulk inbetween the transducer and the bottom of the hull?
2. Is that a rubber gascic on the inside? If so wouldn't it be better served on the outside?
Transducer.JPG

I do not mean to come accross as critical to you installation. I have no experiance what so ever. Just wondering. I think that your install is very nice and maybe, one day, I will venture to make a simular modification.

Thanks for your post.

Paul.

[MVC]

I have a prowler 13 and a Hummingbird fish finder and I noticed a hugh difference when I mounted the transducer through the scupper hole. Do you think that since your transducer is mounted to the bottom of the kayak that it may get damaged if you drag it across the sand?
Will Hummingbird swap out old transducers for through the hull units?

[peguinpower]

Originally Posted by MVC

I have a prowler 13 and a Hummingbird fish finder and I noticed a hugh difference when I mounted the transducer through the scupper hole. Do you think that since your transducer is mounted to the bottom of the kayak that it may get damaged if you drag it across the sand?
Will Hummingbird swap out old transducers for through the hull units?

answer:

Its a 2 almost 3 year old kayak. I surveyed the bottom and have come to the conclusion that most of the abuse is on the bow and stern tips. The TX is metal ringed plastic. I am not very concerned except when I drag the kayak over a dock's edge. On such occasions, I will be carefull. I hardly do any dock launches anyway.

BTW, when I drag my yak on sand, I lift one end. Most of the time, only the first foot from the stern gets dragged on the sand. I also avoided mouting the TX where I put my cart.

No, Humminbird wouldnt take my old transducer.

/bing

[Billy V]

Let us know how it works out for you.

-----------------------
For what its worth....
On my last Hobie kayak I used Marine Goop to mount the transducer. It worked ok to find bait, and provided barely acceptable readings up to 200 ft.
You will not know if you have trapped air bubbles until you remove the transducer. I was careful during my installation, but the goop cures too fast and traps air bubbles.

The slow cure epoxy stays fluid and allows any trapped air bubbles to rise to the top and dissipate.

When I removed it at the time of sale I found this:

-----------------------
On my new Hobie kayak I used a slow cure epoxy to mount the transducer. The difference in performance was remarkable. I can follow my iron to the bottom easily. I can also see it clearly with the slightest movement of the rod tip.

I regularly compare to my FF to a friends (Jason), who uses an in hull mount, with the transducer mounted in a foam compartment and immersed in water. Our readings seem the same.

Jason has since mounted his transducer using slow cure epoxy. We'll let you know if there is any difference after its tested out next week.

[peguinpower]

I was aware that epoxy and a real shoot thru hull transducer would work. But considering that Lowrance has a disclaimer that shooting thru the hull would weaken the FF signal and degrade arches, I opted to go whole hog.

Also, if I used a real polyethylene epoxy like poly-welder

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=435&

there is no removing the transducer. EVER

/bing

[T Bone]

My cuda 250 wont read deeper than 350-400ft or so.I have my Trans. sitting in water inside a little open bottom cup siliconed inside the hull.I know I am not dealing with bubbles.I still like the idea of being outside the hull.

[peguinpower]

Originally Posted by dorf

Looking at your install I have a couple of questions.
1. Is that caulk inbetween the transducer and the bottom of the hull?
2. Is that a rubber gascic on the inside? If so wouldn't it be better served on the outside?
Attachment 975

I do not mean to come accross as critical to you installation. I have no experiance what so ever. Just wondering. I think that your install is very nice and maybe, one day, I will venture to make a simular modification.

Thanks for your post.

Paul.

answers:

1) It is 3M 5200 thru hull sealant - marine and underwater application rated. it is only on the lip of the transducer and on a small canal that is on the threaded body, where it meets the hull. I was unable to take pics of the glue application as I was not sure how much time I had to work with the Fast Cure stuff that I was using. What you see there is what got squeezed out when I turned down the nut.
2) the rubber gasket is on the inside. yes, i initially thought it would be best to put it on the outside, but the manual that came with the transducer recommends specifically a 1/16th bead of marine sealant on the outside lip and a 1/32 bead of the same on the threaded body where it meets the hull. the gasket is pressed on by a hand nut which you bolt bolt down snug, not tight. If you think of it, this set up makes it serviceable. otherwise, the gasket will be ruined by the sealant when removed.

I would be proud to say I thought of this stuff, but actually its all thought out by the manufacturer and they give very specific instructions on how to mount it. Personally, I think they know more than I do about these matters, so I followed it to a T, including very specific instructions on how to handle and use 3M 5200 (no alcohol based solvents for cleaning surfaces and clean up after installation)

/bing