Permanent Wet Transducer Installation

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by tattuna

How did you attach the transom mount to the inside of the rubber cap? I'm trying this right now and that's the one part I can't figure out. Looks like you used screws?

That is exactly what I did. I screwed the mount to the rubber from the inside and then sealed everything with Goop.

Bob

[Geoffkoop]

Well im almost done with the wet mount setup. Just waiting another day for all the Goop to dry. I have an Eagle/Lowrance FF so i had to go with the 4in pipe as well. It looks like it will work well though and is fairly simple to construct. Ill let you all know when i test it out.

[dtownfan]

dsafety.......i took my hummingbird kayak mount out of the original packaging and fiddled around with it for about 25 minutes and decided to go with a wet mount version very similar to your post. hummingbird's mount just didn't look like the velcro zip-tie they include (to hold the tranny in the cradle of grease) would keep it stable enough for me. so....i made a trip to lowes and have a sweet set-up thanks to your pics and explanations. anyway, before i GOOP her up..........did you do anything to the flex-ible cap? like wipe it with rubbing alcohol or rough it up before applying the GOOP?

[dtownfan]

here are some pics i took after following bob's ideas. thanks again bob! i used a 3 to 4 inch adapter that had a smooth surface (smooth surface where the cap slides on). the 4 inch cap slides on and off easily (just a little space around the cap.....i used a screw driver at lowes to make sure it would tighten down well without distorting the rubber cap and potentially causing leaks or other problems) and with a few cranks of the hose clamp she is/was very snug. there is tons of material on top of the rubber cap for screws or bolts. i used 2 stainless steel bolts with nylon nuts. getting the hummingbird tranny cable through took an extra pair of hands and a flat head screw driver. if you drill a hole for the cable wire and cut the X as bob stated (or a T....i went with a T cut to stay away from the bolts i used) , you can use the screw driver to push on one of the individual triangles and pop her threw. i also drilled a hole in the tranny mount to help the cable wire feed up through the rubber cap near the bolts without being bound or making extra GOOPING. when the cap is on the distance between the bottom of the tranny and the potential surface of the hull has to be an inch or less. again, i looked over bob's work carefully and used as many hints as i could. i have yet to GOOP her up.

I was wondering if anything needed to be done to the cap before GOOPING. like cleaning or roughin up the surface. never sanded this type of material before. any suggestions.

thanks for all the posts! they are VERY helpful!

[Hypoxic1]

Impermanant installation so the entire unit may be removed anytime without having to disconnect the wires from the back of the unit, which can lead to broken pins, and corrosion.
Pelican box with the bottom cut out . a bracket is affixed to the lid which opens easily and can be locked down. The box bottom is cut out. The box is gooped to the bottom of the boat, and the transducer can be placed or removed using a rudder post or cotter pin arrangement.
Drop the transducer in place, the bracket holds it at the proper angle, drop a little water in and voila, you are in business.
cut a slot in the top of the box to allow for the wire to sit without being under any pressure from positioning.
The entire unit can sit in a bag, battery and all, and be placed after clearing the surf.
this transducer is pretty big, but im certain it will work with smaller units.

remove the unit anytime.

[Japanesezero]

has anyone tried using ultrasound gel for this setup? Is there a anti microbial that can be added to the water? I wont want a red tide in my yak.

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by dtownfan

dsafety.......i took my hummingbird kayak mount out of the original packaging and fiddled around with it for about 25 minutes and decided to go with a wet mount version very similar to your post. hummingbird's mount just didn't look like the velcro zip-tie they include (to hold the tranny in the cradle of grease) would keep it stable enough for me. so....i made a trip to lowes and have a sweet set-up thanks to your pics and explanations. anyway, before i GOOP her up..........did you do anything to the flex-ible cap? like wipe it with rubbing alcohol or rough it up before applying the GOOP?

I did not do anything to the cap but wiping with alcohol would probably be a good idea.

Bob

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by Hypoxic1

Impermanant installation so the entire unit may be removed anytime without having to disconnect the wires from the back of the unit, which can lead to broken pins, and corrosion.
Pelican box with the bottom cut out . a bracket is affixed to the lid which opens easily and can be locked down. The box bottom is cut out. The box is gooped to the bottom of the boat, and the transducer can be placed or removed using a rudder post or cotter pin arrangement.
Drop the transducer in place, the bracket holds it at the proper angle, drop a little water in and voila, you are in business.
cut a slot in the top of the box to allow for the wire to sit without being under any pressure from positioning.
The entire unit can sit in a bag, battery and all, and be placed after clearing the surf.
this transducer is pretty big, but im certain it will work with smaller units.

remove the unit anytime.

Nice setup Chris. I like the clear box idea. Is that thing waterproof enough to retain the water when turned upside down for transport or storage?

Bob

[Japanesezero]

I just made one just like dtown fan for my pranamax 170. i used the 3" version of everything he did and it fits like a glove. cant wait for the x-factor to get here so i can install it. gonna goop the top tonight so that its good and cured and then all i have to do is goop in the pvc and im set. took about 15 mins and i was taking my time!

EDIT:
just put 5 minute epoxy on the top to seal in the wires and screws. i ill check it in a bit to make sure the flex of the rubber doesn't pop the epoxy off. i scoured the rubber pretty good with a scratch awe.

Still waiting on hearing about any growth inhibitors in the water. bleach? simple green? isopropal alcohol? vodka?

[Japanesezero]

epoxy was a bad idea. dried quick but with the flex in the rubber peeled right off. had to chip it off the screws.... goop has now settled in and is in the process of drying. horray goop!

[Hypoxic1]

Bob,
no, you cant flip the boat and expect the water to stay. My installation is designed to allow for removal of the transducer, and the entire unit for that matter, after landing, without disconnecting any wires, which leads to corrosion, and broken pins.
earlier someone asked if the HD units needed to be thru hull. The answer is no. I used it for the first time today. worked like a champ. was like watching a movie. And as for detail, I saw my fish, dropped on my fish and brought home a 25-27 lb yellow today.
Thanks to the Darkhorse for teaching me how to use this fine tool today
Chris

[dtownfan]

Originally Posted by Japanesezero

epoxy was a bad idea. dried quick but with the flex in the rubber peeled right off. had to chip it off the screws.... goop has now settled in and is in the process of drying. horray goop!

i am gonna goop this weekend once i have the yak here. i went to home depot tonight and bought the materials to try making the 3 inch version. i could not get the tranny to sit as level as i can with the four inch. anyway, hopefully there will be room in the hull for my "super sized" wet mount.

i haven't found anything about ideas on treatin the water, but i read somewhere that a garmin wet mount called for mineral oil......this is only what i read though.....no idea if it works or what.

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by dtownfan

i am gonna goop this weekend once i have the yak here. i went to home depot tonight and bought the materials to try making the 3 inch version. i could not get the tranny to sit as level as i can with the four inch. anyway, hopefully there will be room in the hull for my "super sized" wet mount.

i haven't found anything about ideas on treatin the water, but i read somewhere that a garmin wet mount called for mineral oil......this is only what i read though.....no idea if it works or what.

I would not worry much about treating the water in the well. A little bleach or pool chlorine every now and then should keep any algae from growing. Even if there is some algae, I doubt that it would be a big deal since the water we fish in often has lots of suspended stuff in it and the sonar still works fine.

Bob

[Japanesezero]

Originally Posted by dsafety

I would not worry much about treating the water in the well. A little bleach or pool chlorine every now and then should keep any algae from growing. Even if there is some algae, I doubt that it would be a big deal since the water we fish in often has lots of suspended stuff in it and the sonar still works fine.

Bob

I will probably still check water levels once a month anyways. Im thinking distilled water and an ounce or two of bleach.

[Geoffkoop]

Originally Posted by Hypoxic1

Bob,
no, you cant flip the boat and expect the water to stay. My installation is designed to allow for removal of the transducer, and the entire unit for that matter, after landing, without disconnecting any wires, which leads to corrosion, and broken pins.
earlier someone asked if the HD units needed to be thru hull. The answer is no. I used it for the first time today. worked like a champ. was like watching a movie. And as for detail, I saw my fish, dropped on my fish and brought home a 25-27 lb yellow today.
Thanks to the Darkhorse for teaching me how to use this fine tool today
Chris

Damn! What kind of FF are you using? I want to watch YT in HD too

[Scuba]

Great Thread! thanks for posting this.

I just got a new Humminbird 325 in the mail yesterday, I can't wait to install it using this technique!

[rayak]

Really great idea there and a handy introduction to this forum for me. I was planning on gooping mine straight to hull this weekend but after stumbling upon this I'm now sold on the wet box idea.
Just for the record my Garmin 400C manual recommends mineral oil.
Thanks Bob and crew.

[Billy V]

Originally Posted by Hypoxic1

Bob,
no, you cant flip the boat and expect the water to stay. My installation is designed to allow for removal of the transducer, and the entire unit for that matter, after landing, without disconnecting any wires, which leads to corrosion, and broken pins.
earlier someone asked if the HD units needed to be thru hull. The answer is no. I used it for the first time today. worked like a champ. was like watching a movie. And as for detail, I saw my fish, dropped on my fish and brought home a 25-27 lb yellow today.
Thanks to the Darkhorse for teaching me how to use this fine tool today
Chris

I just wired up the Lowrance HDS-5 on the skiff with the transducer mounted on the transom. I can't wait to test it out, it reads to 6000 ft. with this transducer.

[rayak]

Sorry guys, gonna drag this thread out just a little longer.
After a bit of help. I'm in Perth Western Australia I've sourced some clear acrylic pipe which will hopefully suit the rubber end cap if i can find one. But that's the problem, I'm having trouble tracking down one of these rubber end caps. Can anyone point me in the right direction. If I can't find one here, i'll try to get one online from up your way.

The acrylic pipe if i do get it, is going for $AUS98 a metre and they want me to buy a minimum of 2 metres which is a bit of a low blow. but if i do go with it i'll probably be able to sell it off on one or two of the local forums.

Thanks again.
Ray

[dsafety]

Rayak,

The rubber cap is a standard plumbing fitting available at most plumbing supply places in the US. Do you have what we call "Big Box" hardware stores in Australia that sell every possible item you can imagine for construction and home projects? If so, you should be able to find what you need in their plumbing aisle.

Someone should make a small business out of this. Buy up a bunch of acrylic pipe, rubber caps and hose clamps. Cut the pipe to the appropriate size, package the components up and sell them as wet transducer mount kits. I bet a lot of people would pay $14.99 for $5 worth of parts, especially if they cannot find the materials locally.

Bob