setting up my hobo transducer mount for my kayak

[Rayman]

G'day,

Looking for some ideas for those better at DIY...

Bought a Humminbird sounder recently, and looking to fit my transducer mount and being a cheapskate about it.

This is the idea I have in my head at the moment, but I'm a little stuck on mounting the transducer onto the PVC.


One option is to mount it from the side


Another option from the bottom


Looking to go with the latter.
Made myself an adapter this morning, and will drill a hole soon to thread the bolt through, but I'm stuck on what sort of resin or sealant (or rubber bung plastic?) I can use to fill the gap so there's little slop in the connection. Don't want it to be permanent like epoxy, maybe something more like a stiff putty.

The other idea I'm thinking is a camera/flash gooseneck attached to the tripod screw you can see in the first image.

[Rayman]

Something like this would also make the install super simple, but $50-60 to buy here... for a metal strap and plastic mount.

and I enjoy the DIY aspect.

[brendon]

I would be looking at scrounging some aluminium flat plate from some where as you will be surprised how much drag even a relatively small diameter pvc tube likethat will cause.
Cheers Brendon

[Slazmo]

Heat up the PVC and flatten or teardrop it to reduce drag and add some lead shot into the bottom of it.

[Rayman]

The photo that would've made the original post make more sense didn't post properly (or at all), but here it is.

Originally, I wanted to fill this in with resin/sealant/putty to give it a tight fit, but seems like that won't be necessary.



Thanks for the tip re: alu flat. If the PVC doesn't work out, might try slotting the top elbow and lower collar to accept an alu flat.

My ideal solution would be the tripod screw + gooseneck solution. Might come in this week from aliexpress...

[Breamingwithjoy]

Make sure you make the it into the rod holder as snug as you can. You don't want that tranny flapping around down there... So to speak.

[Rayman]

Got to test it out today on a boat with the PVC idea. I think definitely too much drag, or at least, it could be less.
Might try some bent alu tube/flat next.

And eventually come full circle and just buy off the shelf haha.

[LBG]

will possibly work as a thru hull? i have seen similar mods to some hobies but using Lowrance units

[Rayman]

Yeah, I can mount it through the scupper holes, but yeah, fear the risk of running over something and damaging it.

Needed something by this Sat and didn't have much or much time to work with, so this bogan job will have to do for now...

[Rayman]

I think this is the final iteration.

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by LBG

will possibly work as a thru hull? i have seen similar mods to some hobies but using Lowrance units

Originally Posted by Rayman

Yeah, I can mount it through the scupper holes, but yeah, fear the risk of running over something and damaging it.

"Thru Hull" means mounting the transducer inside the hull of your kayak. So your transducer is actually inside the kayak and beams through the bottom of your hull. Some blokes stick it down with putty or cover the whole transducer in a block of silicone. Others mount it inside a foam ring so it can be pulled out if necessary

Judging by some of the google images - some blokes have just used a whole pack of blue tack to hold it in place

Its a zero drag option where your transducer cant be damaged.

It might be worth jerry rigging up the transducer with the "thru- hull" method to see if you are happy with the images you're getting on the screen. Then half way through the session switch over to your current method to see if there is a vast difference in the quality of the image.

Because if there is no discernible difference between the 2 images - "Thru Hull" has alot of advantages.

If you do decide to go through hull - read a few of the kayak forum threads on the subject - coz I've heard there are some pit-falls to this method such as bubbles in silicon giving false readings on the sounder screen. But there are ways around those pit-falls

[jb2020]

you dont want an ugly arm hanging over the side - it will get in the way, knocked etc. if you have to go external I would look to put it at the back somewhere, if you have a rear bung that could be used as mounting point

As YD said, alot of guys who dont have transducer scupper holes just stick the tranny to the inside bottom with all clear - check the oz kayak forums for tips - there is a trick to avoiding bubbles - just heat up a bit and pour slowly. the sounders work fine through couple of mm of plastic - you just won't get accurate temp readings. for the cost of a tube of all clear its easy to try out - just make sure you let is cure properly.

[Rayman]

Thanks for the tips.
I did look at installing it inside the hull, but wanted to start from a solution that'd give the best image and then look at other solutions if that didn't work. I also wanted something that I can quickly switch to another kayak or even a boat.

Watched a few youtube vids of people using ductseal to form a water well for the transducer for in/thru hull installations. Looked a bit 'meh'. Have also seen some pretty bad sealant jobs in the past with heaps of air bubbles. But if I do end up going that route, I'll certainly look it up.

Will report back again with time.

[silver]

I looked at doing something similar with the proper arm that Railblaza? makes - it's available from the Hobie stores. Anyway the Hobie guy talked me out of it for the same reasons mentioned.

I was looking to do it for optimal image quality, but have since had the chance to look at others' setups on the water and can't say it makes a big difference. Those little lumps that look like fish are just little lumps on the screen. You don't get sufficient resolution to see the fins! So from what I have observed any detriment to the image quality (if any) should be overlooked in favour of the convenience of thru hole.

[Rayman]

Will try this, and if this fails, will give in hull a go.