Fish finder / transducer installation
Nov 22, 2014 17:15:36 GMT -1
Post by philpot on Nov 22, 2014 17:15:36 GMT -1
Now that the anchor hub is sorted, I needed to fit the fish finder and transducer. On a kayak fitting a transducer is a piece of cake but on a sib it takes a little more thought. I had a spare scupper transducer but not a normal transom mounted model and as I did not want to pay £65 for a new one, I decided to design a mount for the transom of the SIB. Our own Zeb made a nice transducer mount which I confess was the basis for my thought on the subject with a couple of changes to suit both me and the materials I had.
A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of Tarpon rails for a project which got changed so were spare. This would give me a vertical mount offering the ability to adjust position of the transducer and remove it when not in use. I also had a few thumb screw locks from my old Manta Ray kayak which with a bit of sanding down would fit the rails-------------the plan slowly comes together.
Now I needed to fix the scupper mounted transducer to a piece of aluminium angle which in turn could clamp to the track. A little shaping and a quick spray of black paint made it look just about right.
The best glue / fixative I have ever used is Sikaflex so a liberal daubing onto the ali angle will give me a sound base.
I left the Sikaflex to cure overnight. The track was cut down and touched up on the edges with black spray and then mounted on the transom of the SIB
The last part of this aspect of the installation was to finish off the transducer with a few tie straps and a few generous winds of black insulating tape to offer a clean finish.
I wanted flexibility in positioning the fish finder head unit so making use of some plastic sheet I had in the garage ( it is amazing what bits and pieces I find in the garage ) I was able to produce a good base to sit on one of the bench seats in the SIB. Again using kayak fittings, I made a quick and easy base that would be easy to site on whichever seat I wanted.
The whole unit is held in place with hand whipped bungy chord under the seat and onto the base plinth.
The battery will sit in a waterproof bag in the seat bag under the seat out of the way.
Phil
A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of Tarpon rails for a project which got changed so were spare. This would give me a vertical mount offering the ability to adjust position of the transducer and remove it when not in use. I also had a few thumb screw locks from my old Manta Ray kayak which with a bit of sanding down would fit the rails-------------the plan slowly comes together.
Now I needed to fix the scupper mounted transducer to a piece of aluminium angle which in turn could clamp to the track. A little shaping and a quick spray of black paint made it look just about right.
The best glue / fixative I have ever used is Sikaflex so a liberal daubing onto the ali angle will give me a sound base.
I left the Sikaflex to cure overnight. The track was cut down and touched up on the edges with black spray and then mounted on the transom of the SIB
The last part of this aspect of the installation was to finish off the transducer with a few tie straps and a few generous winds of black insulating tape to offer a clean finish.
I wanted flexibility in positioning the fish finder head unit so making use of some plastic sheet I had in the garage ( it is amazing what bits and pieces I find in the garage ) I was able to produce a good base to sit on one of the bench seats in the SIB. Again using kayak fittings, I made a quick and easy base that would be easy to site on whichever seat I wanted.
The whole unit is held in place with hand whipped bungy chord under the seat and onto the base plinth.
The battery will sit in a waterproof bag in the seat bag under the seat out of the way.
Phil