Through Hull Transducer Mount Question

[russ498]

I know many of you will considered to be a travesty, but I am about to punch a 2 inch hole into the bottom of my brand-new Pro Angler 14. I don't actually have the boat yet. I am picking up this Friday. I bought a hummingbird 597DI depth finder/GPS. I am told that the down imaging does not work very well shooting through any substance. I would like to reinforce the area around the hole but I don't know what material or adhesive to use.

I was thinking about something along the lines of Plexiglas, but I don't know if it is compatible with the hull material or if there is a suitable adhesive. All ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

[Cliff]

I would never punch a hole into the Bottom of a yak. You could mount the transducer on an arm over the side of yor yak, if the dsi is not compatible with a through hull installation. Some members on this fourm use an arm or other device to keep there transducer directly in the water. I am sure some of them will share their thoughts on the subject. I have a PA 14' and I would never drill into the bottom of my yak.

[Biggrizzly]

I have seen some scupper mounted xducers online. Not sure if they would work in your application or not.

[Redfish12]

I think you'd be better off with the ram ball that screws into the drain plug in the back. Don't drill the hole man, way too much flex in a kayak hole to make any sort of permanent repair with a transducer in the middle. Or just hang it off the back rail.

[ronaultmtd]

Drilling a hole in the bottom of poly plastic hull is not a good idea- even with the nut tightened on the transducer to prevent a leak, the hull is thin and as Redfish points out too much flex to repair.... and a Hobie PA is an expensive kayak to begin with- resale value would be close to nothing

[tufnik]

+3 .....no hole, man, no hole........

[Redfish12]

JFFoley did a nice wet well mount for his to work with sidescan. He used duct seal, you might follow his guide?

[zimm]

this was my solution to the transducer
I used a piece of 1X4 plastic lumber

drew an outline of the puck cut out the interior then carefully cut a 1/4" thick slice creating a pocket that I gooped to the keel under the hatch opening

the puck is a pressure fit into the pocket I just add a little water prior to placing the transducer

a 12v 7ah battery in an ammo box fits snug in the forward hold and I routed the wiring above deck for easy removal when not in use.The two green straws provide a way for any additional water inside the hull to travel around the transducer.

Under no circumstance would I intentionally make a hole below the waterline !

[DOGFISH]

Against all of the other opinions, which are solidly based, I have thought about it myself. The plastic is thin, but it could be supported by use of starboard. There are adhesives such as GFlex and one made by Marine Tex that will adhere to polyehelene and starboard. I would give much thought to the project before attempting to do this type thing. The one problem that I see is that there is not that large of an area on the bottom of the ProAngler, which is actually flat. I have one of the side mounts on my ProAngler as a temporary set up till I find a permanent soloution. I also use the 597. Depending on how you would go about this, you may actually be able to get away with rubber gasket material. I did a similar set up when joining two huge wet-dry fish tank filters. I know your frustration about Humminbird not having a typical through hull transducer for the scupper holes. However, you could make your own through the scupper rig with small PVC pipe and stainless steel all thread. It would use you skimmer transducer that came with your 597. That is going to be my project for next winter. In the mean time I use the Liberator over the side transducer arm, as a temporary fix. The only through hull transducer made by Humminbird right now, for your unit, is the XFM 9 20, which you can find on the Humminbird web site. That one will require you to cut/drill. However, I am leary of that for the reasons that I and others have stated. In the mean time Humminbird may come out with another transducer for us lowly kayak anglers. We seem to be an after thought for the marine electronics industry.

However, with all that said, I would be leary about drilling through the bottom of a new ProAngler. I would maybe experiment with a used, lesser expensive kayak. I thought about the same thing, when I first got my ProAngler, but ruled it out as too risky.

[russ498]

A The plastic is thin, but it could be supported by use of starboard. There are adhesives such as GFlex and one made by Marine Tex that will adhere to polyehelene and starboard.

I am familiar with Marine tex but have never heard of starboard. What is it and where do you get it?. I don't believe there would be an issue with leakage as the transducer has a well-designed rubber seal. My only concern was eliminating excess flexing in the area.

[<MIKE>]

Here is a link to an article about a lowrance transducer scupper mount.
http://www.yakangler.com/articles/ho...-scupper-mount

I'm not familiar with your kayak but maybe you could fabricate something like it or just hang off the side/back or a wet well mount like others have suggested.


Some Kayaks have a recessed area below the scupper hole so that the transducer that DOGFISH mentioned sits flush.

[DOGFISH]

I am familiar with Marine tex but have never heard of starboard. What is it and where do you get it?. I don't believe there would be an issue with leakage as the transducer has a well-designed rubber seal. My only concern was eliminating excess flexing in the area.

The product that I am talking about is not typical Marine Tex. It is a two part epoxy that is made by Marine Tex. Starboard is a plastic, poly or nylon type of marine board. You can do most anything with it that you can do with lumber. You can calk or goop under it also. However, there is alot of flex with the under side of a plactic kayak. The flex is the reason why a good number of cracks in SOT kayaks occur at the scupper holes. I don't think the Lowrance through the scupper hole unit is compaible with the 597, but it is something to look into or into modification of one of those. The area under the scupper is in between one of the pontoon forms and the center of the PA. It is recessed.

Again, please do your research before this type of project. You will void any hull warranty. It may be something you want to do after your boat is out of warranty.

[russ498]

Again, please do your research before this type of project. You will void any hull warranty. It may be something you want to do after your boat is out of warranty.

I actually just found this link on the Hobie site. http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewt...p?f=78&t=42248 The Hobie representative indicates that the warranty is not voided and that the only thing that would not be covered is the hole itself if it leaked. It actually shows where somebody has installed the exact same transducer that I want to install. I just think it would be better to reinforce the area a bit. I am still leaning in that direction.

[HokieDJ]

I see what's he's doing. He's using a Uniseal Bulkhead that I used when drilling glass tanks for aquariums. You can find them online like www.marinedepot.com or at local
specialty aquarium stores. the rubber gasket plus the tightening of the bulkhead should seal it pretty good. The goop is just for insurance since the plastic can bow a little
compared to glass.

Good luck.

[DOGFISH]

I see what's he's doing. He's using a Uniseal Bulkhead that I used when drilling glass tanks for aquariums. You can find them online like www.marinedepot.com or at local
specialty aquarium stores. the rubber gasket plus the tightening of the bulkhead should seal it pretty good. The goop is just for insurance since the plastic can bow a little
compared to glass.

Good luck.

I am glad about the warranty. I have installed several through hull transducers in fiberglass boats. I know, what you are going to do. The only real flex that would be harmful is the movement of the kayak over such things as bunks, racks or hard objects. The actuall flex of the bottom of the Hobie ProAngler may be less than anticipated as it is rounded and pontoon like. Just drill the hole precise and tight to the through hull. I installed two of the Scotty rod holder mounts in a former kayak. Those were the ones similar to the through hull fitting that tighten up just like a through hull fitting. They held up to many a trolling strikes. Again, normal conditions are not generally going to be a problem. It is the loading and moving of a kayak that is different than an actual boat with the through hull. Good luck with your installation. I may not be the best one to talk to, with as many through hull fittings as I have installed and changed out in my days.

I must say, that today was my first use the the Mad Frog Gear, Liberator arm. It is a great alternative.