Failed Transducer install

In my haste to rig and get the trident on the water i half A@sed the transducer install. The i took the Yak of the car today i heard the dreaded rattle and slide of the trans. I guess i did not place enough weight on it during the setup period of 2 days .

I am starting to look at the color hummingbird units and i need to avoid spending anymore money. Oh that would make life easy though

Anyway back to the problem at hand..

So I'm thinking of trying the pool noodle - Vaseline approach and have a couple of questions.

1. did you heat the vaseline and pour it into the foam reservoir or just smush it in there with a spoon
2. How did you avoid bubbles when pushing the trans into the foam reservoir?
3. How much play did you allow for in the foam housing. Is cutout supposed to be tight fitting to the trans?
4. Do you press the transducer all the way into reservoir until it hits the hull or do you leave a layer of vaseline between the trans and the hull?
5. I was planning to make a plug for the top of the reservoir to help avoid the contents from leaking out. Is there any issues with this?

I think that covers my questions. I plan on starting the install next week along with the rod holders on order.

[Redfish12]

Get some of the plumber's putty mentioned on here before. It's a great thing to keep in your ditch bag should something like that happen in the future.

I did the vaseline method and hated it. It might not be as bad in the winter but in the summer that stuff heats up and runs out of the foam or drips when it's upside down. I still have vaseline everywhere inside my kayak I'm pretty sure. I'd goop it again and make sure you clean the kayak area thoroughly to get a good bond. Also, there's no reason you can't make a pool noodle housing for the transducer and use goop instead of vaseline. I used a foam template + goop in my redfish and I got an awesome reading. I could see my fluke at 40+ feet by the rock island in the bb. Pretty cool to watch it bouncing near a fish mark... even it if just turned out to be a false reading.

[Redfish12]

Here's where I heard about it... http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/com...ighlight=putty

[ictalurus]

For my SilGlyde (silicone brake lube) application, I put a nickel-sized dollop directly on the transducer, then pressed the transducer against the hull. That might work with the plumber's putty/vaseline/goop, too.

[mmanolis2001]

Thanks for the link. I'm getting Leary of the goop method. I just can seam to get all the bubbles out of the seal. I just check the goop that failed on my last install and it had several small air pockets. The last install in the tarpon held well but also had the dreaded air bubbles as well. I like the putty idea. I think i will try that next. Its cheap, easy to replace and from the reviews works well.

How sticky is the GB Duct Seal. DS-110? I wonder if this is something i will have to re-seat every trip or will it hold fast for several months?

[HokieDJ]

What does the air bubble do to the FF readings? Not work or put out false readings and how can you tell?

[mmanolis2001]

from what i have gathered on the web the sonar needs a dense medium to transmit and receive signals well. The best solution is immersion in water like most transducers are designed for. Any air bubbles between the bottom of the transducer and water could distort the signal or add noise to it. Does is make a huge difference? I'm not sure because my previous installs had bubbles so i don't know what I'm missing

[Tucked In]

I used the closed cell foam and goop method and have had no problems yet, the hardest part was finding the foam so I took two of the outdoor pads for kneeling on and glued them together then cut out the transducer hole, made it tight front to back and a little roomy on the side for the goop to ooze over.Im getting ready to do a new install on another kayak but have not determined what fish finder to get.

[surfdog]

im using the vasaline method now and its working great. i dont travel upside down so it stays in the sponge nicely and the readings are very clear. i stole my wifes tube and just squeezed it into the cut out, have a spare tube in tool bag.

[Grilled]

I've tried the goop method and I could never get it to work right. I would get false readings and during trips the fish finder would go bazerk with weird lines all over it. I use the vaseline method now. I haven't had any trouble with it. The only bad thing is that it can get very messy if you put a lot of it, and vaseline is not easy to clean out. Just put a little down so it covers the hull, i would say 1/4 full of the foam tube and press the transducer all the way down. Also, the foam tube should be cut so that the transducer fits in snug and tight. It been lasting me a full season, I usually refill the vaseline at the begining of each season. But I agree, it can get very messy if you use a lot and it overflows over the transducer.

[Grady-Black]

I used Silicone in my Malibu, works perfectly!
GB

[surfdog]

i used a cheap 1" thick sponge and siliconed it to the bottom after cutting the trans. hole and used just enough vaseline to go up the side of the trans. about 1/8" so all the vaseline is contained in the sponge. silicone worked well for a while but just kept popping loose even after sanding and cleaning with alcohol

[mmanolis2001]

OK i finally got around to fix the transducer today. I went to Home Depot and picked up some GB Duct Seal.



At $1.99 i figured i was not wasting time or money with this. It is very tacky and molds well. It was a matter of 30 sec to grab a lump off the bar and make a small pancake. I then pressed the transducer into the pancake and firmly pressed it into the hull. A Little pressing and molding and bam. The trans is stuck in place.




I flipped the boat. Tugged at the cord and played rough with it in general and it held fast. This stuff looks like it will work great. I got a small window to get out on the water tomorrow and test the reading's. We will see how it holds up over the next few weeks to water and temperature changes but frankly who cares. It takes no time to grab a clump off the bar (which has enough for at least 6 installs) and smush it in there.

And a pic of the dreaded goop bubbles.



This was the same result on the transducer install on the Tarpon which did not fail. I made sure to press firmly down and rock back and forth under pressure to force the air out. Still there are air pockets visible in the goop under the transducer.

Maybe i don't know the proper method to install with goop. Too much goop, not enough pressure, etc....

If the duck seal works then i have found my solution.

[medicyaker]

Yesterday

How did everyone do yesterday in del?

[jet]

will that putty react or dissolve with water?