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It's time for that question, sounder installation.


krause

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Hi all, ive got a sounder, what do i do next. Now before someone says google it, i have, and my questions are slightly more specific. Im still tossing up between internal and external transducer mount (love to hear opinions, ive got a elite4).

But im now questioning how to wire it. Ill run all the wires up high etc with the battery in a box off the floor, but if i put cables through hull, so they are permanent, how do i go about washing the yak? I was out the salt bilge after each trip and want to know what people think about this. All opinions welcome. Also do people use a waterproofer/corrosion protection spray on the sounder connections?

Cheers all, ill sift through the archive now as well :)

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Pretty sure my in hull install gives pretty accurate temp readings. Only a thin layer of plastic so may take a few minutes but temp inside & out should equalise.

No idea personally how it affects downview but pretty sure there are a number of guys on the yak fishing forums I frequent that have that sounder.

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Mate I've done a couple of them now and internal mounts are the way to go for me. Definitely avoid punching holes in the yak if you can. All the silicone / waterproofing in the world can still have issues. Temp readings aren't quite as accurate but as stated above its usually not far off. No effect on the down view on either of mine as long as you get the silicone well air bubble free (warming it up first has been key)

Use grommets for the wiring and just make sure you can remove battery easily, no harm when washing as you just let it dry out properly after.

Haven't used waterproofing on the connection yet but thinking about it as a mate has terminal connection issues with his battery due to corrosion.

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Hey Krause,

Hope Christmas was great :)

Here are some pics of my setup, it worked fine with very little interference when I initially set it up. However the first batch of silicon i used peeled off for some reason so i switched over to selley's allclear and stuck it back in. I made the green holding thing out of a foam mat. It seems to hold just fine so far. Cable are run up through a waterproof grommet, although the connectors on the elite-4x are too big..... to properly go through the hole, I cut the grommet and slotted them in and superglued it back together. It's holding pretty well so far with a piece of tape giving it some reinforcement, just a bit ugly cosmetically. Battery box is at the front of the yak to help a little bit with balancing, its pretty much just a waterproof lunch box and I stuck on some ultra durable velcro to the box and the yak to stop it from sliding around. Temperature wise the transducer will equalise with the water once you are out for around an hour or so, or longer depending on how hot the sun is as you're driving out to the location as the kayaks do pick up some heat on the way there. Other than that, the downscan seems to work fine, i usually pick up the rocks and sticks underwater throughout the hacking and the anchors etc, but I'm still a rookie user of the sounder so I would double check that with other Raiders. I would have like to RAM mount the sounder to the yak but $$$ so I skimped out and just used the front two screws LOL.

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Hi Krause,

What is your kayak? I have a Hobie revolution 13 with a Humminbird Fishfinder for which I mounted the transducer in hull. I worked out how to rig the wiring without any damage to the hull.

If you have a Hobie a lot of what I learned can be applied to your situation. If you have another brand it might take a little more thinking.

Regards,

Derek

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Hi Krause,

I'll put together something in the next few days but can you post a photo or two of the topside of your kayak so I can tailor my response with any suggestions. In particular I am interested in the storage hatches and the location where you are thinking of mounting the head unit.

Regards,

Derek

Edited by DerekD
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Hi Again,

A little bit of background. As I said I have a Hobie revolution 13 which has 3 hatches. I was looking for a Fishfinder setup I could switch between that and my small runabout. Due to that challenge I had to put a lot of thinking and research into the best way of doing it. In the end I was going to get one good head unit (GSP, Sounder and Down imaging) and a second transducer. For $10 more than the price of the transducer and cables I could buy a second lower spec unit with the same mounting components. I have wired up both the kayak and the boat and switch the better headunit from one docking station to the other and I have a smaller spare headunit.

I sometimes get water inside the hull so I had to make sure that the electronics were not affected. First the battery - while on the water I can't easily access the back hatch (I have seen the same hatch design on various brands of kayaks) so I decided to store the battery here. Hobie (there is an agent in Mona Vale) have a sealable box which drops into this hatch. By cutting and removing one of the dividers I can drop the SLA battery 12V 7.5Ah (lasts a long day on the water) on its side into the box and still get the lid on.

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Humminbird is a bit of a pain as the cables are hardwired into the docking station. I had to come up with a way to mount it and to store it when not in use. There is a mounting accessory company called Ram mount. Hobie in Mona Vale have some components and I found another agent in north Sydney that had a few more. On the Hobie there is hole for a mast and I have inserted a Ram ball in there. Inside the hull I have installed a second Ram ball on the mast column. I bought a mount bracket suitable for the hummingbird and they have ones for other companies. Attached is a photo of the docking station in its operational position (you will notice how the cables come up underneath the front hatch).

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Here is the docking station in its storage position when I don't need it.

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The transducer. In the end I decided on the through the hull system as I would have had to get too clever on cables through the hull and mounting brackets and where to put it so it would not get damaged. From everything I have seen I don't believe I have lost any clarity on the sonar but I feel the down imaging is not as sensitive as the in water mounting on the boat. The temperature readings are probably not quite as responsive as it would be in the water but as it is going through thin plastic and is almost in contact with the water I feel it is close to what I expect. The guys from Hobie sold me a product called Marine Goop (others use Selleys All Clear) and gave me some foam. I used the foam and the Goop to make a little dam which would fit around the transducer. When it dried I put the Goop in warm to hot water to get it to a runny consistency and then poured it carefully into the dam. Avoid bubbles at all costs. I pushed the transducer into the runny Goop and rolled it side to side to clear any possible bubbles. It took a little while to dry so I had to make sure the hull was horizontal. Have a look at the attached and you will also see the Ram mounting ball for out of use storage. I put the transducer in front of the drive fins so I did not get interference due to turbulent water.

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Hope the above has helped.

Derek

Edited by DerekD
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Alrighty, forgive me if the photos don't work.

Ok so i have a spot that the original rod holder was mounted, then i took that off and mounted a new one. Now ive decided to move the new holder and cover the ugly mess with the sounder.

So i bore a hole through the yak in the middle of the 'mess' and fashioned a plate to cover the hole etc. Ive then slotted the plate to allow the cables through whilst reducing the size of the effective hole. All making it a bit neater and easier to water proof.

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And ill continue here as my last post got to big. Next step it the transducer. Will i be ok to mount it on the centre of the section of hull?

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Ill follow the method derek has discussed above. Seems logical and trusted

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I don't see a problem mounting it centre section of the hull as long as it is flat and it is more or less always in contact with the water directly underneath the hull. I can drive over a boat wake with mine and still see the turbulence bubbles from the propeller in the water a few minutes later - it is that sensitive. Hence the reason for avoiding bubbles in general. Some people will scuff the area to make sure the adhesive has a good bite. I didn't but gave it a really good clean to make sure there was no salt or particulates at this point.

Think about where to store the excess cable. I didn't want to trim mine down so I looped it and cable tied it to the mast pole.

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Agreed with Derek, just make sure you make it airtight Nate with no airbubbles, i made sure to squish the transducer into my foam holder and rolled it a little til it squeezed out the air bubbles, then i put some weight on it to let it dry over the next day or two. I just ziptied the remaining cable to one of the scupper hole tubes.

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