fish finder help?

[lok]

Hey, I am new to the boating world and am looking for some info help on mounting a fish finder/transducer.

I have a Lund SSV16 that I want to put a hummingbird helix 5 DI on. I trailer the boat and use it for fishing and hunting. I am not sure how to mount the transducer. Do I mount on a plastic transducer plate to the transom and put it on permanently or do I go the 1x4 and c clamp route?

If I mount it on permanently will I be risking banging up the transducer every time I beach the boat?

If I go the c clamp route will it be secure enough to not scratch up the boat when at high speed? And how much of a pain will it be attaching the c clamp every day. and do i worry about theft?

thanks for the help!

[TROLLER]

Never have broke one in over 20 yrs of loading and unloading my boat. If you are worried then get the bracket that allows you to raise or lower your transducer. And yes it should be mounted to the transom.

[RavYak]

Just be aware of where your trailer supports are(easily done as you will most likely be installing transducer while it sits on the trailer).

Unless you are beaching your boat in reverse that shouldn't be an issue either. They only stick down a tiny bit and at the back of the boat so would have to beach the whole boat entirely for it to touch and even if it does they pivot up anyways.

On a boat like that I wouldn't use the board and clamp method. That is more for little car top tinners, canoes etc.

[catnthehat]

Never had an issue on my outboards but when I went to the jet, I knocked three of them off on sand and rock bars gave up on them!
I have a flasher that I want to mount he transducer inboard but don't know about the adhesive I need to use
Cat

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Never had an issue on my outboards but when I went to the jet, I knocked three of them off on sand and rock bars gave up on them!
I have a flasher that I want to mount he transducer inboard but don't know about the adhesive I need to use
Cat

Sikaflex is one product guys use on kayaks. As long as it sticks to aluminum would probably work.

You can mount regular transducers through hull as well but through aluminum I believe the signal can be quite weak.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Sikaflex is one product guys use on kayaks. As long as it sticks to aluminum would probably work.

You can mount regular transducers through hull as well but through aluminum I believe the signal can be quite weak.

Both my boats are fiberglass and both have transom mounted transducers I mounted. Both work well and no issues with damaged transducers so far, but I never beach my boats. It's too hard on fiberglass boats.

I do nose up to the beach, but that's different then beaching a boat where the whole boat or most of it is on land.

I would go with a sliding post mount if I wanted to beach my boats.

A simple home made mount ought to do the trick. Two 1 1/2 inch conduit clamps to hold the pipe, about three feet of 1 1/2 inch conduit and some form of handle and depth clamp system. I think I could build the whole issue in a day. I have a Mig welder and some cam locks handles from hose couplers to make a quick lock for depth adjustment.

All I'd have to do is flatten the bottom end of the pipe to hold the transducer and put the thing together. With a bit of tweaking it ought to work fine. Not pretty, but the fish I chase wouldn't care so long as it works.

[Salmon Slayer Lenny]

I have a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI with dual a frequency transducer. I looked at a quick release setup at Bass Pro but I found it too bulky and too flimsy.

I often beach my boat on Van Isle and using it in the NSR, I do have it mounted to the transom but don't rigidly tighten the bolt. I leave it looser so that with mild/moderate effort, I can lift it or lower it so if I bump bottom in shallow water, it will flex up instead of ripping or breaking. I leave it tight enough though that there is enough to hold in tin place in chop and WOT.

I'm going to be trying to come up with a compression setup to mount inside of the mounting bracket itself so you could raise or lower (flip it up or down) it as needed. Need to wait until next week though when I mount my Transom Saver onto the transom.

[fish99]

Originally Posted by lok

Hey, I am new to the boating world and am looking for some info help on mounting a fish finder/transducer.

I have a Lund SSV16 that I want to put a hummingbird helix 5 DI on. I trailer the boat and use it for fishing and hunting. I am not sure how to mount the transducer. Do I mount on a plastic transducer plate to the transom and put it on permanently or do I go the 1x4 and c clamp route?

If I mount it on permanently will I be risking banging up the transducer every time I beach the boat?

If I go the c clamp route will it be secure enough to not scratch up the boat when at high speed? And how much of a pain will it be attaching the c clamp every day. and do i worry about theft?

thanks for the help!

this is what i did with a helix 7 transducer, siliconed a puck board to transom and mounted a flip up bracket supplied with the humming bird finder

[lok]

Thanks for the reply guys. Great info! Think I will go ahead and mount it on permanently.

Are the plastic mounting plates worth getting or could I just pick up a thick plastic cutting board and bolt and glue that to the transom?

And, just a couple things to clarify about mounting

I should mount it a foot or more away from the leg.

I should mount it away from the trailer bunk/guide.

I should not mount behind a strake.

And should use silicone to smooth out any rivets that may be in front of the transducer.


thanks again everyone for the help.