Mounting Humminbird transducer in Stealth 14?
 

I know this topic has been covered extensively but after running searches and reading through different threads it seems the art of trans mounting and the methods used are ever evolving.
I ended up springing for a Humminbird 597ci hd di unit (thanks tax refund) My questions:
Transducer - EXACTLY where to mount and how?
Currently what is the best most reliable way to rig these in?
Where should I mount the battery? (I have an X-wing)

I'm brand new to all this stuff but I'm pretty 'handy' and I shouldn't have any trouble doing this myself so long as I have step by step instructions and a complete parts list...haha

Help will be greatly appreciated..I'm looking forward to tackling the job over the weekend.

Lot's of great ideas out there, here are a few images from Google.
Kayak Transducer Mounts

I have experimented with most of the mounting techniques. My current favorite is the grease mount. It is very easy to do and to undo. I can see no difference in performance between the grease mount and the wet mount.

The best thing about using the grease mount is that you do not ever have to worry if you have enough water in your well or hull to make the transducer work properly. Once installed, you can basically forget about it.

Bob

Do you have a link to a thread discussing the grease method? I'm hoping to find some detailed info and instructions.
Also, in the stealth, I'm having trouble finding a spot in the front of the hull that is flat enough to mount the ducer pointing straight down?

Thanks

I'm not personally into fowl, and I hear hummingbirds are difficult to mount do to their size and agility. That said I have a good friend who knows much about such things since he grew up on a farm and I asked him. He essentually gave me the same advice as Dsafty, that if you can't go with a wet mount a grease mount is the best alternative.

Have any of you guys considered chickens? :biggrinjester:

There is not much to it. I think I wrote some instructions a while back. You might find them if you search for "grease mount".

Basically, you need to create some sort of a "well" to hold the transducer in place. Some folks have reported good luck with using a piece of foam. Spread a thick layer of marine grease over the bottom of your xducer making sure that there are no air bubbles. Gently push the transducer into the well until it seats with the hull. Anchor the xducer with some kind of strap, (velcro, bungie, etc), and you are done.

I don't think that it is very important that you mount on a flat part of the hull. The grease will fill any empty areas. It is probably important that you have the xducer pointed straight down and not to the side, front or back to any large degree.

Bob

Thanks Bob...I found your thread on the grease mount method. It sounds like still you prefer the wet well though.
The problem staring me in the face is the fact that the Stealth is so deep V'd in the very front where I'd like to mount the transducer. I'm struggling to figure out how to create a well that sits down in the V nice and snug to allow me to create a 'goop dam' at the base of it.
Has anyone installed one of these in the front of a Stealth using a well?
What did you use and modify to fit down in the V to hold the trans?

Thanks guys!

The wet mount works just as well, it is just a little more difficult to install and if you do it wrong, the water can drain away making the fish finder useless. I am not familiar with your hull design but I doubt that the deep V is an insurmountable problem.

With the wet mount, you have to create a water-tight seal between the well and the hull. Since plastic hulls flex the seal can be easily broken during a rough launch or landing. The well for the grease mount does not have to be waterproof, just enough to hold the transducer in place.

Bob

If your mounting on an X-wing, you might want to consider mounting the transducer on an arm mounted to the side of the X-wing and putting your battery inside. Would make for easier wiring too.

I saw that in the "share your innovations' thread but I'm concerned about it getting caught in kelp, wrapping line around it and dealing with it when launching and landing

Type of Grease for Transducer Grease Mount
 

In additon to Humminbird's video for installation of their Kayk Kir using a grease mount you can go to http://www.yakhawaii.com/index.php?o...ging&Itemid=62 for another video.

But for DIY, according to that link, H-bird support stated that "marine grease" or "axle grease" could be used. Has to resist heat (and preferably is not stinky!). The viscosity of the grease will help hold the transducer in place as will a very snug foam cutout, if you DIY.

I plan to make my own holder as soon as I recieve my new H-bird FF.

Maybe someone can post a "brand" of grease that has worked well.

I was told by H-bird that the only difference between a transom mount transducer and an in-hull mount transducer when mounted in-hull is that the transom mount tranducer may not read temperatures well. Maybe that is because of the location of the temp sensor inside the puck is different than inside the transom mount transducer?

Have you considered going to a thru hull??? I have a stealth 14 as well, and have had a thru hull for about a year now and it has been perfect! I personally have had no problems with it yet. It seems pretty bulletproof to me so far. The only downside is that you have to drill a pretty scary 2" hole in the bottom of your kayak, but once you get over it you really don't have to worry about it, other than you shouldn't drag it thru the parking lot or a bunch of rocks but you wouldn't do that anyways.....

[QUOTE=Kailolo;78190]Maybe someone can post a "brand" of grease that has worked well.

QUOTE]

I got a blue can of Marine Grease at Pep Boys that works fine.

Bob

chickens have large talons...easy to mount...lol:farmer:

Here are a couple of pictures of my thru hull transducer on my stealth 14 if your interested. Not bad after over a year of use, no maintenance works perfect everytime!

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...p/IMGP0126.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...p/IMGP0127.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...p/IMGP0129.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...p/IMGP0133.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...p/IMGP0134.jpg

That's definitely sweet...looks super clean. What transducer is that?
Now I just need to grow the nuts to bore a hole in the bottom of my hull..heck I already have one for the tank pump.

I believe it is a airmar p319....as far at the hole in the bottom of the yak...no big deal, like you said you already have one for the bait tank pump.

That airmar trans looks pretty stout.
I wonder they make a similar one for my unit? (HB 597 ci hd di)

Most transducers are made by Airmar then repackaged with brand names on them, and you probably could get one directly from Airmar for it, just call them and they will tell you what will work with your unit.....

That said the Humminbird XFM 9 20 should work for your 597ci...

http://mediacdn.shopatron.com/media/...jpg?1299768202
http://store.humminbird.com/products...725c8567368874

93 bucks at the HB store and they say it works.... don't take my word for it check around before you buy.

Actually the cheapest places to buy transducers are usually computer discount supply chains online. I found one for 58 bucks but they had the wrong picture, and might not know what they are selling.

Better is 62.99 bucks here at nerds: http://www.thenerds.net/HUMMINBIRD.H...1.html?affid=8

or..

63.99 at Poorfish outdoors
http://www.poorfish.com/p-9784-hummi...-xfm-9-20.aspx if you want to go with a company that sells specifically fishing stuff.

Or you can do it commando style and make your own thru hull:
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6436/26944185ra9.jpg


http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7840/16625639zn4.jpg

Works for me..literally... :D

I actually miss the days when we had to do these things ourselves :sifone:

Thru hulls are the only way to go...Any way you look at it your going to get much, much, much better performance with your transducer in the water like it's designed to work rather then beaming through the hull with grease or glue. It kind of blows my mind that people are now putting high performance fishfinders in their yaks and still killing their performance by gluing in thier transducers. To each thier own though. :cheers1:

Good luck!!!

Jim

THANKS WALRUS...for the killer idea of converting a $4 plastic terminal box from Home Depot into a badass wet well for my transducer. One trip out in rough water and this thing seemed to work perfectly..I didn't lose one drop of after nearly 7 hours on the water...I used so much Goop I think its part of the hull now..it ain't going nowhere! Here's a couple photos of mine installed.

http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...3/wetwell1.jpg

http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...3/wetwell2.jpg