Permanent Wet Transducer Installation - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

swinginFish · 05-30-2010, 06:10 AM

I've been using a wet mount for 5+ years - primarily so that I could easily use my ff/transducer on any of the various boats I've had. Point is the cup in which one places the transducer needs to to do two things only, i.e., accommodate the size of your transducer, and contain the signal medium.

I personally prefer round puck-shape transducers, mate an appropriately-sized ABS coupling to the yak's bottom and then epoxy its fitted-edge down to the hull's inside (Have learned that slow-drying epoxy is best - less brittle & more robust bond than quick dry).

Once I'm at the beach, I pour a bit of water into the created reservoir, put the puck in (and attach the ff) and I'm off. It is suprisingly simple and effective for my purposes, with gravity doing its job of holding the puck in place for as long as I'm on the water.

I've now done this on 5 different yaks, and in 5 years the only issue has been when quick-dry epoxy let go after a yak fell hull down from my truck bed to the sand. Flex of the hull broke the seal so water leaked out from beneath the ABS reservoir (If someone's really concerned about this, then I suspect vaseline or grease would continue to work even when the reservoir seal gave way).

As for down sides, as Andy rightly noted, polyethylene's a bit slow to respond to temperature changes, so transducers w/ built in temp gauges sitting or glued inside a craft will respond accordingly.

AE

Bill K · 06-06-2010, 04:03 PM

I've been having the same problems, with my transducer. It was originally installed, by the Kayak store, with a piece of foam, as the cup, and then vaseline was used inside the cup. It works o.k., until you turn the kayak upside down, then you have vaseline all over the place.
Next try, was with the goop, and then silicone. Both worked for a while, but then I would only get a 0.5 reading. Either, there were bubbles formed, or an adhesion problem.
My last attempt, was the wet well. I used silicone to mount the pvc fitting. It worked great for a few trips, and then stopped. The silicone did not seal well enough, and the water leaked out.
I have to re-do. I am thinking about, going back to the foam cup, and using a 2 part clear epoxy.
Has anyone used the epoxy method?

Bill

Geoffkoop · 06-06-2010, 04:07 PM

Bill, just do it with the PVC pipe and goop as mentioned. Mine has worked like a champ.

dsafety · 06-06-2010, 05:45 PM

While I still have full confidence in the web mount system that was introduced at the start of this thread, I will be testing a new, (for me), option very soon.

Hummingbird has a "just for kayaks" mount kit that includes a small plastic frame that is shaped like their transducer. This gets mounted to the hull with adhesive provided in the kit. They also provide a "special" grease that you put in this reservoir and then set the transducer in the grease.

It looks like a good system but I am concerned about the grease liquefying like the Vaseline does. I asked Humminbird about this and was told that it was a high temperature grease that will not liquefy. They are sending me a kit to test. I actually have one of these kits now that Dtownfan sent to me but do not have the grease so I have not been able to do the test.

When I have tried this system out, I will post the results.

I did a little research online and learned that there are many industrial greases, usually lithium-based that are very stable at high temperatures. My guess is that the "special" grease offered by Humminbird is one of those.

If you have a grease mount that works except that your grease melts, you might want to try one of these high temp products. If it works, going the DIY way will be much cheaper than buying the H-bird system which costs somewhere around $25. That said, if you get everything is a kit that is designed to fit the transducer, it may be worth the investment.

Stay tuned.

Bob

sandydiego · 06-14-2010, 10:13 AM

So I finished the install of the wet mount on the new kayak and had to turn down the sensitivity on my 385ci from 18 to 2. I have found that if your max bottom setting in set to 450 the fish finder runs perfect. The default is 1000 on the 385ci.

I had problems when the max reading was set at 200ft. I figured this out because every time I went over the canyon in the reserve the FF stopped reading correctly.

This wet mount ost me $14 for the pvc/rubber cap and $10 for the marine goop at OEX. I will never go back to glueing my FF directly to the hull. I need to now make a Battery box for the rear hatch on the pro angler.

Bob you rock! Thanks for sharing this.

Steve

sandydiego · 06-16-2010, 08:05 AM

Any one interested in splitting the cost for some 3M Scotch-Weld Structural Plastic Adhesive DP8005, 35 mL, a pack of tips and a applicator gun? It's $72 + tax at Grainger.

umtduckhead · 06-29-2010, 08:50 PM

any body running a lowrance in a wet mount on a revo? if so do you like it better than the goop?

05-30-2010, 06:10 AM	#1
swinginFish Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 173	Keep it simple I've been using a wet mount for 5+ years - primarily so that I could easily use my ff/transducer on any of the various boats I've had. Point is the cup in which one places the transducer needs to to do two things only, i.e., accommodate the size of your transducer, and contain the signal medium. I personally prefer round puck-shape transducers, mate an appropriately-sized ABS coupling to the yak's bottom and then epoxy its fitted-edge down to the hull's inside (Have learned that slow-drying epoxy is best - less brittle & more robust bond than quick dry). Once I'm at the beach, I pour a bit of water into the created reservoir, put the puck in (and attach the ff) and I'm off. It is suprisingly simple and effective for my purposes, with gravity doing its job of holding the puck in place for as long as I'm on the water. I've now done this on 5 different yaks, and in 5 years the only issue has been when quick-dry epoxy let go after a yak fell hull down from my truck bed to the sand. Flex of the hull broke the seal so water leaked out from beneath the ABS reservoir (If someone's really concerned about this, then I suspect vaseline or grease would continue to work even when the reservoir seal gave way). As for down sides, as Andy rightly noted, polyethylene's a bit slow to respond to temperature changes, so transducers w/ built in temp gauges sitting or glued inside a craft will respond accordingly. AE

06-14-2010, 10:13 AM	#5
sandydiego Rum Pirate Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wilds of Mira Mesa Posts: 388	So I finished the install of the wet mount on the new kayak and had to turn down the sensitivity on my 385ci from 18 to 2. I have found that if your max bottom setting in set to 450 the fish finder runs perfect. The default is 1000 on the 385ci. I had problems when the max reading was set at 200ft. I figured this out because every time I went over the canyon in the reserve the FF stopped reading correctly. This wet mount ost me $14 for the pvc/rubber cap and $10 for the marine goop at OEX. I will never go back to glueing my FF directly to the hull. I need to now make a Battery box for the rear hatch on the pro angler. Bob you rock! Thanks for sharing this. Steve Last edited by sandydiego; 06-14-2010 at 10:25 AM.

06-16-2010, 08:05 AM	#6
sandydiego Rum Pirate Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wilds of Mira Mesa Posts: 388	Any one interested in splitting the cost for some 3M Scotch-Weld Structural Plastic Adhesive DP8005, 35 mL, a pack of tips and a applicator gun? It's $72 + tax at Grainger. Last edited by sandydiego; 06-16-2010 at 08:24 AM.

06-06-2010, 04:03 PM	#2
Bill K Junior Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 1	I've been having the same problems, with my transducer. It was originally installed, by the Kayak store, with a piece of foam, as the cup, and then vaseline was used inside the cup. It works o.k., until you turn the kayak upside down, then you have vaseline all over the place. Next try, was with the goop, and then silicone. Both worked for a while, but then I would only get a 0.5 reading. Either, there were bubbles formed, or an adhesion problem. My last attempt, was the wet well. I used silicone to mount the pvc fitting. It worked great for a few trips, and then stopped. The silicone did not seal well enough, and the water leaked out. I have to re-do. I am thinking about, going back to the foam cup, and using a 2 part clear epoxy. Has anyone used the epoxy method? Bill

06-06-2010, 04:07 PM	#3
Geoffkoop Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: So. Orange County Posts: 302	Bill, just do it with the PVC pipe and goop as mentioned. Mine has worked like a champ.

06-06-2010, 05:45 PM	#4
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,122	While I still have full confidence in the web mount system that was introduced at the start of this thread, I will be testing a new, (for me), option very soon. Hummingbird has a "just for kayaks" mount kit that includes a small plastic frame that is shaped like their transducer. This gets mounted to the hull with adhesive provided in the kit. They also provide a "special" grease that you put in this reservoir and then set the transducer in the grease. It looks like a good system but I am concerned about the grease liquefying like the Vaseline does. I asked Humminbird about this and was told that it was a high temperature grease that will not liquefy. They are sending me a kit to test. I actually have one of these kits now that Dtownfan sent to me but do not have the grease so I have not been able to do the test. When I have tried this system out, I will post the results. I did a little research online and learned that there are many industrial greases, usually lithium-based that are very stable at high temperatures. My guess is that the "special" grease offered by Humminbird is one of those. If you have a grease mount that works except that your grease melts, you might want to try one of these high temp products. If it works, going the DIY way will be much cheaper than buying the H-bird system which costs somewhere around $25. That said, if you get everything is a kit that is designed to fit the transducer, it may be worth the investment. Stay tuned. Bob

06-29-2010, 08:50 PM	#7
umtduckhead Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 147	any body running a lowrance in a wet mount on a revo? if so do you like it better than the goop?