Reboot_me's Fish Finder Installation

(External Transducer)

When I decided to get a fish finder for my Kayak, I researched several on-line resources to find that most installations required a
shoot through the hull approach with a standard transducer. Having installed several shoot thought the hull transducers on center console fishing boats and doing the research associated with the quality of the reception, Was I looking at the path less traveled when it came to the external transducer installation for my Kayak? I have several friends that have external mounted fish finders, each installation was done to their individual design using different material. I did not have the information on their process and approached the project on my on with only a basic idea of how I was going to accomplish the project.. Hopefully this article can help someone else when they start a similar installation. I understand that each kayak has a unique story behind every modification the owner does to their Kayaks, So here is mine!

I have a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120, I purchased the Eagle Cuda 168 fish finder for the installation. While I was surveying the kayak I noticed the normal location for the rudder kit was prime location for me to mount the external transducer. I started out with a peace of Lexan, for a mounting material, but ended up breaking the first two templates that I created. The material seemed to be to brittle, after pausing for a while I realized that I need something that would hold up to the abuse , but inexpensive. So after a trip to the local Lowes I found precut pieces of Aluminum. I decided that because I was combining several types of metal in saltwater I needed something to help stop the corrosion process. Nylon washers and spacers were located to isolate the dissimilar metals.

The original out of the box transducer mount is still fully adjustable, I wanted to take full advantage of this so you are able to get the proper angle of the transducer in relation to the was your kayak sits in the water fully loaded. When I created the mount the second time I added additional holes to be able to move the mount up or down as needed. This modification was made after my initial sea trials. If I need to remove the mount for any reason it will only take the removal of the two screws and it will be able to lay in the tank well. As you can see in the first photo my mount was made with 2 inch x 1/4 inch aluminum and later redone with a thinner 1 inch x 1/4 inch aluminum strip. I also made the length shorter than the first attempt because, even if it did not go below the lines of the kayak the extra length caused problems when I was loading and unloading the kayak. The depth of the transducer is not really that critical in a kayak as long as it is covered with water when in use.

The following images show how I routed the wires from the transducer through the tank well and entered the hull of the kayak. If I had to do it over I would have drilled the entry hole at the very back of the tank well, and had all of the wiring internal of the kayak. I will add a Stainless wiring cover like on the one at the front later. The Wire keeper is just added to the existing hardware by unscrewing the screw and inserting the keeper hardware for the bungee cord tie down system of the tank well.

The next few photo show the ram mount kit and the fish finder mounted in the console. The cover for the wires to exit the hull that connect to the Fish Finder have rubber O-ring and a touch of silicon to hold the wires in place. The ram mount need to be trimmed to fit the area so I lined it up so the removal of material with a bastard file would not take any material off near a mounting hole. All items are through bolted!

The SS wire cover can be seen just above the ram mount. The hardware above that is a cleat system used for sail boat ropes that I use for my anchor line.

The last photos show the in-line fuse and terminal hardware that fit in the water tight container with the battery. I purchased a 7 amp hour sealed battery that is normally used for computer UPS. The battery and charger was purchased at the Battery Warehouse in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for about $37.00 The charger will cut off when a charge is complete and has indicator lamps.