Jim_MI wrote:
linesiderdemdnj wrote:
The raymarine transducer is pretty big. I have settled on doing it through-hull.
Anyone do it through-hull? I would rather not do a bed of silicone to not get the transducer all nasty if I change my mind. I know it comes off easy, but I made a mold out of foam and it fits nice and snug with very little wiggle room at all, it's very sturdy. Can the beam project with the downvision without silicone?
Basically is it worth doing it through-hull with the reduced sensitivity with the downvision? Can I do it without silicone?
I have a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro on my 2016 PA14. I modified the Lowrance cover and was able to (barely) fit the Raymarine transducer into place. Works fine and I get excellent chirp sonar and downvision images.
In your situation, with no molded-in FF well, I would recommend using a Ram Transducer Arm Mount. It is important that you have the transducer in the water for the downvision to work optimally. I used that setup for 1 season and although it was more moving parts and not as slick as a permanent mount, the imaging was top quality.
If you must shoot through the hull, silicone is your worst choice for mounting. Did you ever notice how a clear silicone (or Goop or whatever) becomes cloudy with time? That is due to microscopic bubbles forming in the silicone. These attenuate your acoustic signal tremendously, causing progressively worse performance throughout the season and requiring at least annual removal and re-install.
A better through the hull method is to make a foam collar or well (as you have) out of closed cell foam. Glue that into the bilge using silicone, so as to provide a water-tight seal. Just prior to launching for the day, pour some water into the well and squish your transducer into the cutout, expressing any trapped air bubbles. Your acoustic signal will travel from transducer -> water -> plastic hull -> water -> fish, and back. Less noise due to disparate acoustic impedences of other materials in the signal path. This works fine for routine sonar, but all bets are off for chirp and downvision.
Good luck.
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Thanks!
I talked to Delaware Paddlesports and they gave me the impression that the transducer could work with no glue at all, or water. He said to test it first obviously but when the transducer is in the lowrance ready unit, isn't it shooting through plastic also? I don't want to glue it, the mold I made out of foam is sturdy - plan would be to reinforce it by gluing foam on the sides and above the transducer to solidify the mount.
I also heard electricians duct seal would work.
Otherwise I would fab a longer pvc pipe to go from the left rod holder to the rear, under the cord that stores the rudder, and a 90 degree into another pipe where I could drill through it to mount the transducer in the water. Or even screw the pvc in an out of the way location to a 90 degree and another pipe to screw the transducer in place.
I've spent a ton of coin on the yak and accessories including a specific rod to use on it for stripers and other larger fish. Would like to keep the costs down and try to cease the big money spent. An over the side arm would probably get in the way of something.