Hobie Forums :: View topic - 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer help

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.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Author:	linesiderdemdnj [ Sat Feb 17, 2018 11:19 am ]
Post subject:	2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer help
Hi guys, picked up an 09 revo 13. Got a raymarine dragonfly 4 fish finder and need help on how/where to rig my transducer. Bottom would be best in my mind but will worry about hitting it and contacting bottom/ whatever else and won't be able to use the wheels if I put it through the two bigger holes on the bottom-wires won't fit thru the two seat holes. Jimmy rigged a pvc arm to sit in one of the rod holders however I have it rigged on left side and the paddle gets in the way, or I thought about a longer pvc pipe stretching to the rear of the kayak and to hold it I would use the cord that holds the rudder when not in use. Can people tell me if these are viable options? Is it possible to rig transducer on bottom of boat? Started cutting pvc in half to silicone to the bottom of the boat to protect- but won't be able to use wheels. How have people without the lowrance-ready system rigged their fish finders on revolutions?

Author:	HStrech [ Mon Feb 19, 2018 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
Hobie's Rudder Ready Fish Finder installation kit is your answer. It incorporates all the things you need to rudder mount a transducer and power a fish finder on kayaks without the Lowrance Ready feature. Aside from the transducer being mounted on the twist and stow rudder, all cables run in-hull and the install is very clean.

Author:	linesiderdemdnj [ Mon Feb 19, 2018 9:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
HStrech wrote: Hobie's Rudder Ready Fish Finder installation kit is your answer. It incorporates all the things you need to rudder mount a transducer and power a fish finder on kayaks without the Lowrance Ready feature. Aside from the transducer being mounted on the twist and stow rudder, all cables run in-hull and the install is very clean. Thanks for the response. I looked at that one and decided to forego the rudder mount to reduce drag and have better use of the rudder. 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?

Author:	Jim_MI [ Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
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. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Author:	linesiderdemdnj [ Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
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. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk 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.

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Author:	Jim_MI [ Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:49 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
linesiderdemdnj wrote: 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? Hmmmmm.... if it would work with no glue or water, you should be able to hook up a battery to the unit in your living room, aim the transducer at the far wall and read the distance to that wall. I'd be very surprised if that worked. In fact if it did, then pregnant women would no longer need to get their abdomen gooped-up with ultrasound gel on an obstetrical visit. Same principle of trying to match acoustical impedance. The Lowrance Ready plate is under water and there is a several mm water-filled gap between the transducer bottom and the plate. The business surface of the transducer does not contact the plate at any point. So the acoustic signal is transducer -> water -> plastic plate -> water -> fish, and back. Similar to using a cutout well filled with water for your through-the-hull mount, except the hard plastic of the Lowrance plate may do a better job of transmitting the signal than the relatively softer plastic of the hull. Let us know how you end up mounting your transducer and how it performs. Many of the new advanced imaging modes (chirp, downvision, sidescan, totalscan, etc) certainly have us inventing new hacks for kayak mounting and this forum is a good place to share what works. PS - it sort of goes without saying, but test your unit over the side of the yak before mounting. That should confirm that all is working properly right out of the box, and give you a performance target to aim for when testing various permanent install options. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Author:	roastman [ Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
My Dragonfly 4 Pro transducer is touching the plastic of the Lowrance ready plate. It is the only way to make it fit. It is tight enough against the plastic that no silicone or fixings are required. It seems to work OK. Pretty sure for through the hull to work, it would need to be hard against the bottom of the hull. Not sure if it needs anything else to make it work. Perhaps email Raymarine?

Author:	rc109a [ Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:42 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
In my slayer I tried the goop method, the foam method, the duct seal method. None of them worked. I ended up doing a scupper mount and that worked great. When I upgraded to the Hobie Outback I just modified the lowrance mount and I have a great picture. This transducer uses a lot less power output then others. It does not shoot through the hull like the other ones that I have had and also tends to heat up therefore reducing its effectiveness. I spoke with Raymarine and they verified my conclusions and do not recommend trying to do a "shoot thru" hull mount. I have heard mixed results doing it, but this is my personal experience. If you decide to try it, I would recommend a high quality clear drying adhesive that leaves no little bubbles in the glue.

Author:	linesiderdemdnj [ Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:14 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
There's a video on YouTube who installs his raymarine dragonfly 7 transducer in his hull and seems to work great. Used marine goop. I'm going to use the foam mold I cut out and cut a circle on the side for a water reservoir, so I can put water in it each time I use it. Gonna try that and see how it works. If it doesn't work I may just sell it and get a darn lowrance. I like this fish finder a lot and sucks that I may need to sell it.

Author:	linesiderdemdnj [ Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
Hey guy, just updating this in case anyone ever searches this. The thru hull didn't work with water with the raymarine. I didn't try the marine goop method. What I actually did was use my GoPro suction cup mount for cars on the side of the front of my revo and used the Allen screw from the box and it screwed in perfectly with the built in threads on the mount. It wasn't long enough for the adapter that fits on the supplied transducer mount from the box, but I used some seran wrap to give it some grip to not flop around and the screw and it fit. Worked perfectly. Didn't come off, didn't flip around, perfect operation. This suction cup mount has a button you push when you apply it and a locking system which sucks the air out of the cup I think or just creates hella suction and it didn't skip a beat. I was peddling fast at times and in a 1 foot chop. If I knew how to post pics I'd post one. You can also loosen the arm on the mount and fold it up for when you get near shore so it keeps it out of the way. What an awesome solution. Went out Saturday and it didn't work thru-hull and just flipped it into the water hanging there. Wasn't even going to fish Sunday but saw my mount and had a lightbulb idea and went back all day. Perfect operation.

Author:	barrell [ Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:57 am ]
Post subject:	Re: 2009 Revo 13-raymarine dragonfly 4 install-transducer he
We invented the duc seal method here at our shop in Nj. It is used around the world and even many power boaters now use that method. When done correctly it works perfectly in any poly hull. I do 3 installs a week on Hobies using duc seal behind the sail mast. No callbacks whatsoever in 20 years. The Lowrance pocket only works when you never use your kayak around sand or mud. Once 1/4 inch of sand or mud collects on top of the cover plate the fishfinder stops working and you must remove plate and clean off debris. The duc seal method lasts forever with no problems.

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