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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:21 am 
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Location: Perth West Australia
OK so I looked at the various options of transducer mounting for my new Lowrance Elite 5 DSI.
The dedicated Lowrance Scupper mount is great on kayak hulls with a lot deeper groove for the transducer to sit up out of harms way. But when I compared it to the TI, it looked like the mounting would hang the transducer down by about half an inch to 1 inch lower than my way.

Also the Lowrance version is not easily removable, for cleaning beaching storage outside or dragging up onto a trailer cradle.

So here goes.

I cut the Lowrance slide on skimmer transducer mount down: cut both the front and back parts off so I just have the slide on mount front central part; Drilled a small hole through;

Found a stainless bit from a swivel on a shackle to sailing block or these are used on stay cable ends.
I might make my own version stainless slide on mount later when I have tested this out.

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So th emount just slides on and is only held when the transducer is bolted up into the scupper. I can slide the transducer down the scuppe hole then fit it to the slide on bracket put the bolt up the scupper and fit wing nut to the top.

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Long stainless bolt and plastic winged nut that I fitted the stainless nut head into. This sitts well across the scupper to hold the transducer tight and allow the cable to feed out the side.

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Last edited by Geordie on Sat Jul 07, 2012 6:08 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:24 am 
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PHASE 2

I will add a bit more of the explaination when I finish the rest of the wiring and plug together DSI transducer cable.

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I still have some finishing touches like fitting tubeing over the cable to protect it from things like my esky and fishing gear in the back.

Then silicone seal the cable through the bung plug and I can remove it all easily and fit a boat bung back in the hole.

If I ever change sounders, I can just fit the cable through a new bung plug, also I can move the transducer to the middle scupper holes and move the sounder to the front seat position on my TI if I need to without changing any cables. Just unscrew and put the cable through the other position bung hole.

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Geordie
West Ausie


Last edited by Geordie on Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:28 am 
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:10 pm 
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PHASE 3

Elite 5 mounting and cable fittings through hull using big boat drain bumg plugs for a removable plug and cable

I will add a bit more of the explaination when I finish the rest of the wiring and plug together DSI transducer cable.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:10 am 
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Location: Perth West Australia
Phase 4
Battery box


I bought a 15 Ah was just because I will also have a 750gph Rule bildge pump and the battery fitted nicely into a 'Plano' waterproof box.
Which by the way does just fit through the rear Hobie TI hatch.

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I am also using boat drain bung plugs for electrical fittings to go into the waterproof box so I can fit or remove them as needed just by unscrewing the bung plug with the cable sealed into it.

The best boat bungs I have found are 'Tenob' brand from Whitworths, because they have a neat 'O' ring which seals well. Rather than a flat rubber washer on other cheapie blung plugs.

The other screw together waterproof fitting is for the transducer cable as I have decided to cut it and fit a removable fitting.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:07 am 
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I really like your setup. It very clean and creative. What size bung plugs did you use? Also where can I find the device you used to mount the transducer?


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 7:32 pm 
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Ryker wrote:
I really like your setup. It very clean and creative. What size bung plugs did you use? Also where can I find the device you used to mount the transducer?

Hey Ryker (sorry for the slow reply I have not checked back here for a while).

The bung plugs are about 1" they were the largest boat drain plugs I could find.
http://www.tenob.co.nz/shop/Hull+Fittin ... +Base.html

The fiting to the transducer was a part I had from a broken main sail pulley block on another yacht. As you see from the photo, it is just a simple bit of stainless bent into a square C.

I see that others like Tonystott have used the Lowrance Scupper mount and trimmed it down a little to mount nice and flush up into the scupper hole.
I have put a few more details here:
http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php ... 0&start=15

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:49 pm 
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Very nice install!

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:51 pm 
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Location: Auckland NZ
Geordie,

That's a canny installation if I may say so.

I have an Elite 4 DSI and have been exercising my mind on how to install the transducer since the manufacturer advises against an in-hull installation.

Over the WE I cobbled together a $3 look-alike version of the Lowrance kit which at NZ$75 is ridiculously expensive for what it is. But the problem, as you state, is that the scupper hole option leaves the 'ducer hanging far too low beneath the boat.

On the basis of your post I am going to explore a broadly similar mash up which is to create 2 plugs (though one would probably suffice if a suitable washer can be found to hold the bolt at the top) of that mouldable epoxy stuff to fit into the scupper hole top and bottom. I envisage that the top one will be through-drilled to accept a bolt which will pass down through the scupper & screw into the bottom one. The transducer will be stuck to the underside of the bottom one by having the underside of the plug moulded onto the 'ducer before it sets. If I get it right the 'ducer should sit as snugly under the boat as the one in your photo.

All I can say is that I hope the results of the DSI capability are worth having! I am mightily unimpressed with my Elite 4 DSI unit to date (and it is not even installed in the boat!) for the following reasons:
1. the flap to 'waterproof' the chart card slot is pathetic and definitely not consistent with keeping salt water out of the unit in the kind of conditions I encounter (which are not extreme kayaking by any means) so I have felt it necessary to attempt to waterproof the device (from new) more reliably with self-amalgamating tape (unless someone can suggest a better way?!).
2. the transducer supposedly should not shoot through the hull so you have to to drill more holes in your boat and most likely make/buy a gadget to just to install it (Hobie: would it not be possible to design transducer-ready recesses and cable ports in the hulls as do some other manufacturers I am told? A small recess to accept the transducer near the lower scupper-hole opening, for example - and possibly even one able to make it accept the common transducer shapes/fittings on a snap-in or push-fit basis).
3. the ends of the cables which plug into the head unit have great big fittings on them so you cannot feed the cable through nice small neat holes. I believe you are not meant to cut the cable and then join it so instead you have to drill and then fill great big holes compared to other devices.

Despite its 'ideal for kayaks' billing I suspect that the designers of this particular product have never been kayak fishing from a surf beach before.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 7:20 pm 
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Location: Perth West Australia
hi stobbo,
Have a look at this thread, I put up a lot more detail.
more details here:
http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php ... 0&start=15



1. the waterproof chart card slot in my Elite 5: I first fitted the card then cut out a neat cover of (strong outdoor weatherproofing tape Bear brand) I think it is for windscreen repairs. Covered the card slot, then pushed the cap back over. But I also ended up running a thin bead of silicone sealer just round the edge of the plug cap. I can peel this off again if I need to get the card out, but it will stop water sitting around the inner edge of the cap. I did this round all the outer edge seal area of my Elite 5 and it has screws holding the back on so they got a thin bead of sealer. I figure that I am never going to need to pull it apart so might as well make it as well sealed as possible.

I will also have a little wetsuit cover for the sounder to keep the slpashes off and cover the screen when not in use. (see the other therad for a photo)

2. I did try the DSI transducer in the hull but the wet mount I had made for another transducer allowed bubbles in. So I thought I would try this idea first.

Tonystott has managed to fit the transducer up neater into the scupper hole using the Lorwrance kit. But as you say it is prety expensive.

3. I agree about the cable set up not being ideal. This is why I used the boat bung plug fittings. I figure that I will always have some sounder or other electrical gear so, to change over or remove, I can simply unscrew and change electrics when I ever get a new unit without having to drill new holes.

I have cut the DSI cable and re-joined with a Bulgin mini waterproof connector.
http://www.bulgin.co.uk/Products/Buccan ... rMini.html
But if you do this you MUST be really neat in how the cable end insulation and shielding is done or it can reduce signal quality.

Have a look at the other thread and see the through hull fitting that Tony has used (you do not need to cut the cable for this).

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