[simond11]

Hi all
Just bought the Lowrance x50DS fishfinder for my Prowler 15 and after having read hundreds of articles both on this forum and others, I am still hoping there is a viable option for mounting the transducer OUTSIDE the kayak so I can avail myself of the temperature feature, and eliminate the fact of having a semi-permanent or permanent transducer fixed to the inside of the yak. Beside, I think that you would achieve better readings if the transducer is directly in the water.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15

 

[Peril]

Upgrade to the Elite!

What about some of the removable mounts some members have posted (hope they haven't been removed)? Essentially PVC pipe braced across the gunwhales near your ankles and one one side extending to the water. The fishfinder is mounted on the cross piece and the transducer in the extension. If you're clever enough, you could mount batteries inside the pipe.

 

[simond11]

I knew you would come up with an answer, Dave. I liked one where the transducer is mounted under the scupper with some sort of wing nut or something. It seems a waste that if you can measure temp. then why not? I will do some experimenting. Is Akuna Bay still on for the 17th?
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15

 

[Peril]

Is Akuna Bay still on for the 17th?

Sure is. Missus gave me the AFN Fishing Almanac and it indicates that evening is a major activity period. I'll take an early mark from work and be prepared to be out there till around midnight. Also gave me an LED riding light, so I'll have that fitted by then.

Thinking of going up there late Sunday arvo to practice gathering livies. Looks I had squid strikes on the plastics last Sunday so will see if I can rustle up a squid or two

 

[simond11]

Sounds good. Going to Africa on Thursday 9 and back on Monday 13. Have to get cracking on getting this fishfinder organised, although Suzie bought it for me for Xmas. Seen another really nice set-up with the transducer attached to the rudder. Looks really good, and when coming close to shore you bring both rudder and transducer up. Now where is my draught pencil......???
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15

 

[Davey G]

i was going to suggest attaching it to your rudder. I'm sure there's a post about a similar attachment somewhere. I'll have a dig around and try to find it for you.

however, mounting it inside the hull still allows you to remove it easily if required. sikaflex does peel off leaving no remnants if required.

if the temperature reading is that important you could always get a small hand held thermometer OR one of those 'stick on' temperature gauges that they sell in aquariums and attach inside tropical fish tanks..??

 

[simond11]

Thanks Dave, I had thought of that. I have kind of managed to rig something up now that looks pretty sturdy and would not cause too much drag. I have to fine tune it. Thought of passing the cable from the transducer over the rudder "wheel" and make a hole near where the left hand cable goes inside the yak. I would then have all the cables and battery inside the yak and only about 6" of cable outside. Would use a rubber stopper to seal the hole and lots of Silastik (or marine grade equivalent). Will take photos and show.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[JT]

Forgive me for asking what is probably a dumb question but why is knowing the temperature so important to you? I just put my hand over the side and say "yep....about 18 degrees or so".

John

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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

 

[JT]

Precisely the sort of answer I was looking for. Good one Red and thanks for taking the time.

John

 

[Davey G]

red you forgot this one...

Water Temp 44 degrees. global warming has kicked in. ice caps have melted and disappeared. sea level has increased by 30 metres. ayres rock is now 'waterfront' land. :shock:

 

[spooled1]

Red, you forgot this one too:

34.5 degrees - accidental wetsuit urination.

Ahhhhhhhh - that's better!!!!

 

[JB]

Here's how I have my mounted on the elite. Its an eagle sounder and uses the standard 200k lowrance skimmer transducer.

No holes in the yak and uses the elite transducer scupper hole. I'm sure if you wanted to have it protruding lower then any scupper may do.
As the OK team have only made the plug (rubber section around the transducer in the photo with tread) to match hummingbird I had to do some alterations on the transdcuer and plug.

In the photo's the plugs not in (with transducer) however it fits underneath in the recess and then the cord up through thecentre scupper with transducer recess and into the battery box (the thing with the white top.

I have seen several other yaks with the transducer on the back where the rudder was, also seen one FND where off the back a tilt arm was placed and transducer in to remove out of water when not needed.
As davey says the rudder is another option as well. Drill a hole in it and mount on it (you can easily replace blade of rudder if needed). And finally I've seen the suction mounting style that is basically a big suction cup and then sucked onto the side. Not sure how well they stick on but lowrance make a mounting bracket for that (might be your best bet) - only downside is that it may come unstuck -anyone else comment on suckers :roll: try http://www.lowrance.com/Accessories/search.asp then look under transducer brackets

any questions sing out.

 

[simond11]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Drilling into the rudder??? :shock:
Hmm...well...ok..if you say so. I thought about it and then thought: "What if I tell them on AKFF I drilled my rudder...? They would laugh me out of the forum. Yeah, well...right. So much for that theory
Will go for the rudder option, except I will have to wait and put the Prowler in the water and gauge the height at which I need to place the transducer. I don't need to have the base in the water, so long as the transducer is laying fairly flat in the water. If not, it might be hard to get a proper "fish arch" on the screen.
I think temperature, as Red so eloquently pointed it, is very important, especially for my ocean fishing. At times when the water is warmer there is a lot of baitfish activity, and underneath the baitfish....well...Damn, where is my Shark Shield??
Thanks again to all
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15