[YakAtak]

After some advice on installing a sounder on the Esprit and hoping for some pics of other ppl's set up. I'm leaning towards the Eagle cuda, mainly as they are cheap. Will I need to fit some kind of bracket? Where have other guys mounted a sounder on these yaks? I was thinking the front left oposite the berkley rod holder, but then again, I also want to put another rod holder there, so keen to see what any other esprit owners have done.
Cheers,
Karl.

 

[Dodge]

Can't see any reason why you couldn't fit unit at the left [or right] of your espri front hatch on the vertical wall, depending on your feet placement, and the transducer inside the hull using silicone.

Your gunwale is still clear for the second berkley then, you can easy try before drilling holes mate, yell out if you want a hand with install

 

[YakAtak]

Thanks Richo, with all the stocktake sales going on in the next few weeks there should be some bargains to be had...

 

[The Mariner]

The hardest part about adding a sounder to an Espri is finding somewhere nice & flat in the hull to mount the transducer so it'll shoot straight down.

The best spot I found was in the keel right where it's at its widest down at the stern, but the width there is limited so check the transducer isn't too wide to fit.

 

[PeterJ]

Sticky links.
there is a wealth of info , even an espri with a sounder.

 

[YakAtak]

Thanks Phil, and Pete, I'll check the links

 

[PeterJ]

:wink:
Bit hard to find , perhaps needs to be at the top of the do it yourself page.

I did the sounder that way to be able to remove it. Works pretty good and after a few months like that i don't think i need do it another way.

It now runs from a 12Mah gell cell in the front hatch.

 

[YakAtak]

My concern is that my size 11 feet might cause some problems, and that it's quite close, should I want to paddle hard I am sure to bash the sounder with the paddle.

 

[PeterJ]

The other place is in the high diddle diddle at the top of the arc on the fore deck

 

[YakAtak]

Well, I found myself a cheap sounder, second hand Lowrance X45, this sounder has a sorta U shaped square bracket, and I'm thinking the only suitable place to mount it could be on the front hatch where the bracket could be used as a handle to get the hatch off when the unit is not attached. Has anyone ever tried this, or is the unit too heavy for this idea?

 

[PeterJ]

Yep tried it, it was one of my options for mounting. It would work but you need to raise the sounder with an extension to get it out of the well and away from your feet.

 

[YakAtak]

Hmm, thanks Pete, could be a challenge. :?

 

[Russ]

YakAtak

If im not to late I will share with you my idea for my sounder. I cant find anywhere that suits me to fit direct to my Yak both the sounder and berkley's so I will make a custom rack to fit to Beanbag 1 so that it accommodates both rod holders and my sounder within easy reach. My feet will sit directly under the bracket that they mount to, I just have to mull :shock: ................those were the day's over it for a while to weed out any unforeseen dramas it my cause. May even mount a rearview mirror on it so I can see how 8) I look in my new toy :twisted:

fishing Russ

 

[PeterJ]

Here is what i did first , the problem i found is that the handles on the rods would hit either my feet or the sounder .

Then i went to the sounder on the side and the holder in the middle.

 

[YakAtak]

I got my sounder, it's a Lowrance X45 with a square mounting bracket. I'm hoping I won't want to adjust it too often, as I plan on fitting it to the top of the front 'pod' above the front hatch where it will be out of reach without going side saddle. this will allow me to have my extra rod holders on the side and keep it well out of harms way. I have been told that these units are able to take submersion up to a reasonable depth, so a bit of splash won't harm it. I went into super cheap yesterday and got me a 12v cordless drill with spare battery and charger for $50, $10 less than a small deep cycle I was looking at, and that's before buying a charger. On the Dodgy one's advice, going to sit it in a small container on a sheet of non slip rubber and run wiring through a grommit in the front hatch for the unit, and down to the keel where the transducer will be secured with silicon, as suggested by Phil. I'll take some pics as I go and post em up, cheers.