How to Install a Fish Finder Transducer Inside a Kayak - In-Hull Installation Guide
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- Опубліковано 4 бер 2021
- In this video I show you how to install a fish finder transducer inside the hull of a kayak using a custom transducer pad made from high-density foam filled with an adhesive. This method of transducer installation allows the sonar to shoot through the hull with excellent results and works with traditional Broadband Sonar, CHIRP sonar and Downscan Imaging transducers.
This method is a great option if you do not have a transducer scupper hole moulded into your kayak and you do not want to use a transducer arm over the side of the kayak. In-Hull transducer installation can be used with plastic and fibreglass kayaks. You will require a Waterproof Cable Seal to route the wiring from the inside of the kayak to the outside where the fish finder will be mounted.
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Thank you for this video. The tip on warming the adhesive first made a huge difference. I'm very happy with the result.
This is the best explained instruction video I’ve seen so far in this subject. I’m about to tackle this project in the next couple of weeks, and I’m grateful to have come across this video. Very, very well done, mate!
Thanks for the comment and great to know that you have found the video useful. I hope the install goes well 😀
@@CornishKayakAngler It still works through the plastic of the Kayak ???
Nice to meet you today. This is exactly what I said I want to do with the transducer (once I figure out which fish finder I'm going to get). First things first tho, I need to get my new motor and outrigger fitted, thanks for the advice on batteries. 👍🏻😁
About to start kayak fishing this coming spring so your videos have been helping me a lot get my kayak ready! Many, many thanks! Cheers!
Thanks Pedro, I hope the kayak rigging goes well 😀🎣
Brilliant!
I've not been a fan of the arm mount transducers, they don't look clean and extra stuff always seems like it's in the way. This install is precise and looks great to boot!
That was very useful Liam, thanks for making the video
Graeme
Brilliantly helpful and very well explained. Thanks
Thanks Colin, glad you found this useful 😀
I mounted my transducer behind my tracking skeg fin underneath with marine adhesive and ran my cable up through a cut tube also with adhesive to get 100% accuracy.. Also they don’t recommended using transducers in dry locations it will shorten the life of it !! It took a long time and lots of work but well worth it
Another very useful video Liam 👍👍👍
Excellent video!
Excellent idea mate and a well put together video :)
Great video can’t wait until I fit mine 👍
This is a great video because I have the exact same kayak, had it since 2016 but just now adding a fishfinder. I found this video while I'm awaiting the fishfinder and mounting parts to come in the mail... and guess what I bought the same fishfinder you did! Our kayaks could be twins if mine wasn't camo green.
But I think I'm going to try the duct seal method first to mount the transducer because it's cheaper and easier and supposedly makes a better long-term adhesion. Now I have to find the followup video to see how you do the mounting hardware and wiring... if you used the long-arm RAM mount I'll LOL because that's what I bought. Cheers!
Nice choice with the fish finder! Hope the install goes well, duct seal installs can work great too 👍🏻 I used a Railblaza fish finder mount on this particular kayak but have Ram Mounts on my own kayaks 😎 hope you managed to find the follow up video!
Excellent video! I currently use duct seal to seat my transducer but it can loosen over time. Your approach is much better. Thank you!
How long does the duct seal last and do you just add more.
I'm concerned about the gap that deeds filled to have the transducer sid level.
Thank you
Here’s kind of an update on the duct seal. I stored my kayak on it’s side this past winter. Sure enough, the transducer broke free from the duct seal. However, it only took a couple of minutes to replace the transducer in the duct seal. It’s been almost 3 months now and the transducer is still working great. I’d planned to change the seal method this summer but I just didn’t get around to it. I hate to mess with since it’s still working.
Yes!!! A properly explained video. Cheers for posting. It’s a sub from me 👊
Thanks
I'm planning to mount dual pvc bracket across the bow and then mount Scotty mounts on both sides for either the Scotty rod holder or Scotty transducer mount.
yeah, good clear video and typically all your videos are well thought out and informative. I have seen people do this state side, except they have a tighter fit on a deeper cut foam block glued down and they simply fill the block with water, just covering the transducer. sure it evaporates, but you just refill after a session. I kinda thought that water was the optimum medium for this method for in hull installation, (no bubbles to worry about) but I looks like the glue method works, despite it been fully hardened. I am going to add a FF to my Predator soon, not sure yet if ill go for a bigger say 5/7 inch screen or something small and handy like a Garmin 4cv, however, there is a scupper hole in the Predator, so I will be going for the direct contact method. I am thinking of sticking a plumbing pipe down the supper hole and attaching the transducer. That way I don't even have to mess around drilling into the recess (I hate drilling holes in my kayak hull) Still very interesting idea. Thanks for making it, I am sure it's very helpful to many.
Hi William, yes that method also works well, I know it as being called a ‘wet mount in-hull installation’. It works just fine but yes you have to top the water up each time. Good luck with your install 😀
@@CornishKayakAngler Thanks so much, yeah, I decided to get hold of some 3D computer printed bits designed to do scupper install on my Predator, so I wont bother with the in-hull installation after all. I will have direct connection with the water in the recess below. I will remember this for the future kayaks. kind regards.
Very good job. My question is how thick an area was filledin the center under the transducer . Im thinking the sides hit the kayak. Whats the gap that was filledm
Thank you
love your videos man! im looking at getting the Tarpon 120 kayak, just wondering do you need to glue the transducer to the bottom of the hull? can you just tape it down with strong tape of course? knowing me if i do this im going to ruin it haha. love your work man makes me want to buy this kayak even more
I have watched your videos several times as well as all the other ones on my IPad, I think you have the best videos on UA-cam. Thanks for making them. What do you think about building a dam with Duct Seal and then filling it with RTV Silicon?
Thanks for the comment and great to hear that you like my videos 😀 you could just stick the whole transducer down with duct seal - a few people do this with good success, perhaps give it a try. If not build the dam with duct seal and fill with silicon, sikaflex, goop etc. 👍🏻
@@CornishKayakAngler
Thanks, I appreciate your response.
@@CornishKayakAngler
I tried Duct Seal but didn’t get a reading, my Lowrance said it wasn’t connected to the transducer. Did I d9 something wrong putting the transducer into the Duct Seal? Thanks, hopefully you can answer.
Love your explanations, so clear, not too slow, not too fast! My plan is to install a Lowrance Hook Reveal 5 on my sea kayak. I don't want to install it outside the hull because of landing on rocky beaches. This fish finder came with side scan transducer which everyone says doesn't work when installed in hull. So I looked around but did not find the transducer shown in this video. The ones listed on Lowrance site all seem to be shaped differently, the cable doesn't lay flat. Maybe you can tell me more about your specific transducer? I would appreciate!
Thanks Andrew, your comment is appreciated. The transducer in the video is the HDI 83/200hz transducer. The stem of the transducer (bit with the eye to bolt onto a transom mount) is not fitted to the transducer so will look different to any photos of this one you may have seen. Sidescan transducers will usually have the cable coming from the top side and are much larger, so look completely different again. Unfortunately side scan will not work in-hull/thru-hull and must be mounted so that it can shoot sonar out to the side without interference. This means they need to be just below the keel-line of the kayak for best performance. Hope this helps!
@@CornishKayakAngler OK thanks for the quick and helpful response. I guess I can just leave the stem off and proceed as explained in the video. It's good to understand that before I buy the replacement transducer. I have to tell you, it's going to be fun using this equipment, right here in the protected waters among the islands of southeast Alaska.
very informative video but i have one question if you change kayaks how easy is it to take this out and put into a different kayak?
Thank you for the video, I'll be installing my Garmin Striker Plus 4 in my Yak in the coming weeks, I'm a bit nervous as I don't want to wreck it. No doubt I'll be watching all ur instillation vids leading up to it. Thanks for making it easy to follow and informative. One question, I've used normal shower sealant on my other attachments, anchor trolley, rod holders and so on. It seems to be ok, will that sealant be ok for the transducer?
Thanks for the comment and it’s nice to know you found it easy to follow. Some bathrooms sealants are better than others at sticking to polyethylene. For the low price of sealants I would just get some Sikaflex EBT+ or Marine Goop as these are tried and tested. No need to be nervous. If it doesn’t work out you can just peel it / pry it all off the hull and transducer and start again 😀
@@CornishKayakAngler Quick update, I installed it the other day following ur instructions and had it out for a sea test last Monday. It worked a treat so thanks for ur video, much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your brilliant Video. This is exactly what i had in mind when i was thinking about how to install my Lowrance hook2 x5 into my tarpon 120 :) !
Only differance is that i will use a ram-mount for even more flexibility, but the railblaizer is surely fine as well i guess.
Regarding the adhasive i have one Question: do you think it would be a thing if i use sikaflex 221 (i have some left from building up my Camping van) instead of the sikaflex etb+ ?
btw: ;) i hope my english is not to bad, had almost no practise since school.
Kind regards, Martin from Hamburg
Hi Martin! Ram Mounts are great and I use these on my own fishing kayaks. Any flexible adhesive will be fine as long as it sticks well to the hull, so Sikaflex 221 should work well too. Oh and your English is great! 😊
Great idea and awesome presentation. However, in the US I can't see to locate Sikaflex EBT plus clear. Any alternate suggestions? A popular approach I've seen is to use Duct Seal (eg deal Industries 31-601 Duct Seal 1 lb Dark Putty Gray) to accomplish the same thing. Somewhat similar to your approach. How would you contrast them?
Hi Tom, thanks for the comment. Try and get hold of some Marine Goop from Eclectic Products - should be readily available in the US. If anything it is better than Sikaflex but difficult to get hold of here in the UK. Another one from the same company is E6000. I have used both in the past with good results. Duct Seal method works too. As long as the sealant / putty adheres well to the hull and forms a continuous layer between the base of the transducer and the hull of the kayak then it should work just fine 😀
Hi will this work on my feelfree lure V2 fishing kayak if I glue the transducer to the hull. Thanks great video
Yeah this method will work providing it’s a standard broadband sonar, CHIRP sonar or Downscan imaging transducer you are using.
@@CornishKayakAngler The fishfinder is a Garmin Striker Vivid 7cv with a GT20 transducer thanks for getting back to me
Hi Liam, does the transducer need water ? because i am afraid its getting hot..what do you reckon ?? thanks
I cannot get sika flex ebt+ in the States. So, I used E6000. It bled through the foam form. Also, I'm on day 4 of curing, and it's still not solid (transducer moves around). I'll try marine goop next and report back.
That sounds like a long time to cure. What temps do you have? I know in the cold it can take a while for both E6000 and Marine Goop to cure.
are you happy with the result now that you had time testing your fish finder? looking at the installation point i think is to close to the drain holes in the kayak where air can get in and interfere with the signal from the transducer?
Yeah it works spot on, no interference at all. Air bubbles passing under the hull briefly won’t cause much interference. The only issue comes with air bubbles trapped permanently between the transducer and the hull of the kayak, but using the install method in the video you won’t get them 😎
Hi,great video, I am in the process of fitting a striker 4 plus transducer inside the hull,is it important which way it points, ie is there a front or back to them.
Usually it’s best to point to flat end of the transducer to the back of the kayak, or the end with the wire to the front of the kayak. Hope this helps!
@@CornishKayakAngler that's great,thanks for getting back to me
I followed your guidance on this one to install my garmin 300c echo fish finder. However I’m still not getting a reading. The kayak is a fibreglass kaskazi dorado 2, mounted in the same position using the same materials as yours. When I’ve turned it on on the water, I just get the standard demo display that comes on the garmin fish finders, so I’m wondering where I’m going wrong? Is there a chance that the fibreglass hull is too thick to support an in hull transducer? Happy to listen to any thoughts you have on this. Potentially thinking about buying an arm to hold the transducer directly in the water instead! Thanks.
It’s possible that the fibreglass has been payed up poorly with air spaces between the fibres but it’s unlikely. Are you getting any reading at all? Or a complete blank screen without any sign of a reading even if it’s nonsensical at the very top of the screen? Can you hear the transducer clicking when on dry land? It might be worth removing it and trying to hold the transducer in a bucket of water or water butt, again the reading on the screen will be rubbish but you should see a change from a reading in air. This will at least show the transducer is working. If so then it would point to the fibreglass being the issue. Hope this helps!
@@CornishKayakAngler the first outing I had a non sensical reading (the whole viewpoint was condensed to the top few cm of the screen). Then I followed your mounting guidance and on the second trip it just wouldn’t come out of demo mode. Upon further review there’s some guidance to suggest trying a force restart of the fish finder as it seems to suggest that the finder hasn’t properly established a connection to the transducer. Failing that, it’ll have to be an arm extension I think 👍
Nice video bud.Could I use marine grade silicon to stick my transducer?
Cheers. Yep should work fine, just scratch up the plastic a little so it can take a good hold. Give it a go, worst case if it doesn’t seem to work right just peel it off and try again with something else 👍🏻
@@CornishKayakAngler legend thankyou kindly
Hey bud just a question don't you need the transducer in the water to register a scan? Thanks in advance
Hi Brett, you don’t need direct contact with the water for standard sonar and Downscan imaging transducers, and these will shoot through thin solid interfaces such as the plastic hull of a kayak. It works surprisingly well when set up as shown in the video 😀
I noticed the wire is towards the front of kayak, does it make a uturn and come back to the fishfinder? Why not have wire come straight back to you? Thanks
The transducers are designed to be installed with the wire forwards / flat end to the stern, for hydrodynamics when installed on the transom of a boat. It technically does not matter when installed inside a kayak. The wire is flexible enough to be routed wherever needed once installed.
Would the effects be similar, better or worse going through a fibreglass canoe do you think?
The effects should be the same providing it is single layer glass with a good layup. I know of several people who have installed in glass yaks (Kaskazi, Stealth) this way with good success.
Hi, I have inflatable kayak 2 seater where we cannot fit transducer inside like you did. But we have made arrangement to hold transducer 30 cm below the surface the water. can you suggest will we face air traps problem if transducer is below the water surface? Can you also guide will be there be any difference if we place the transducer at the side of the kayak or when we place at bottom center of kayak? Also, is it something like transducer's face should always be towards the movement of the kayak?
If the transducer is submerged in water then you won’t get any air trapped beneath it, so no problems. It won’t matter is the transducer is beside the kayak or directly beneath it. The transducer should be positioned with the flat end (back) facing away from the direction of travel i.e facing the stern of the kayak. Hope this helps!
@@CornishKayakAngler Thank you so much for your reply. It solved my query. I have one more doubt if you can help me with this. I need to measure depth measurement of a lake and if my transducer is 30 cm below the surface of the water then do I need to add this 30 cm in the recorded values of the transducer to get the final depth values or the transducer automatically gives the depth with respect to the surface of the water?
You would need to add 30cm to your readings as the fish finder calculates from the bottom of the transducer. Most units have a ‘depth offset’ setting where you can set the difference to give readings from the surface.
One more question...is that the transducer that came with the hook?? Or is it a special one..I want the hook 7
Yeah this is the 83/200 HDI transducer that comes with the Hook Reveal 5, the same comes with the Hook Reveal 7, although you can also get these units with a 50/200 HDI transducer too - that will also work fine with this method.
I have followed your video and fitted a transducer to my tarpon 120. First try of it today and I don’t seem to be getting a bottom reading on the sonar or the down scan. What have I done wrong?
Hi Dave, difficult to know why the fish finder isn’t showing a reading. Which fish finder is it? The obvious reason is that there is a lot of air trapped between the transducer and hull of the kayak but it rarely happens for people to be honest. It could be possible that the transducer itself is faulty. You could test by holding the transducer just under the surface in a bucket full of water or better still something deeper like a water butt or pond! Even though shallow you should see some sort of reading on the screen and the reading should change if you move the transducer about. If working then it may just need to be re-bonded to the kayak again. Hope you get to the bottom of it 🤞🏻
@@CornishKayakAngler Hi, thanks for the reply. I have the Lowrance hook reveal x 5. Iv asked on some other sites and some people have suggested turning auto off and setting a depth? I will probably do as you say and remove it test it then re-fit. I was hoping it would be simple to fit and just switch it on but from other users that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Thanks
Dave.
Could you just seal around the foam and put water in the hole with the transducer? I would like to use the fish finder elsewhere.
I expect this will also work on fiberglass?
Yep it will work on single layer fibreglass hulls too 👍🏻
I just tried this method on my Hobie kayak using Sikaflex Pro Select Sealant and the transducer transmission would not penetrate the Sikaflex, presumably due to air bubbles in the material. I removed the transducer from the kayak with a putty knife and tested it by dropping it in a 5 gallon pail of water and there was no data. Then I scraped the Sikaflex off the bottom of the transducer, tried it again in the bucket of water and it worked perfectly. Have you actually tried this technique yourself CKA?
Hi Don, I have used this method to install many fish finders on many kayaks and it works every time. Did you test the fish finder fitted to the kayak on the water? When you say there was no data, was there any reading on the screen at all? Even if there are air pockets beneath the transducer, you will still get a reading when the kayak is on the water, it will just have some interference on the screen. If you tested it on the water and had no reading at all then it may indicate a connectivity issue between the transducer and the unit. Which model fish finder do you have and which kayak are you fitting it too?
@@CornishKayakAngler The fish finder is a 2 year old Humminbird Helix 5. The transducer was initially installed in-hull in my Outback using epoxy but it popped loose after 2 years. I wanted to use something with a bit of elasticity to prevent that happening again so followed your advice. The type of Sikaflex you used isn't available here in Canada, at least I couldn't find it, so I used "Sikaflex Pro Select Polyurethane Construction Sealant". When there is no data received by the Humminbird 2D sonar the sonar screen remains blank. It's as though the Humminbird sonar program turns off when there is no return data. Since the GPS continued working there was no power problem. As I said, when I removed the transducer (with a putty knife) leaving a layer about 6 mm thick on the bottom of the transducer and dropped it in to the pail of water nothing changed, the screen remained blank. I then scraped the Sikaflex off the bottom of the transducer until no trace of it remained and dropped it into the pail of water again, causing the sonar screen to instantly come alive and display the proper bottom profile chart (albeit 18" down). The inescapable conclusion is that this particular type of Sikaflex either does not allow any of the outgoing transducer beam to pass through it or, it doesn't allow any of the sonar return signal to pass through it. In either case, this type of Sikaflex doesn't work as required.
Hmmm 🤔 the method works with most sealants / adhesives to be honest. The only thing I can think is that the transducer hasn’t been pushed down close enough to the hull - I push it down through the sealant until it touches the hull. Once set there is less than a millimetre (probably less than 0.5mm) of sealant between the bottom of the transducer and the hull of the kayak. That’s the only thing I can think of that may be causing the sonar to not shoot through correctly. Might be worth a try again and give it a good push down hard against the hull. Or try Marine Goop or E6000 from Eclectic Products if you can source this in Canada. Those are tried and tested too and I have used several times in the past. Hope this helps!
Did you have to make hole in the kayak for transducer to be on water
Watch the video and you will see - no hole required!
Hi there! Do I have to order a specific in hull transducer? Or is that the one that the unit comes with as standard?
This is just the standard transom mount transducer out the box. Most transom mount transducers will work fine this way providing it is not a sidescan transducer
@@CornishKayakAngler thank you! As this video is a couple of years old now, would you still recommend the hook reveal 5? I've not used a fish finder before
@@CornishKayakAnglerI tried doing this myself and I'm scared I have air bubbles. How does air bubbles effect the fish finder?
can transducer be removed from this stuff if you decide to place it to another boat?
Yeah you can just pop it off the plastic and then peel it off the transducer. Sometimes you need a thin palette knife (or similar) to dig under the glue to get it to pop off the hull but it will go. Likewise it can take a sharp blade to cut the glue from the transducer if it is stuck on particularly well.
Will this work with side view transducers?
No it won’t work with side scan. Side scan transducers need to sit proud of the hull so that the sonar can shoot to the sides without interference.
How can the transducer work through the plastic?
The sound transmits through the plastic without an issue. The transducer is housed within a plastic casing so all you’re doing by bonding it to the hull is increasing the thickness of the plastic housing by a few millimetres. The sonar is usually pinging hundreds to thousands of times per second and it shoots through without a problem providing there is a solid interface between the bottom of the transducer and the hull of the kayak - fully explained in the video.
@@CornishKayakAngler thank u for explaining
I am pretty skeptical about this method. You typically don't want to get anything between the transducer and the water that will attenuate the signal, and any type of flexible caulk or adhesive does just that. I would like to see some pictures of your signal. I love the idea though.
Crystal clear signal, no need to be skeptical, many use this method with excellent results. I have plenty of images. Find my email via kayakfishing.blog and send me a message and I can email some examples across 😃 the only time the reading is affected is when air gets trapped under the transducer as it instantly reflects the signal back to the transducer and it gives a nonsensical reading.
How do you clear the air bubbles ?
Hi Felix, if you find a few air bubbles in the sealant after applying it, try using something thin and flat to push the bubble out of the way and to the side where it will not sit under the transducer. I have previously used something as simple as a cable tie for this. Don’t worrying about really tiny air bubbles, it’s larger bubbles that create voids of air under the transducer that will cause a problem. Hope this helps.
@@CornishKayakAngler Thank you so much for you reply . Help me a lot , I almost use two bottle of silicone . Get there soon 😂
Ho fatto questo metodo è andato bene per un po' poi dopo un mese il trasduttore non leggeva più
They don't have to submerge?
This one is submerged… in sealant! But no, they don’t have to be in direct contact with water and will shoot through plastic kayak hulls.
And what were the names of the adhesive??
There are a few types that work well for this. In the video I use Sikaflex EBT+ Clear, but if you can find Marine Goop, E6000 or CT1 these all also work fine for sticking a transducer down.
pinched my method
Nice diy but the transducer is designed to be inside water so that it gets chilled from it due to lower temperature. I am not expert please prove me wrong..
They work fine like this and never noticed any problem with overheating. It’s a common way to install a transducer on kayaks that don’t have a dedicated transducer scupper hole, lots of people install them inside the hull in this way or very similar. I have had one installed in the hull on one of my kayaks for many years without issue 😀
if you get air bubbles you can give a quick hit with a heat gun or hairdryer the heat will bring the bubbles to the surface and pop em
Could you just seal around the foam and put water in the hole with the transducer? I would like to use the fish finder elsewhere.
Yep that will work - it’s known as a wet mount in-hull installation. It’s often best to use a much deeper piece of foam, or cut the bottom off a plastic storage container and shape to match the bottom of the kayak. Seal this in place then fill with water each time. The deeper foam/container helps prevent the water sloshing out during use. You just need to make a way to ensure the transducer stays in place but can be removed when needed. I have seen people use the transom mount bolted to a vertical side of a plastic container sealed the hull, using wing nuts so it can easily be undone and removed when needed. Hope this info helps!