Transducer fitment

Good day all,

Can anyone advise on the best way to fit a Lowrance 83/200 transducer to a Fluid Buddy Angler kayak please.

I have looked at Ram mounts these are pricey, I am not sure of the shape of the kayak body for a proper scupper mount and have had some guys tell me the plastic is too thick to do a in hull mount.

Please can anyone assist me

I don't think a through hull is the problem.
its getting epoxy to keep sticking to plastic, which it will not do.
the risk is also air bubbles which will be a problem.
I do not know if silicone will work.

fishtec use to be here on sl.
he is on facbook.
and im sure he can assist with better advise

remember what you are using the fish finder for!!!!

1st bottom , how deep am I fishing?
2nd structure, is there any around?
3rd bait, locating bait is what you will need it for.
4th water temp
5th speed you moving about.
6th possibly looking for a thermocline.

nothing more that you will be using it for on a kayak/ ski

Dont know about a buddy but fitted to other plastics before no issues, the temperature wont be accurate but the picture is 100% fine...Use silicon, works just fine, you have to make sure there are no air bubbles trapped between the transducer and silicon or silicon and hull otherwise works just fine..

Hi

You spot on with that comment Pottie, also just the odd mark or two on grounds fished before, but the guys are more likely to give up theirs mom's secret recipes than sharing those marks. when a kayak gets stolen you are likely to get the ski back without marks on the finder.:hyst:

We have used Sicaflex,(Builders warehouse on the shelf) and yes just make sure there is no bubbles, and worked well for all the uses as Pottie explained.

Robr wrote:

Good day all,

Can anyone advise on the best way to fit a Lowrance 83/200 transducer to a Fluid Buddy Angler kayak please.

I have looked at Ram mounts these are pricey, I am not sure of the shape of the kayak body for a proper scupper mount and have had some guys tell me the plastic is too thick to do a in hull mount.

Please can anyone assist me

Click to expand...

Suction Cup is the only way. I had same kayak . My fish finder Hummingbird came with suction cup transducer . Easy mount , adjust and removal.
Kayak is polyethylene and nothing sticks to it. Stay away from making any holes .

Sikaflex sticks..I used some black automotive silicon, also worked..suction cup not sound like bad idea?

Dr halibut hoffman wrote:

Sikaflex sticks..I used some black automotive silicon, also worked..suction cup not sound like bad idea?

Click to expand...

Sikaflex sticks to polyethelene? Not

I had fluid buddy and chumani . Regardless that Sika or a silicon wont hold much on that material . You don't want anything permanently mounted below water line on kayak as you will rip it in no time.
I use to remove transducer prior of landing at bank. I also did not like idea of having fish finder screen bolted as it will get damaged .  

Ideal unit is Hummingbird Piranha max 215 - it works of 10 rechargeable AA batteries mounted in a base that has rubber cushion underneath and it came with suction cup transducer . I steel have it - will sell for R 800

maybe my kayak a different plastic but assume PE? Did my rod holders with them still seems to be sealed although they are bolted down as well? But ja nothing much sticks to the stuff..maybe Im wrong?

Thanks to all of the members for your responses.

There has been a bit of a learning curve here for me and after a lot of head scratching I decided to make use of a Lowrance Scupper Mount. The problem with this mount which you will see in the pics is that the kayaks scupper holes are contoured and not straight in a vertical or horizontal axis.

I managed to mount the transducer flush with the keel(hopefully it wont rip off). When it passes through the scupper hole to the top of the boat I had to modify the scupper plug supplied with the kayak and use this to plug the hole as the one supplied with the scupper mount kit is too small in diameter compared to the kayaks scupper hole. (top tip: the foam golf ball scupper plug idea seems great but wont fit this kayak)

The lowrance top cap will not fit flush with the deck due to the contour of the kayak's scupper hole. But I have got it down as low as possible and I am comfortable with the way it sits.

I have not tried this yet on the water but it seems as if this will work. Any comments or suggestions on this install would be greatly appreciated.

Flush with keel

Underside install

Scupper hole cable through

Top finishing cap

Very interesting, never seen such a thing. Only snag is you now have one footwell that you can't drain