fish finder mounting - Maxum Boat Owners Club

Flying_Maxum · 07-02-2008, 05:58 PM

Well I finally bought a fish finder, not a real expensive model, just a basic Hummingbird. I have a couple questions on mounting. First, the instructions say to use a two part epoxy to mount the transducer in the bilge, does anyone have any recommendations on which type is the best? I am sure I need something that wont break down in the presence of water/oil/gas. Second, I dont really want to screw the mounting plate to the dash. I would like to mount it to the windshield support, with the availability of also moving it to the front bow rail if I am sitting up there fishing (trolling motor is next on my list). Any ideas for a mounting bracket?

TBarCYa · 07-02-2008, 06:24 PM

For the transducer, I don't have any recommendations but I may be able to help with the display mounting. What I did with my Garmin was to use a rail mount I found at West Marine and make an adapter that goes between the rail mount and the display bracket. There are pictures at http://www.tombarcia.net/lottie-da/GPSMAP440s.htm

seapuppy · 07-03-2008, 06:03 AM

go to the gallery and look at the instl. I did on the mounting ...I got a ram mount and attached it to my windscreen stanchion...works great and is not drilled into the dash.....as for the epoxy...I had mine installed in the engine bay and it's installed with 5200 silicone sealant...the coffer dam is then filled with either anti freeze or mineral oil....
works great and I can honestly say it helps alot out here in the puget sound....

SP

Flying_Maxum · 07-03-2008, 02:05 PM

Both very nice installs, I am curious about the way you both mounted the transducer. It appears that both of you put it in some sort of round container for lack of better terms. Is there a reason for that? The instructions I have say to epoxy it straight to the inside hull, with no mention of anti-freeze or anything. I understand the need for it to be mounted with no gaps or air trapped between the transducer and the hull, so enlighten me.

TBarCYa · 07-03-2008, 02:19 PM

The main reason I didn't epoxy directly to the hull is that I didn't like the idea of permanently mounting the transducer. Once epoxied, it's very difficult to remove the transducer and my engine bay has very little room to work so I figured it would be best to use a less permanent mount. My transducer is also a transom mount and was not made to be epoxied to the hull so I figured this would be best.

I did change the mount in that I moved it to the port side of the engine bay and it's no longer in silicone. After a couple weeks, the silicone no longer adhered to the hull and the depth finder stopped reading. What I did was epoxy the ring to the hull and use a light oil as a medium for the transducer. This way, I didn't have to worry about there being air bubbles in the epoxy as it cured that would affect the performance of the transducer and if necessary I can remove the transducer.

The new transducer mount is a 4" PVC coupler that is threaded at one end. The unthreaded end got epoxied to the hull and I have a screw-in cap that keeps the oil in place. I have some pics and will try to post them soon.