Mounting fish finder

[done]

Alright this is a very newbie question but I don't care. I have a 1436 jon and i was looking at grabbing the Eagle® Cuda 168 for it (the key is low budget on this boat). What I was curious on, in order to install these things, do you have to do it on the hull? I am a bit nervous when it comes to drilling holes into the hull on my boat.

I have only played with on unit before, on my fathers boat when I was young and we did have to drill into the hull to mount the unit.

[fishbear]

A picture of the boat you are wanting to mount it on may help.  However, do you want to mount it up front or in the back of the boat?  Do you have any decking on the front?  How about welded gussets in the back corners for strength?

[fishbear]

Just saw the post about your boat build. lol  man you have lots of places to mount your F/f.  All the decking in front.  Just mount it up in the front corner so it is out of the way when you are fishing.

[Daniel My Brother]

I'm guessing you might be talking about where to mount the transducer, not the fishfinder? If so, just drill the holes and mount the sucker according to directions. You'll be fine.

[done]

Yeah, the transducer. Sorry, definitely not up on the lingo. LOL. I will probably put the screen itself in the back. I have a rear "mounter" trolling motor there and ironically, with all the decking I put in, i rarely will end up using it. Probably be in back and have one of my girls, my buddy, or my grandfather up front. Course I still love my seat in back.

Out of curiosity, how do you seal holes on a hull like that? It is not leaking now, but if course that is an area I would rather know how to fix ahead of time. That is probably a good part of why drilling through the hull for the transducer makes me nervous.

[redskinsfan360]

You could always mount it to the trolling motor or get a suction cup transducer mount if you do not want to drill into the hull.

[dieselaw]

i highly recommend mounting the transducer on the trolling motor, especially if that is your motor for the boat. it is very simple and all the material comes with the mount.  in most cases there is a mount built specifically for the fishfinder you use. and they are cheap....15 bucks.

[SDoolittle]

You could always mount it to the trolling motor or get a suction cup transducer mount if you do not want to drill into the hull.

I would advise against using a suction cup mount. I had one on my old jonboat and it would fall off constantly. Mount that sucker to your trolling motor!

[done]

Thanks for the info guys! I am getting one either way. Not having one really impacts my fishing. As this is mostly a new lake for me and the bottom has not been detailed really in 30 yrs, I cannot really rely on my maps to be 100% accurate and I have run into more than one case where a hole was not in a place it was mapped to be in.

I think once I get it, I may see how brave I am feeling then. Assuming I feel brave, what is the normal way to seal something like that if you did attach it right to your hull?

[Jig Man]

One way to mount a transducer on the back of a boat is to use a transducer board.  You put the transducer on the board and drill holes above the water line to mount the board to the boat.  You could even use C clamps instead of drilling.

[done]

By George...that sounds like a wonderful idea! I have a buddie I fish with a good deal and we alternate boats, and that would give me the potential to make it portable. I could probably use the industrial strength velcro I got all over the place to mount the screen itself.

Either way, I would be able to satisfy my paranoid nature and not drill holes in my hull. Heck I drilled enough holes on the seats and supports in the boat decking it, I do not know why I am so nervous about a couple more holes.

[Team_Dougherty]

try one of these

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?type=pod&id=0000844

[done]

Sweet! Thanks guys!

[done]

Does anyone have a good photo of a homemade transducer board? I am thinking I may make my own, and try to stick it there with C-Clamps, there is a good chance with my trailer configuration I may end up needing to move it when I trailer this thing.

Just looking for some good samples.

[done]

Alright, I gave up and I am making one of my own using the left overe Aluminum I have from addind a deck to this boat. Shgould save me a bit of cash.  Will take some pics when I am done in case anyone else wants to try it.