Yak Attack Switchblade for Transducer - How to Make it Work?

[snake95]

Went for my first paddle with a Yak Attack Switchblade as the arm for my Garmin Striker Plus 7sv unit.

 

It seemed really flimsy and the arm flopped all over the place.  

 

I am re-assessing.  Aside from getting a different arm, if anyone has made this thing work for them, please let me know how!

 

I have it set up directly onto a track on the side of the kayak.  I don't have a Yak Attack cellblock, or mounted directly to the kayak.

 

Might be as simple as: tighten connections more...

[J Francho]

Pics?  This is my old version of their arm on a track using a screw ball: 

 

[snake95]

15 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Pics?  This is my old version of their arm on a track using a screw ball: 

As always, awesome.  Thank you.  Much appreciated.  

[J Francho]

This setup doesn't wiggle at all in the water.  Do you have a pic of yours?

[snake95]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

This setup doesn't wiggle at all in the water.  Do you have a pic of yours?

I will post a pic.

 

However....

 

There is no advice more effective than making a guy think about what the heck he has done by sharing a pic...  so, I went and looked harder at what I am doing.

 

I am an engineer: physics and common sense say that longer arms = more flex and joint loosening.

I have tightened the bolts.  That helped!

I have now shortened the arm that cantilevers out over the side.

 

Next move will be to reduce the depth of the transducer since it is currently about 12-16 inches below bottom of the boat.  With this switchblade you can cut the rods to shorten them.

 

@J Francho how shallow can/should I go with a side imaging transducer?  (I take full responsibility if I cut it too short!! ?

 

THEN I will take a pic and post!

[J Francho]

47 minutes ago, snake95 said:

I have now shortened the arm that cantilevers out over the side.

I did this to my old arm, which was all plastic.  I also used that scrap to put a 45 brace to strengthen the vertical arm.

 

47 minutes ago, snake95 said:

@J Francho how shallow can/should I go with a side imaging transducer?  (I take full responsibility if I cut it too short!! ?

Mine sits about 2" below the lowest point of the hull.  You can kind of see it here.  It's not that deep:

[snake95]

@J Francho After my mods, this is what it looks like.  Let me know if you see anything obvious, but I think this should be a big improvement.  Thanks again.

 

*It is possible to reduce the depth a little more by trimming the vertical segment that extends down from the arm.  I have not measured the depth below the hull at this point, just winged it.

 

FWIW I don't love the bolting setup on the switchblade between the two vertical pieces.  I would say that is the biggest disappointment in terms of basic design of this setup; maybe that will be fixed by YakAttack in a future revision.

 

[CountryboyinDC]

That should be deeper than you need for side scan unless you keep your kayak on edge a lot (what am I saying, it's a Bonafide, it's impossible to put on edge).  You only need to be down to at or slightly below the lowest part of your kayak's hull.  I've got to say, that swing arm mount seems more complicated than necessary.  I have a Ram mount similar to @J Francho , the ball is bolted to the Cellblock.  It's pretty solid.  If Ram makes a swing arm that fits your transducer, it may be worth switching. It looks as though yours can be trimmed to length both in the horizontal dimension and the vertical, but it still isn't as tidy as the Ram.  Sorry I can't find another picture, but you may be able to zoom in to see what my setup looks like.  But if you've already solved the unsteady portion, you can run it as is; you may not even notice in a while.

[snake95]

11 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I have a Ram mount similar to @J Francho , the ball is bolted to the Cellblock.  It's pretty solid.  If Ram makes a swing arm that fits your transducer, it may be worth switching. It looks as though yours can be trimmed to length both in the horizontal dimension and the vertical, but it still isn't as tidy as the Ram. 

OK thanks @CountryboyinDC

 

Making what I have work is preferable, but I will keep the Ram Mount in mind.  I have a Ram mount for my phone which is excellent.

 

I would say Yak Attack is partway there with this arm, but I am new to this and my only basis for picking it up was that it was an arm from a kayak accessory brand.

 

The mount to the tracks would be more rigid if it is possible to add a second bolt.  The mount can be bolted to a cellblock or directly to the kayak.

 

The general arm arrangement is OK, but there is another arm segment that I have removed, in order to simplify it down to just horizontal and vertical bars with only one joint.  

 

11 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

That should be deeper than you need for side scan unless you keep your kayak on edge a lot (what am I saying, it's a Bonafide, it's impossible to put on edge).  You only need to be down to at or slightly below the lowest part of your kayak's hull.

Thanks.  I left it a little longer for the pic since I can always shorten it further. 

 

I assume a little deeper is better for avoiding near-surface turbulence?  Maybe it doesn't matter?

 

[CountryboyinDC]

11 hours ago, snake95 said:

I assume a little deeper is better for avoiding near-surface turbulence?  Maybe it doesn't matter?

I'm  not an expert on graphs and transducers, but I would imagine it's better a little long than short, just knowing what I know about transducers of other uses (ultrasound).  

 

In general, I think Yak Attack builds great stuff, but I have a couple of rod holders and I've seen the swing arms that tells me Ram still has the best articulation point in the business, the Ram ball.  What you have will probably work out fine, though.

[J Francho]

On 11/10/2020 at 7:47 AM, snake95 said:

I assume a little deeper is better for avoiding near-surface turbulence?  Maybe it doesn't matter?

A little long is better than too short, for sure.  You can put a cake back in the oven a few more minutes, but you can't unbake a burnt one.

[snake95]

26 minutes ago, J Francho said:

A little long is better than too short, for sure.  You can put a cake back in the oven a few more minutes, but you can't unbake a burnt one.

Thanks for the advice, I shaved it down to 2 inches below the bottom of the hull and will test out and report back in after I get to test it out again. 

 

I also learned on my maiden voyage that I will take it to some shallow spots, so I was motivated to shorten it up.

 

Maybe someone else starting out with a switchblade and SI transducer will stumble across this thread.

[J Francho]

35 minutes ago, snake95 said:

Maybe someone else starting out with a switchblade and SI transducer will stumble across this thread.

For every registered member that looks at a thread, there are 5-10 lurkers that look at it, so yes someone will see it and benefit.

[Dens228]

Is there a reason you didn't mount it to the underside of the pod?

I have mine mounted on the pod, as well as the Garmin itself, battery is inside the pod.  Very clean, simple, and effective. 

[snake95]

33 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

Is there a reason you didn't mount it to the underside of the pod?

That's a good question.  Bear with me here, I am totally new to both kayak fishing and fish finders!

 

I think you mean mounting on a bracket through a scupper hole, or inside the hull.

 

First, side imaging.  I bought a unit with SI.  My understanding from reading posts by @J Francho and others is that side imaging won't work mounted directly to the hull.

 

Secondly, I expect to be a little rough with this kayak and a transducer on the bottom might get bumped.

 

Finally, just seemed like a really simple way to keep the unit portable, in case I want to use it on multiple kayaks etc.

 

I am going to try this out, open to further suggestions.

[J Francho]

2 hours ago, Dens228 said:

Is there a reason you didn't mount it to the underside of the pod?

It isn't removable.  It's just a waterproof lid.

[Dens228]

36 minutes ago, J Francho said:

It isn't removable.  It's just a waterproof lid.

Ah, my bad.  I thought it was an SS.............

[snake95]

14 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

Ah, my bad.  I thought it was an SS.............

Good point, this is just an RS117, a basic model - no pod.

I think the pods would be handy.  Regardless there is still a transducer scupper.  

FWIW if anyone reads this and is wondering about screen positioning, based on my very limited experience so far, the RS117 track in the center of the kayak is a logical and accessible place to put the fishfinder mount.

[snake95]

On 11/11/2020 at 8:21 AM, snake95 said:

Thanks for the advice, I shaved it down to 2 inches below the bottom of the hull and will test out and report back in after I get to test it out again. 

 

I also learned on my maiden voyage that I will take it to some shallow spots, so I was motivated to shorten it up.

 

Maybe someone else starting out with a switchblade and SI transducer will stumble across this thread.

Thank you @J Francho your comments and example got me up and running.

 

Here is the resolution to my thread: mounting an SI transducer with the Yak Attack switchblade, specifically the large transducer for the Garmin Striker Plus 7sv.

 

1. Shortened cantilevered bar at the top so that the unit hangs as close as possible to the side of the hull.

2. Removed the middle bar completely and then trimmed the lowest bar, so that the vertical arm consists only of the blade part of the switchblade, with a very short bar segment.

**Note the transducer now hangs about 2 inches below bottom of hull (shorter than pics above).

3.  Reversed the transducer orientation so that the tapered, rounded end is forward (makes intuitive sense)

 

I tried it out in a pond and found: 

Overall: the unit works great!

The 2 inch depth is shallow enough that a lot of disturbance to the unit is avoided.  

There is a distinct yellow bar at the top of my CHIRP to a depth of about 6-9 inches, and in the middle of the SI views.  I assume this is because the unit is mounted so shallow and there is turbulence.  

****maybe mounting deeper would avoid this???***

 

***Side imaging absolutely works fine on the Garmin Striker at paddling speeds, without having to adjust the scroll.  I don't know why I had problems on my first outing.  ***

This is a question that comes up on the board occasionally.  

Nothing like trying it out for yourself.

 

Additionally:

Having the unit in the middle of the boat is great in my opinion: easy to reach and view.

Overall, the switchblade and the Striker seem to be a great simple combo.  I might consider another arm, it is rigid enough with the mods described, but I am not blown away.  It will work for me, but other options might be better. The Striker is also fine, more of a review to come...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[J Francho]

You're welcome.