QuietJourney Forums - Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe

Jul 18^th, 2026 at 3:12pm (UTC)

QuietJourney Forums › Boundary Waters / Quetico Discussion Forums › Strictly Gear - Gear specific reviews and ideas. › Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe

(Moderators: db, paddlemaker)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Page Index Toggle

Pages: 1 [2] 3

Reply

Add Poll

Send Topic

Print

Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe (Read 11432 times)

solotripper Inukshuk Offline Posts: 8119 Location: clarkston MI Joined: Mar 14^th, 2005	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #10 - Jan 4^th, 2018 at 11:42pm	Quote Print Post
	SP, When you get your unit up and running, I would be interested in exactly how long you get in battery life with it working continuously? I thought I read it was about 30 hrs which would be great but I read a few online reviews that said it was much less than that?


	IP Logged

solopaddler Paddler Offline Posts: 66 Location: southern Ontario Joined: Jan 19^th, 2017	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #11 - Jan 5^th, 2018 at 1:43pm	Quote Print Post
	db wrote on Jan 4^th, 2018 at 10:36pm: If I always used the same canoe, I'd stick it somewhere out of the way with silicone caulk inside the canoe somewhere near me. As it is, I put the 'ducer in a Zip-Loc snack bag with a little water inside (and under). It's a little fuss every time but it works fine for me. The unit gets clamped to the thwart and the battery pack goes in a thwart bag along with the transducer and it's zip-loc for portages. Minimum cordage to deal with that way. Any (exterior) mount I've ever experimented with made an annoying noise that I simply could not stand for very long. There were other downsides that have already been mentioned and you will need to avoid foam any core areas no matter what. There was a removable caulk I once used to seal double hung windows temporally for winter 20 years ago. It's probably still around. I expect that would work. My one regret with whatever is I'll tend to watch the screen more than I'd like to. It's good info to know but so is enjoying what's going on above the water so I do my best on that. Thanks db! Just so I'm clear, you're simply placing the transducer inside a water filled ziplock in an approprite spot on the bottom of the canoe when you're ready to fish? That works? It seems to be similar to solotripper's idea of using a small plastic jar with a lid. The difference being the jar is mounted semi permanently to the floor with silicone adhesive and a water filled bag is just laying there. Will the unit perform as well with no adhesive or silicone? For sheer simplicity I like this idea assuming it works. I agree, it's not likely much bother to set this up when you're ready to fish.


	Facebook YouTube IP Logged

solopaddler Paddler Offline Posts: 66 Location: southern Ontario Joined: Jan 19^th, 2017	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #12 - Jan 5^th, 2018 at 1:47pm	Quote Print Post
	solotripper wrote on Jan 4^th, 2018 at 11:42pm: SP, When you get your unit up and running, I would be interested in exactly how long you get in battery life with it working continuously? I thought I read it was about 30 hrs which would be great but I read a few online reviews that said it was much less than that? I'll let you know. It runs on four AAA batteries, so even if it was necessary to bring extra batteries it's not a big deal. I'm doing a 15 night trip in Algonquin in early May. I'll bring it with me on that trip and figure out all the ins and outs before our bigger trip in the summer.


	Facebook YouTube IP Logged

solotripper Inukshuk Offline Posts: 8119 Location: clarkston MI Joined: Mar 14^th, 2005	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #13 - Jan 5^th, 2018 at 2:45pm	Quote Print Post
	solopaddler wrote on Jan 5^th, 2018 at 1:47pm: solotripper wrote on Jan 4^th, 2018 at 11:42pm: SP, When you get your unit up and running, I would be interested in exactly how long you get in battery life with it working continuously? I thought I read it was about 30 hrs which would be great but I read a few online reviews that said it was much less than that? I'll let you know. It runs on four AAA batteries, so even if it was necessary to bring extra batteries it's not a big deal. I'm doing a 15 night trip in Algonquin in early May. I'll bring it with me on that trip and figure out all the ins and outs before our bigger trip in the summer. I like that you don't need a battery box like my unit. I made one that uses 10 AA batteries. That adds a lot of weight compared to a couple of sets of AAA batteries. Unless you keep in on constantly if you could get say 20+ hrs on a set of batteries that would be a great mix of utility and simplicity.


	IP Logged

db Web-lackey Inukshuk Voyageur Offline Posts: 5462 Location: Just off the beaten path. Joined: Sep 14^th, 2002	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #14 - Jan 5^th, 2018 at 9:21pm	Quote Print Post
	solopaddler wrote on Jan 5^th, 2018 at 1:43pm: Just so I'm clear, you're simply placing the transducer inside a water filled ziplock in an approprite spot on the bottom of the canoe when you're ready to fish? That works? It honestly works fine. That picture was my first test in a foam core Prism that I borrowed in 2009. As you can see it had a foam core. Normally, you just have to put a quarter of a sponge of water in the bag after portages. Solo, I usually put it in the bow where there are essentially three walls already. You could duct tape it so it didn't flop and go dry but I don't recall any issues of note. One thing that I've learned from borrowing other people's stuff is that if you forget to turn off the unit on a dedicated system before turning the canoe over for the night, and it's pinging the stars all night, that will really suck all the juice out of a brand new set of 8 AA lithium batteries. Been there done that. First day out. Arrrgh! Live and learn. Why they don't provide the option of putting the batteries in the unit itself and using bluetooth for the puck is beyond my pay grade. I'm not a fan of cordage in this instance. YMMV but I wouldn't recommend anything that didn't work for me.


	WWW IP Logged

Old Salt Inukshuk Offline Posts: 4871 Location: Crossville, TN Joined: Jun 17^th, 2004	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #15 - Jan 5^th, 2018 at 11:01pm	Quote Print Post
	I don’t mess with water in a bag. My puck dryfoots it. I just glue it to the floor of canoe with a thin layer of silicone caulk, being sure to work air bubbles out. Makes it easy at portages, just turn it off, rotate head, and tell your son to pick it up and meet you on other side.


	IP Logged

Magicpaddler Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1321 Location: Chicago Burbs Joined: Jan 7^th, 2004	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #16 - Jan 6^th, 2018 at 1:19am	Quote Print Post
	Depends on your tripping style. If you mount the display unit then it works better to mount the transducer. If you pack the display unit away for portages then some way to put a little water between the transducer and the floor of the canoe probably works best. I like Old salts method. I mount the display, batteries and transducer at home and it is still there when I get back home.


	IP Logged

solopaddler Paddler Offline Posts: 66 Location: southern Ontario Joined: Jan 19^th, 2017	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #17 - Jan 6^th, 2018 at 12:42pm	Quote Print Post
	You guys have been incredibly helpful with your responses, thank you! As soon is the ice breaks I'll experiment a bit and figure something out. With the way winter is going in my neck of the woods that won't be till June though. It's so dang cold outside mailmen are on the lookout for both dogs and polar bears.


	Facebook YouTube IP Logged

zski Inukshuk Offline Posts: 447 Location: IL Joined: Sep 30^th, 2010	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #18 - Jan 7^th, 2018 at 1:54pm	Quote Print Post
	Magicpaddler wrote on Jan 6^th, 2018 at 1:19am: Depends on your tripping style. If you mount the display unit then it works better to mount the transducer. If you pack the display unit away for portages then some way to put a little water between the transducer and the floor of the canoe probably works best. I like Old salts method. I mount the display, batteries and transducer at home and it is still there when I get back home. Old Salt: "I don’t mess with water in a bag. My puck dryfoots it. I just glue it to the floor of canoe with a thin layer of silicone caulk, being sure to work air bubbles out. Makes it easy at portages, just turn it off, rotate head, and tell your son to pick it up and meet you on other side." some silicone tube labels mention 'quick set' (3 hrs), don't recall the brand(s). i've leaned toward using those.


	IP Logged

portage dog Inukshuk Offline Posts: 534 Location: Virginia Joined: Oct 26^th, 2010	Re: Mounting A Transducer On A Canoe Reply #19 - Jan 7^th, 2018 at 2:28pm	Quote Print Post
	In terms of quick setting, one might also consider Aquaseal with the Cotol 240 (a catalyzer) that helps it cure in about 2 hours, though this may be a bit more permanent that silicone. There is also Aquaseal UV, which cures nearly instantly with exposure to UV light (so work quickly!), but that tends to be a bit on the spendy side. pd


	IP Logged

Page Index Toggle

Pages: 1 [2] 3

Reply

Add Poll

Send Topic

Print

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

« The Put-In ‹ Board ^Top

QuietJourney Forums » Powered by YaBB 2.6.0!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2026. All Rights Reserved.

Valid XHTML

Valid CSS

Powered by Perl

Source Forge