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+--- Thread: [CA] Where/how to install transducer on a drift boat. (/showthread.php?tid=4673)
[CA] Where/how to install transducer on a drift boat. - Jon55 - 02-01-18 08:18 PM
I have a Dragonfly 7 Pro and want to use it on a drift boat in the ocean and on the lake. All drift boats have a flat bottom (left to right) but have curved bottom front to back. Drift boats are very skinny on the front and back and very wide in the middle (mine is 54" wide). The transom is very small, barely large enough to hold a kicker and it is completely out of the water when sitting still. Therefore, the transducer CANNOT go on the transom. It could possibly be mounted on the kicker but that would be too close to the prop.
I am thinking I could attach it to a board or metal bar off the side of the boat, a little farther back than the middle. I am thinking the bar would have to go down and back at an angle, maybe 45-60°. Then, I would have to either attach the ratchet arm directly to the board/bar going back or attach the mounting bracket to the board/bar.
What do you all think? Is there a kit out there that maybe I can buy?
One thing I have tested a little already with my previous fish finder is mounting the transducer directly onto a board that I clamped onto the transom so that I could get the transducer down to the water. That is still an option but I will have to use a much thinner board as the transom is slanted toward the bow as it goes down. When I used this method my board was plowing up water (because of the angle) when I was under way. Because of the curved bottom of the boat (front to back) there is no way that the bow does not raise up when using the motor. So my problem, using the transom to attach my board is that the board is two far under water while moving or not in the water at all while stopped.
RE: [CA] Where/how to install transducer on a drift boat. - Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator - 02-02-18 02:02 PM
Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Jon,
Unfortunately the application which you have described is unique and would require a custom mount. Hulls such are yours are shaped more like a sailboat's hull with respect to its waterline footprint and a thru-hull transducer (ex. CPT-80 Bronze Transducer or CPT-70 Plastic Transducer) would typically be recommended for the application. Otherwise, it would be necessary to have a custom retractable mount fabricated to hold the transducer securely in the water and properly oriented. You may want to consider reaching out to other forums / owners having hulls of similar design for ideas concerning the design and fabrication of such a mount.
RE: [CA] Where/how to install transducer on a drift boat. - Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator - 02-06-18 01:24 PM
Noted.