Transducer Mounting

I have my transducer in a temporary mount inside the hull but want to change it to an outside portable type mount.  I seen a couple rigged in pvc at Bucks, Ken and Elric..... I think.  You guys care to post any comments, pros/cons, directions.

Art, I current use a Humminbird Piranha portable FF which uses a suction cup to securely attach my transducer under my Prowler.  I'm sure you could make your own suction cup mount, but it might be easier to buy one directly from Humminbird at:
http://www.humminbird.com/retail/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=Humminbird&category%5Fname=Portable+Mounting+Hardware&Page=1
One drawback is that it'll sometimes catches grass or kelp, but it's not much trouble to reach down and pull it off.  The other thing is that you need to remember to slide it off before you beach you kayak.  On the plus side, I really like the portability aspect and having nothing in my hull for my rods to snag on when I stow them away or pull them out of my front hatch.  The drag effect while paddling seems to be negligible too.

Depending on your type of transducer, you might also be able to try mounting it to a small piece of 1/2" pvc tube which you can plug into one of your Prowler's scupper holes from underneath.  You can slit the tube to run the cable through and use a couple wraps of duct tape create a snug fit.  I've done this on my Hobie Outback and it's worked well.  Again, you just have to remember to plug it in and remove it as needed so it doesn't get scraped up.

Art, why are you considering an external mount anyway?  I'm just curious because I was thinking about trying to mount my transducer inside just to see that's like.

I'm really looking to swap it between my yak and my dad's 10'skiff. Plus I'd like to use the speed gauge for striper trolling and the temp sensor for bass.  For some reason I've had bad luck with the suction cups.  I had one fall off and get sucked into the trolling motor and the replacement seemed fall off every ten seconds.  Maybe I'll have better luck sticking it to a plastic hull.

When I used the suction cup mount on my old aluminum boat with an outboard, it didn't work that well either.  I think it was because the surface wasn't totally smooth and the faster speed of the boat didn't help matters.  I'm impressed with how well the suction cup works on the bottom of my Prowler.  I've never had it come off on its own, but then again, I try to minimize scratches.  However, with Joel's scratched up Prowler, you might have some problems getting it to stick.

with Joel's scratched up Prowler

they are called "battle scars"......what can I say, I got some serious mileage on my kayak (from fishing almost every weekend)  

Art, IMO....I prefer the transducer inside the yak. I used to have the portable FF with the transducer outside and I got tired of it - setting up at every launch just gets more and more time consuming  . Gotta keep an eye on the junk (sea weeds) that get stuck on the external transducer....I've also had a hooked fish tangle on the transducer when it swam under the yak    And if it slips out and having to re-attach it is just a hassel...

just my 2 cents.....

IME it's pretty easy to pop off a transducer.  You could just reglue it between the boats, or buy a second one and have one in each boat.