NorCal Kayak Anglers

Kayak Zone => Gearing Up and Rigging Up => Topic started by: TenCrabs on February 22, 2018, 05:29:47 PM

Title: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on February 22, 2018, 05:29:47 PM
I think I have decided on buying the Striker because I don't really need the map feature. I was wondering if anyone has mounted a Striker under the sonar shield.

The previous owner had a Ram ball mounted on the flat under the sonar shield so I am trying to get ideas of how some of you have mounted the FF. I have seen most mounted on the wall under the sonar shield.

I also need some info on using duct seal to mount the transducer inside the hull. I have a vague idea from a few posts. It seems like you put the duct seal in the hull, then embed the transducer inside of it. Do you push it all the way so it contacts the hull. The transducers these days are HUGE!

If you could forward a link showing how someone has done any of this I would appreciate it! I have been searching for a couple of days but have not come up with much.

Loren

 
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Doug the plumber on February 22, 2018, 08:50:37 PM
I ordered the Garmin stryker thru hull mount and it worked great filled with water. Ended up placing the transducer in the mount filled with silicon. Has worked great for 2 seasons with accurate water temps. This is on a moken feel free tho
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on February 22, 2018, 09:55:27 PM
I don't use duct seal but I thought that duct seal is used to make a dam for a water-bath installation, not as an adhesive, but I could easily be wrong about that.

I got a lot of great advice on GOOP-ing a transducer in the hull here, and in NWKA, so you might want to look at that method, too, since that sounds like what you were thinking of doing with duct seal.

No, the transducer does not need to touch the hull - IMHO that would be hard to do without getting air between it and the hull either as installed or soon after installation - but when I used GOOP, I put mine close to the hull, separated by about the thickness of a dime.

I'm not a fan of rigging a kayak.  Decisions, decisions - it drives me nuts for a while.  Good luck with yours!
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on February 23, 2018, 10:26:18 AM
Thanks, I have read about gooping a transducer but since I have duct seal I may go that route. I like the idea of that prefab dam, I have read you should use a good quality silicone, silicone II is what I thought I saw. I just want to keep the transducer out of the way of the forward hatch because I stow my wheels there so it is going to take some figuring where to place it.

I thought the transducer was embedded in the duct seal...more studying to do.

Maybe I should use the word setting up a kayak instead of rigging, just looking for good ideas to make things more streamlined and convenient. 
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on February 23, 2018, 12:53:14 PM
This is a video several folks I know used to decide how to use duct seal with a transducer.  Seems a bit long to answer a simple question, but it has good some information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZ9_C1iKP0

And it shows how quickly GE Silicone II fails.

Happy crafting.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on February 23, 2018, 04:10:59 PM
I have used duct seal at work. It is great stuff. I'll try the dam filled with water, I guess you just have to make sure it has water in it all the time. Thanks for the video.

It will be fun getting things setup. I had fun rigging up my old Zodiac. It took a couple of years because you are always finding new things to buy :smt001
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on February 24, 2018, 08:02:43 PM
It will be fun getting things setup. I had fun rigging up my old Zodiac. It took a couple of years because you are always finding new things to buy :smt001

Tell me about it!  It's why setting-up (or rigging) a kayak makes me nuts.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: NowhereMan on February 25, 2018, 09:26:17 AM
... setting-up (or rigging) a kayak makes me nuts.

This explains a lot about NCKA...
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on February 26, 2018, 02:16:24 AM
... setting-up (or rigging) a kayak makes me nuts.

This explains a lot about NCKA...

I knew I wasn't going to get away with that one...

TenCrabs, would you mind posting a photo of how you mounted the Gramin transducer when you're done?
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on February 26, 2018, 09:18:24 PM
Tinker,

The Striker is coming Wednesday...

I will post the whole install once I get the permanent install done (might be a while) I am going to do a temp install to see how I like the sonar shield location, then I'll see if I want to use the Ram ball that is already there. I was poking around somewhere and one guy used wire caps from West Marine for the battery and transducer wires.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--two-hole-wire-caps--P003_094_010_501?recordNum=20

A nice clean way to penetrate the wall, they do use a one inch hole though!
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on February 27, 2018, 12:52:00 PM
I can be patient.  Just interested to see how you did it with the Garmin transducer shape and size.  Happy setting-up!
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on March 27, 2018, 02:51:18 PM
Okay, here is what I came up with. I haven't tested it yet but I plan to next week. I bought one of these, the transducer just fits:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XSK8T6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

We use a larger container for salad and it has nice a nice snapping lock instead of other containers  that you have a pull off lid.  I cut the bottom off with a sheetrock knife. If you do this be careful, the plastic is brittle. I am not sure if a hack saw or a hot blade would do a better job. Then I drilled a hole (spade bit worked nice) in it. I used some duct seal to seal the hole however I would like to install a grommet some day

I made a dam out of duct seal and lowered the container into it then mushed the duct seal with my fingers on the inside and outside. I drilled a couple of holes in the lid of the container and used a cable tie to attach the excess cable to the lid. The transducer is located directly below the sonar shield. 
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on March 27, 2018, 02:53:10 PM
Ooops! Wrong pics...
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on March 27, 2018, 03:01:30 PM
Here is one more pic of the transducer. I made a couple of "straps" out of duct seal to keep the transducer from moving around. I can't wait to try it out!

In the first set of pics you can see how the Striker 5 sits with the 6 1/4" Ram Mount. This is all a work in progress so I will see how I like the setup. Now I have to do a little research about cable and battery management.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: NowhereMan on March 27, 2018, 07:17:56 PM
I don’t understand this install. What is the purpose of the box? I thought you’d use the duct seal just to hold the transducer in place against the hull—like goop, but easily removeable.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on March 27, 2018, 08:42:32 PM
After reading a lot of posts I was under the impression that the transducer needs to be in a water bath. I have seen other people use a similar setup so the water is not lost during a launch or unloading etc.

Do you use a transducer inside the hull without a water bath?

I have seen where other people use silicone to attach the transducer to the hull however that leaves bubbles that create false images on the screen.

I have always used transducers in the water so this is all new to me. I guess I will find out how it works next week.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Dogwood on March 27, 2018, 09:38:04 PM
Check out garmin web site. ( In Hull transducer mount)used this a couple of times. Even with Lowerance transducer. Cost about $20.00. Self adhesive. I used no water.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on March 28, 2018, 04:21:43 AM
The Garmin in-hull kayak mount is Garmin part number 010-12357-00 if you want to search for it.

This isn't the first time I've seen folks attach a plastic container to the hull to mount the transducer, so it's not new and weird to me, except those folks used the transducer's transom mount hardware to hang the transducer from the wall of the container and didn't use duct seal inside the container.

The advantage they claimed for using a container was that they can mount the transducer anywhere along the rocker of the hull and use the transom mount adjustments to keep everything parallel to the water's surface.

The transducer doesn't have to be fully submerged in water.  I used a foam puck/water bath mount for quite a while and all we're looking for is to keep air out from between the transducer and the hull.  A little dab of water will do, but a lot of water can't hurt.

There are simple methods to prevent air bubbles from forming in GOOP when you use it to mount the transducer, but you're right - we don't want air bubbles.

It may be a complicated transducer installation, but if it works, that's all that counts.

On my Trident 11 - without the Sonar Shield - I have a RAM ball mounted just astern of the front hatch, and use the long arm to bring the HOOK 5 closer to me.  Something like how you mounted the Garmin head unit.  I'm fairly happy with that location on a T11 because I can swing the arm to the side and use the Mod Pod.  I'm still thinking about how to mount the HOOK on my Trident 13, so thanks for those photos.

Fish-finder sonar signals scatter through air - that's why it's important to prevent air bubbles between the transducer and the hull - so I don't understand how one can use that Garmin mount pad without water or GOOP or something else under the transducer and still get an accurate signal into and back from the water.

Thanks for showing us how you did it.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Dogwood on March 28, 2018, 08:47:07 AM
The only reason why I don't have problems with the transducer is that I apply Duct Seal to the bottom of the transducer. The In-Hull transducer mount is just another method of securing the transducer to the kayak.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on March 28, 2018, 08:56:46 AM
The only reason why I don't have problems with the transducer is that I apply Duct Seal to the bottom of the transducer.

Okay, that makes sense.  And it keeps the sealant where you need it instead of all over the place (like mine is).  Thanks for explaining it to me.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on March 28, 2018, 06:04:20 PM
Thanks for the explanations. Tinker, I saw a video on youtube or a write up on another site where a guy used a container with the explanation that he had to keep replacing the water in the dam. I figured I would go with that idea so I wouldn't have to mess with replacing water. I should have asked more questions but I hate to post a bunch of questions that may have been answered already so I do a lot of searching. Anyway it is setup and I will see how it works out. Now I can see that all you have to do is make a dam with duct seal and pour a little water in, then seal it up. Live and learn!

The reason I placed the transducer in that location was the hull was smooth there (which I'm sure does not matter) and it is out of the way of the wheels from my cart. Now I would like to lash the pool noodles in the rear of the yak with possibly a bungee cord so they stay out of the way.

It is all a work in progress because I used the RAM ball location that the previous owner had installed. The Striker 5 is a bit large but my eyes aren't getting any better.  :smt002

Tinker, if you have a pic of your T-11 setup I wouldn't mind checking it out although I think I have a good idea about what you are talking about except the long arm.

This forum is great along with NWKA. Lots of good ideas and advice!
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on March 29, 2018, 05:46:32 PM
My apologies!  I meant the same RAM arm you're using, not something new and different.  The front deck of a T11 has an ~6-inch flat area between the cockpit and the front hatch instead of a Sonar Shield.  I put a 1.5-inch RAM ball there and the longer arm ends about three inches over the Mod Pod.  I'll PM you a picture in the morning.

I may even be one of those folks who whined about having to add water to a foam puck/water bath, but not because it lost water on launches and re-entries (it shouldn't if done correctly), but because you drain the water every time you've finished and refill them when you next use them.  It's maybe 4oz of water, but I decided it was a PITA when I'd bring Gatorade but forget to bring water - or a cup.

You should never hesitate to ask questions.  I think the folks here (and on the Northwest Kayak Anglers step-site) are generous with their knowledge and with their advice, and if nothing else, someone will tell you where to look for the 10,000 previous answers to whatever question you may ask.  :smt003

Better yet, meet up with others, go fishing, and look at how they installed their transducers.  But go fishing.  That's the important part.
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on April 13, 2018, 11:28:21 AM
I thought I would give a report on how the new setup is working out. I used to have a handheld GPS and an old FF. It is nice to have everything on one device. I am still learning about the features of the Striker 5, there's not too much to it though. The location of the FF might not be the best during crab season because I used to pull the trap and place it right where the sonar shield is. Now I have to pull the trap and place it way back which restricts a smooth stroke with the paddle.

I just saw on the NWKA where someone used a Scotty mount for a fish finder and used different holes in the Mod Pod to mount the FF. I might setup a Scotty FF mount and attach a Ram ball on it so I can switch to the sonar shield location or the mod pod when I need to. I'll have to pull more slack in the cables if I go with that setup. Still thinking on that one.

The container for the transducer works fine and I guess I wont change anything because it works. I may change things next winter. I am getting a little leakage, the duct seal I used was old so that may be the problem.

The new Trevela rod and Okuma line counter reel is great! I like the action on that rod and the line counter does come in handy for figuring out depth.

I'm all setup for some nice fishing in the coming year. Thanks for all the tips!

Tinker, you are right. The important thing is to get out there and have some fun on the water. Even if the fish aren't biting it's nice to be on the water, you never know what you will see. A whale, Orca's, it's always an adventure...
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: Tinker on April 13, 2018, 12:13:48 PM
Interesting that you brought up the Scotty mount using the ModPod rod-holder holes because I picked one up just this morning to use on my T13.  I was the one who asked the question about mounting a FF in the Sonar Pod, but hadn't paid attention to the photo's of Trident13's setup until the other day.
"Duh!" I was about to put $60+ into RAM parts.  :drunken_smilie1:

Glad you got out and had fun.  Keep it up!
Title: Re: Mounting a Garmin Striker 5 on an OK T13
Post by: TenCrabs on April 13, 2018, 01:14:16 PM
Ha! That's funny, I was just looking at pictures and not paying attention to names as usual. Glad you saved a few bucks. I might post a pic once I get the alternate setup installed.

Looks like there will be no fishing for a while around here. Lots of wind coming up but the season is long. That April wind always comes up, in the years past there would always be ab divers in trouble because of it. Better to dive or yak another day!