Transducer location in a new Prowler 13

Hi everyone, I just joined last week and I am gearing up my P13 for Monterey Bay fishing. My P13 has a "transducer ready" scupper hole in the rear cargo area, but it seems to me that I would be better off mounting the transducer more centered inside the hull. Unless I want tor run the cabling alongside the existing rigging, I would have to run the cable from the transducer through the hull then back out the hull where plan to put the FF unit. That would be 2 holes in my yak. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me..

If anybody has any comments, suggestions, or examples of how they have done their newer model P13, I'd like to hear from you.


This is an awesome website!

Thanks so much!!!!

Do a search on this site for a zillion ideas on mounting transducers.

I have a P15, and I mounted it inside the front hatch. Locate it toward the back so it doesn't take up storage space. Most of us cut a piece of foam into a donut to fit the transducer. Goop the foam to the inside of the hull, and put weight on it. After it is dry, there are two ways to attach the transducer. You can just pour water in the donut and put in the transducer, or you can goop the transducer in. The advantage to the water is that you can remove the transducer any time you want. The disadvantage is that you can forget to put in water and have to return to shore to refill the hole. The advantage to gooping the transducer in is that you are done once you do it. The disadvantage is that it is hard to remove the transducer when you need to repair it. You also have to make sure that the goop doesn't have big bubbles in it. I have done it both ways in two different boats. They both work fine.

Ben -

Check out PAL's website http://www.kayakfishingzone.com/howto/puck.html for the pros and cons of transducer installation positions. It is true that if you use the scupper hole installation you end up with 2 holes in your yak instead of one. The trade off is that you lose a little signal strength with the shoot through hull installation so when your fishing deep water you may not be able to see the bottom over 300 FOW. The truth is that I have only run into this problem fishing the canyons off Monastary and  Elkhorn and since you can't fish rockfish over 200 FOW or so, the signal stength loss really doesn't matter, IMO. BTW, the Humminbird scupper hole transducer will set you back about $90.  Also, welcome to NCKA! 

Scott

I have a P15 that has a scupper hole sized for a transducer. I installed a Humminbird fish finder. The transducer that came with the ff was not the correct one. Included in the paperwork was a number to call for a transducer trade. I called the number and ended up paying $20.00 difference. I mailed them the one I got with the ff and they sent me the correct one.

Mounting the transducer in the scupper hole will allow water temps, not available when mounted inside as a shoot through. Here are some photo's of how mine is installed.

Thanks for the info and photos Ben!

Humminbird 525 I see. I just ordered the 535. Was the phone number you mentioned contained in the Humminbird box?

Rich

Thanks for the info and photos Ben!

Humminbird 525 I see. I just ordered the 535. Was the phone number you mentioned contained in the Humminbird box?

Rich

Yes it was. There will be a list of different transducer options. Don't open the transducer package. You will need to mail that back to them and they will ship you the right one. There are different power supplies you can use. I use a 7ah 12v battery I purchased from Kayak fishing stuff. They seemed to have the best price. You can see in one of the photos it is located in the nose of the kayak. I remove it when I am finished for the day. If you want photo's of how I have it in there let me know and I can post some. There are some good posts on a 8-10 AA battery pack as well. Good luck with your project. - Ben

Ben,

I would very much like to see how you did the battery. I'm also interested in how you routed the transducer cable after it goes through the rear deck wall.

I wasn't going to mount the transducer back there, but now you've got me thinking I do, as I do want accurate water temperature.

Thanks Ben!!

Rich

Hi Rich,

After installing the transducer, I drilled a hole just big enough to run the cable through to the inside of the kayak. The cable seal can be purchased at West Marine for about $20.00. Kind of pricey but worth it.

I ran the cable along the inside - side of the Kayak to the front hatch cover. There is a ledge on the side, that the cable lays on. I installed some pool noodles between the scuppers and the side so you can't really see the cable on the inside.

Using the hatch cover strap screws, I added a plastic wire/cable holder that support the cable around the rim of the hatch. I also attached a plastic loop  using the front handle screw. I attached a zip tie to this loop to hold the excess cable in this location. There is just enough cable to return back to the FF, down the otherside of the kayak attaching plastic wire/cable holders to the front hatch cover straps as on the other side. The cable then goes to the FF.

I also attached a brass swivel eye bolt snap to the front loop that hooks to the dry bag that my battery is in. This keeps my battery in place should I take a roll. You can see this in the attached photo.

I'm also forwarding a photo of how another NCKAer who goes by Cafecraig on this board mounted his FF on his scupper pro. Just an idea for your P13. Hope this helps.

Ben


 

Looks great Ben.

Thanks,

Rich