hobie rudder transducer mount pics

I have a Eagle Cuda 350 and was trying to solve the transducer mounting problem on a hobie adventure.  Do I glue it down in the hull and with what?  Then I bumped into a thread on a yak site elsewhere where a number of yakers had mounted the transducer to the rudder.  I tried it.  It was extreme fast, and easy, and can even be removed with very little effort.  The only real permanent modification to the yak was a 1/2 hole I drilled through the aft drain plug.  The rudder mount works extremely well, when the rudder is flipped up the transducer is also out of harms way.  Some might criticize with comments of seeing only fish behind, but if you consider the 60 degree sonar beam from the transducer (I think it was 60) then in water as shallow as 30 feet the radius of the signal pattern at the bottom would extend forward to cover where you are sitting/fishing (its a trigonometry problem, I had my daughter do the trig for a few depths assuming a 60 degree beam leaving the transducer). 

The only real problem I have noticed is that on hobie's the rudder wants to tip up when kayak speed gets high, and as a hobie rudder goes up the mechanism also twists it slightly making the yak go into a hard left turn.  I say this because on a rough surf entry it can be a little spooky if you havent left the surf zone yet and the yak suddenly goes into a hard left turn.  The only way that I have found to free the yak from the left turn is to turn full left and the rudder will drop down, then you can straighten it out.  This problem exists without the transducer mounted on the rudder.  And the rudder mounted transducer must put a little more drag on the rudder so it now happens at speeds around 4 to 4.5 mph.  BUT it really is not an issue on the newer hobies because they have a cord you pull to deploy the rudder and right next to it is a cleat to hold the rudder down, and all is beautiful.

Very interesting!  Out of curiosity, what added benefit is there by doing it this way rather than glueing it down or using the puck?

One problem I foresee is getting kelp or something else caught in it and possibly rendering the ff useless until the debris can be removed.

Michael

i think the main benefit would be sensitivity since it does not have to shoot through the hull. and more accurate water temp theoretically

i think the main benefit would be sensitivity since it does not have to shoot through the hull. and more accurate water temp theoretically

Fair enough.

Michael

Very interesting!  Out of curiosity, what added benefit is there by doing it this way rather than glueing it down or using the puck?

One problem I foresee is getting kelp or something else caught in it and possibly rendering the ff useless until the debris can be removed.

Michael

All I read seemed to indicate that attempts at gluing eventually fail, sure they can be re-glued.  And what glue do you use, I know I read goop works and of course there is always the "special" sonar transparent epoxy that apparently comes with Lowrance units.  But mine didnt come with glue.  I bought the FF and spent all of 30 min mounting it, no drying time, and I was on the water.  And it is still tunable, tipping the transducer, and no signal loss through the hull or glue. 

It does hang up on kelp, but so did the rudder by itself, and so do my pedals (hobie). 

thanks for the post and pic...
very timely posting as  I just got the Cuda  350 as well but have yet to mount it. I also have the Adventure so I am very curious as to how you like this format.

I did get the Ram mount for the unit and got the goop glue but your idea sure is interesting.

how are you fixing the wire along the leading edge of the rudder?
also..will it dangle out there when afixed ontop your rooftop driving to/from launch?
thanks,
dave

The advantage for me would be not having to worry about knocking the transducer loose when I'm stuffing lots of gear inside my hull. I think the kelp issue could be a problem though. The kelp can be very thick up north. Yeah the rudder itself catches on the kelp sometimes but I would be worried about getting completely tangled with that extra joint on the end of the rudder. You will have to give us an update next summer.

I think the kelp issue could be a problem though. The kelp can be very thick up north. Yeah the rudder itself catches on the kelp sometimes but I would be worried about getting completely tangled with that extra joint on the end of the rudder. You will have to give us an update next summer.

In reality I did not post this rudder mount info until I had tried it a few times. 

Actually up North at Trinidad I rarely encounter kelp.  I do not seem to bump into much kelp until I get as far south as VanDam and Fort Ross, and there it was bull kelp, and the rudder with transducer was no more of a problem than the rudder alone.  When I go way down south like Stillwater south I experienced giant kelp.  The giant kelp was a little more problematic.  I get stuck with the rudder deployed.  But I simply pull the rudder up, pull out my pedals, grab the paddle and I am mobile again.  When I go out with others, I see their rudders cause them just as much grief as mine (which has the transducer), so I do not feel the transducer is anymore of a problem.  The rudder is always easy enough to lift out with the pull cords on the hobie.  I have never had to crawl back there or get out to get unstuck in the kelp.   

In response the cable exposed during transport on the car from another post.  Yes it is.  I am worried about it, but so far, so good, I have not hooked it on anything yet.  I do not think it is anymore real hazard than the exposed rudder cords in the same area.

And the transducer cable is attached to the rudder using little black zip ties through 1/8 inch holes I drilled on the leading edge of the rudder blade.  Though you could probably use a different color zip tie if you like.  The hole for the transducer is near the leading edge also, and there is a rubber washer between the transducer and the rudder.  The transducer will rotate up on a hard impact, but I do have the bolt tight enough that trandsucer position is stable and the tangles with kelp have never moved it. 

any problems/solutions with keeping the transducer horizontal so you get the right "shot"?  i was thinking of doing something similiar on my P15, but couldn't get the 'ducer to stay put enough

any problems/solutions with keeping the transducer horizontal so you get the right "shot"?  i was thinking of doing something similiar on my P15, but couldn't get the 'ducer to stay put enough

When I switch fish signals on the monitor from fish symbols to arches, which is the setting you are suppose to use for tuning the transducer angle, I got very good looking symmetrical arches.  It is very tunable from fore and aft.  It is not really moveable side to side, well I guess I could cut wedge shaped rubber or plastic washers to give side to side tilt.  But as far as I can tell I dont need it.  I don't think gluing down inside the hull would be any more tunable. 

I too thought the transducer would simply slip around the bolt holding it to the rudder, but as I have said I placed a slightly softer rubber washer between the transducer and the rudder.  I think that provided enough friction between the toothed surface of the transducer and the smooth surface of the rudder so it does not move unless a lot of force is applied.