Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

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laneends
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by laneends »

Thickness of that tube could create a lot of drag, twisting the whole assembly as well cause an annoying wake. My first over the side attempt kept bending back with the water pressure. a flat aluminium bar profiled to fit snug against side of hull is mor estreamlined.

The force of a big hit on those rod holders can cause a lot of leverage. Even regular rod holders on their own individual OEM extensions come under a lot of strain.

Question also, if you are trollying that set up and yak tips over what sort of lateral force is going to be put on the scuppers and tubes with full weight of loaded yak leaning on it?

Is that big chunky elbow going to get in the way?

Where do your feet go if this is in the middle of the footwells?
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Wind Waker
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by Wind Waker »

Keith is on the money here. Flat bar works much better.

Get rid of the pvc. Use a RAM mount for the sounder. It's made to work with it...

http://slhobie.com.au/gear/mounts/ram-m ... nder-mount

Then use proper rod holders mounted to the yaks rails, not through the scuppers
Do it once and do it right. Its alot more enjoyable to use.

I suggest ram rod mounts but others here love starports. To each their own but both are much better then pvc in scuppers. Safer as well.
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agelow
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by agelow »

Thx heaps for thoughts guys. Really appreciated.

Regarding the fat pvc swing arm, I'll try reduce it with a metal pole or something. Very good thought.

With the scupper and mounting, I never use a trolley because it's a tandem. So won't have any issues with trollying and it tipping over. It is only attached near water also.

Im a short guy so no issues with feet.

The main issue would be the force from a big fish. Would the rods absorb most of the force??

I wanted it all to be removable and temporary.. As I will upgrade to a pedal yak later on and preferred not to drill. Hence all the pvc.

I looked into ram mounts, and thought I'd keep it for when I upgrade to a hobie pedal.
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Wind Waker
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by Wind Waker »

Just have to buy new bases and take the other bits with you. Or get the yak doc to weld the holes up. It really is better and safer
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laneends
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by laneends »

If you get a gummy on a stiff rod it will be a big wrench, and can be hard to get out of a regular pistol grip holder, a big snapper would be similer, a Ray even worse.

Dont worry about screw / bolt holes for any fittings. If you remove them just replug by reinserting screws or bolts. Not a big detriment when selling a S/H yak.

If the tubes partially raise so bottom lip is not fully penetrating scupper holes they could lever into side of scupper tubes. This is how trolleys usually damage scuppers. A hard wrench to one side could do this. You would need a means of locking them in place.

Take it for a trip as it is and see how it goes before doing any more work on it. Lots of trial and error when fitting out a yak. Sure most folks have a few redundant screws where practice has proved theory wrong
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maverick
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by maverick »

I mounted the sounder and transducer in the cup holder on my first Outback. This ally transducer arm will work a lot better than the pvc. Zip lock or tape the wires in place.
sounder in place.jpg
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by maverick »

This was my second paddle yak, no holes drilled. The foredeck made a big difference and I added some rod mounts later, using existing bolts.

http://www.vyak.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=990
overall R.jpg
Last edited by maverick on 04 Oct 2016, 13:46, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by maverick »

I made a rod mount bracket for the same rod holders that you have. It just bolted into existing bolt holes on the yak. I ended up with the sounder and a GPS on the rack as well. I also fitted a couple of brackets so I could hold 2 tackle trays on there as well and it didn't interfere with the paddle stroke. Thought these pics might help.
over view.jpg
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looking from the front backwards.
front view 2.jpg
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by bjspinner »

For the wiring try to keep it suspended above the bottom of the hull, if you have a bad wire joint, crack in the wire etc the voltage combined with saltwater will give you a lot of trouble with the possibility of the sounder being a write off.

I wash and disconnect the sounder after every trip along with the battery, that way there is no chance of the battery being drained right down.
Wash the sounder after every trip and dry before putting in a padded case with moisture absorbent crystal packs, dielectric grease on the pins and all electric plugs also.
To this day no problems with any sounder from water related issues.
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agelow
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Re: Protecting sounder... Any DIY ideas?

Post by agelow »

Yeah I wished I was more confident with drilling and then just removing the parts I needed for the next yak. I probably wouldn't have built all this PVC..

The PVC goes straight through the scuppers and is held in place by a screw. Quite snug.

Maverick, thanks for the photos. I really like your aluminium rod rack. Looks very clean. Can you take a closer photo of how you attached the bar to your kayak?

Also.. where can I get some spare aluminium bars like that??

Thanks for the tips BJspinner. I'll probably copy the same routine you have.


Thx again for all the replies fellas.
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