transducer brackets

[Bulldog]

I am the very proud owner of a Lund 1650 w/ a 50 hp 4st Mercury engine. I am going to nstall a Raytheon fishfinder, however I can not bring myself to drill holes in her transum. I've found one alluminum model bracket but I'm not sure of it withstanding the high speeds. Dose anyone have any advice as to a strong bracket or other option to mount my transducer w/o drilling holes?
Thanks,
Bulldog

[FlyBoy]

If you really don't want to drill any more holes than nessecary (some are almost required, unless you like c-clamps on your transom for life) I would suggest getting one of the poly plates that you mount to the boat, then the transducer to the plate. That way if you need to add a transducer, or move it, you simply put more holes in the plate, not your boat. The standard size is something like 4" x 12" They also make a bigger one that is like 12" x 12" that you can mount using screws above the water line. Even on this one, I think you would want at least one screw at the bottom of the plate. Check out Cabelas, that's where I got mine.

I had trouble putting holes in my brand new transom too, but it only hurt for a little while.


Good luck,


John

[Popia]

I would go to Bass Pro or Cabela's and order a polypropylene trolling board. You attach it to the boat w/ 2-4 screws above the water line (use marine silicone on the surface of board facing the boat to help secure to boat). You can now attach your transducer bracket(s)and speed and temperature to the board with no holes in yor boat below the water line. The advatange of this system is you can move, add, or replace your brackets without putting new holes in your boats transom.

[Bulldog]

Thanks. I'll give it a shot however I'll need to whipe the tears from my eyes after the drill bit pushes through.
Later,
Bulldog

[Larry]

You can fine tune the high density polyethelene route a bit more by making a cardboard template to fit the boat and then pay a visit to your local plastics supply house. They'll either cut you one to match or supply you with enough material to do it yourself. The material can be cut on a bandsaw and worked w/ a router to dress it up for a custom look. It can be purchased in almost any thickness you want up to about 3". I went with 3/4" and made plates for both sides on the transom.