Help Humminbird ratchet system sucks.

[Bigfishhunter]

Hi all, I have a Humminbird 778 that I absolutely love except for one thing.

When I am in bigger waves and things get a bit bumpy, the ratcheting up/down swivel action of my mount does not hold. I can understand that it is not designed to withstand this and that there should be a way to tighten it down like a screw or something. But there isn't, and thus I am at a loss for a way to make the unit stay in a position where I can see it and not pointing down at the floor in rougher weather.

Hopefully some one out there has come across the same issue and has found a solution.

Thanks

[Shellback]

There are small plastic caps on each side of the mount at the pivot point. Remove the caps and tighten the allen screws.

[Bigfishhunter]

Umm, don't know what to tell ya, but that is not the problem, trust me I tried that. The side screws don't control the tightness of the up/down pivot. Surrounding those screws is the plastic ratcheting do-hicky. This is the only control for the up/down pivot. When you remove those plastic caps, you can see the (for lack of a better word) corrugated ratchet type adjustment.

[Thunderbucket]

A picture is worth a thousand words.... Post one of your issue if possible

[Shellback]

I've probably had 10 H/B units with that type mount and never had a problem. When I saw the screws, I just assumed that would tighten the mount. Sounds like you might need a new mount, that or epoxy it in the position you use most often.

[Superfishman186]

I have been through 3 of these mounts, the oldest on my small boat had to have the ratchet superglued in place because the side screws being tightend had hardly any effect. Even the new ones can't hold up to lots of pounding in really rough water.

[Backwater Eddy]

Do you have it on a RAM mount for a Hummer as well?

If not, that may help. As then you can lessen the backward tilt of the head unit and better tune the positioning so it will not rattle and bounce front to back.

[Bigfishhunter]

yeah, thought about that, but I don't really want to have to spend money to fix a problem that shouldn't exist.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Shellback

I've probably had 10 H/B units with that type mount and never had a problem. When I saw the screws, I just assumed that would tighten the mount. Sounds like you might need a new mount, that or epoxy it in the position you use most often.

Ditto...maybe not quite 10 though.

[REW]

If you want, pull the back off of your unit.
Drill a hole through the sides of the case.
Insert a 1/4 inch stainless bolt through the case with a body washer on the screw and a matching large rubber washer on the inside of the case.
Then, with the case still removed, add a nylon locking nut on the outside of the case and tighten it securely.

Replace the case.

To mount, just have a machine shop make a U shaped bracket out of heavy aluminum with slots in it for the mount.
Put a pair of star washers over the 1/4 inch bolt. Slip a star washer on each side of the mount through the slot.
Use a wrench on the inside nut, and place and lock up a locking stainless on the outside of the mount. Once wrenched securely, there will be 0 movement of the unit, for as long as you have the unit.

----------
In addition, or perhaps before, call Hummingbird and talk directly to engineering. See if you can get the ear of a mechanical design engineer to propose a long term fix for the issue form Hummingbird. If you are having the problem, others are having the identical problem.

Hummingbird needs to get after it and get it fixed. But, if no one complains directly to the factory to get the attention of the factory and design staff, nothing will change.

Good luck
REW


p.s.
If you don't want to drill holes in your mount, you can make a unit stabilization fixture. Have a machine shop fabricate a piece of U shaped piece of aluminum that could be mounted on the mount such that it would secure the unit at an angle defined by you. If the aluminum were fabricated to press against both the top and bottom of the unit at the same time, at the angle you want, the unit would not change its orientation.

Good luck
REW