Transducer Downrod Install and Tweaking

I took advantage of the unusually warm weather that we had yesterday (preceding the predicted ice storm) and did the install of the transducer for the Helix 10 SI. Since I am limited for space and do not have room for the da'ducer by Podunk to lay flat when not deployed, I went with another option out there which is the Fishing Specialties downrod system.


Though I haven't had a chance to actually put it into action I believe I'm going to be happy with it. The overall installation with the exception of a couple of details was quick and easy, but I did have a couple of issue which is the main reason I thought I would share this just in case it may help someone else. Now first off, this is my first SI unit so I might be thinking there is a problem when really there isn't but according to the instructions the SI transducer should be mounted so it is looking straight down into the water.
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Now maybe Humminbird has beefed up the mounting wings on the 'ducer and made them a little thicker, or maybe I just got a mounting puck that was not milled exactly to specs but in either case some alterations needed to be made for proper mounting position; my unit calls for a HXS series tranducer puck for mounting to the downrod.
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First the instructions will say to use the Humminbird supplied bolts (the two with brown coating on the threads) to mount the 'ducer to the puck, that's not going to happen! H'bird uses two square nuts for those bolts to screw into, but on my the adapter puck it was not threaded like shown in the picture above and there was no way to use the square nuts. So you will need to purchase a "stainless steel" 2-1/4" x 1/4 #20 bolt and locking nut, I could only get a 2" and it worked but would liked to have had a little more for the locknut to bite into.


The second issue that I encountered and the main reason I'm posting is that when you attached the puck to the transducer it will not lay flat as to look straight down, the back end of the 'ducer is raised up about 1/2" or so causing it to set at an angle. Which is do to the mounting stub or flange being to short to allow room for it to lay flat.

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In the field as they say and having limited tools at hand, I decided to use the side of a drill bit and cut a notch about 1/16" on both sides which allowed the room needed for the 'ducer to be in the correct mounting position.

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After the alteration to the puck it now will lay flat and be looking straight down into the water!

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Other than that everything went well, here are a few more pics of the install.
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That ought to work. I used one of those mounts on my last boat that had a Terrova on it and it worked well. My current boat has a Fortrex trolling motor on it so I have the transducer on it.