Help with transducer mount. Pics included

96 Tracker, rivets galore. Where do I need to mount the transducer for My Helix 9 Mega? As a side note, I own a metal fab buisness and we work with aluminum every day. I could put a plate of 1/8" over the rivets under the boat. I COULD cut out the rivets and weld the ribs in place, BUT I'd have to pull the gas tank and the only way to do that would be to remove the rear deck and that's not a job I want to tackle at this time.

https://s26.postimg.org/89qxozbxl/IMG_2572.jpg

https://s26.postimg.org/63wmuh8h5/IMG_2573.jpg

https://s26.postimg.org/dilymuucp/IMG_2574_1.jpg

3m has some adhesive that you can stick a mounting plate on the the back or underneath your boat wherever you decide to put it...buddy of mine has a crestliner thats what he did and has had no issues..

I don't think you will have any problems with the rivets. Like shortdraw said a transducer board with 3m adhesive will help you be able to find the sweet spot and not have to drill a bunch of holes in your hull. What I am looking at is the distance from motor and transom going to be enough to not interfere with the side imaging. You will not need the speed meter as you will have speed now on your sonar. I am thinking you may have to build you a jack plate to get more distance between motor and transom for transducer. Good that you work with aluminum as you can make one of these if needed.

Jackplate Plans, Construction Notes


http://www.dillon-racing.com/jackpla...truction11.jpg

Transducer mounting board
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...903_resize-jpg

Get the transducer mounted first and try it, Then if you get interference then you will need one of the jack plates to clear the distance between motor and transducer.

Also found a fixed type jack plate you may make easier.:dono
https://www.wholesalemarine.com/t-h-...jp-4fa-dp.html
https://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-6rtev...0.1280.jpg?c=2

Where is the cavitation plate supposed to be in relation to the bottom of the boat or is the height of it just based off where it runs when the motor is trimmed up to at full speed.

I don't want to come across as knowing more than I do. All I know about outboards is what I have read.

I don't know if the RPM gauge works properly on the console. The max RPM's stamped on the data plate of the motor is 5280, IIRC. According to the RPM gauge I was turning around 3200 at full speed the first and only time I've had the boat in the water.

I'm asking in case I put a jack plate on the boat.

http://www.iboats.com/ref/images/shaft_length_small.gif

Buddy wirh crestliner and couple other people i know...figure since when they are scanning they are going slow they just tilt motor up enough to clear the side imaging. I know its easier to tilt motor than to pust a jackplate on...lol just a thought

I guess the best question I can ask, to save myself a whole lot of work, is what is the fastest speed the unit will accurately scan at? With a 40 HP on my boat, 25 mph is about as fast as I'm gonna go, but if it won't scan accurately at that speed, then trimming the motor to scan is definitely the best option.

I still wonder about the rivets....

Fastest he scans or can is about 4 or 5 mph usually around 3 is the best...just have to match screen speed with boat speed

Just throwing this out there... but I would highly recommend the "spring back bracket" that transducer shield and saver makes for transducers. It will allow the transducer to "kick up" if you were to go over a stump or something. I really like mine. I don't think I have benefited from it yet.... but I feel better knowing its there with a transducer that costs this much. I don't have a jack plate to mount it to up out of the way, so I had to put mine on the transom step and I used this bracket.