Mission Control Tower & Livescope Transducer Mount

Got to admit, its a great time to be a crappie fisherman with all the new toys that will put the hurt on your wallet! I wanted to show off my Livescope/Humminbird/MinnKota IPilot Link set up. Garmin 106 SV on the top, beside it is my Garmin Map 64st (along with my niblet tray) Humminbird Mega 10" below for sending waypoints to the Minn Kota IPilot Link and the Livescope module mounted on the opposite side. The best part of my setup is it can be easily relocated to my Bass Tracker by pulling a few pins. If you notice my transducer mount, it can be mounted inside the boat until you get to the lake and then on the opposite side once you get on the water. The pin in the block mounted to the boat rail pulls out and allows the transducer to pivot down in the water. I have the luxury of having my own machine shop and 35 years experience but I'm pretty pleased at my idea. Maybe you can borrow a few of my ideas and make them work for you.

Awesome setup!! I need something like that transducer mount...trying to make my setup portable also

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Very nice. Getting ready to re-do my electronics and this helps


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Nice set up. Congrats

Very nice.

Necessity is truly the mother of all invention!

I love to tinker and solve problems, especially related to my fishing comfort.

Crappiefish123

In pics #4 & #5, the pin in the top of the block seems to change position.

Do you move the pin when going from a horizontal to vertical pole orientation or is it a captive spring loaded pin and the pin just seems to move position due to the camera angle?

Well done.

Thanks, the pin does change location in the mounting block for horizontal to vertical location. The rod coming thru the block is 1 1/4" in diameter so to put the pin in one location would have 4 holes 5/16 in diameter intersecting in the same spot, so I decided to put some distance between them. My wish to have a spring loaded pin (so it couldn't be dropped in the lake) just didn't seem possible to make. Due to the detail and thought to put this all together, I decided to just use a removable pin. I do plan on attaching it to the boat via small cable so it doesn't fall in the lake when going from deployed position to stowed position. I may put the Garmin 106 SV on a Ram mount so I can move it around due to the sun glare.

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Thanks, the pin does change location in the mounting block for horizontal to vertical location. The rod coming thru the block is 1 1/4" in diameter so to put the pin in one location would have 4 holes 5/16 in diameter intersecting in the same spot, so I decided to put some distance between them. My wish to have a spring loaded pin (so it couldn't be dropped in the lake) just didn't seem possible to make. Due to the detail and thought to put this all together, I decided to just use a removable pin. I do plan on attaching it to the boat via small cable so it doesn't fall in the lake when going from deployed position to stowed position.

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Got it.

Dropping the pin was my concern as I have done just that, a few times over the years. LOL

My solution was to carry a few spares or a small cable as you mentioned.

A little pricey but the Titanium no kink Musky leaders in the 80-100lb strength and a pack of crimps makes for a nice small dia. flexible retaining cable.
Any 7 strand leader works just as well.

Thanks

Very good, indeed!!

Looks great!
Looks like you completely remove it from the mounting block, then reinsert to the outside of the boat?
Thanks

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Attachment 362923Here is a close up picture of my Livescope transducer mount. Ignore the big hole from the front (trial and error, this was an error). If you look at the big block mounted to the boat you can see the bolt sticking up, in its current position it keeps everything vertical whether its inside of the boat or outside the boat. I'll locate the bracket outside the boat before I launch, once I'm on the water and in the area I want to fish I'll pull that pin and rotate the transducer down into the water and put the pin back into the block in its second location to hold it there. If you look at the rod that holds the transducer, where it comes thru the top of the bracket there's a thumb screw. Between the thumb screw and my rod is a piece of nylon for putting tension on the rod so it will stay in the position you want it, it also keeps the thumb screw from gouging the aluminum rod. The black plastic piece in front of the block is a string catcher for winding up my buoy markers.

This tower weighs about 25lbs and I did add a 3/16 aluminum plate underneath it to help keep it sturdy, i haven't glued down the carpet yet. I think it will survive rough water and these nice smooth roads that our tax dollars build. Making Hwy 79 a 4-Lane from Clarksville Tn to Dover was a great idea, I just wish they could have smoothed out the 30 or 40 bumps in that 30 mile stretch!!

Nice job I like it.

Good looking setup

So sweet...

Thanks for the nice comments!

Old toolmaker here. You do nice work, edges broken, right materials being used. The thought put in the design reflects your abilities.

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Originally Posted by Bert

Old toolmaker here. You do nice work, edges broken, right materials being used. The thought put in the design reflects your abilities.

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Thanks for the compliment, I also made my double seat base for my upfront seats. I’ve had it on my boat about 10 years now and just recently had to replace the seat post bushings.


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That is an awesome setup you have there! Great work on the fabrication as well!!