Transducer Holder Installation

From Ken Ziomek....

I've been fooling with transducer holders ever since I started fishing from a kayak almost 7 years ago. Even though I'm still working on it-- this design is by far my most successful. I've attached some photos so you can build your own. If you look closely you can see that I've upgraded to a Humminbird 798c Side Imaging unit.

Here’s what I did.

1. I started with a Ram-Mount 1 inch ball (RAM-B-202) and fastened it to the Modular Multi Mount.

2. I attached a 6 inch double arm. (RAM B 201C) to the ball mount.

3. I attached a Ram one inch ball with 1/4 inch NPT (National Pipe Thread) hole (Ram B-218-1u) to the other side of the double arm.

4. I fastened an 18 inch flex arm with 1/4 inch NPT (RAM PF 585-18) to the threaded hole.

5. I formed a bracket from 1/8 inch aluminum stock at the transducer end.

6. I used a brass cap for 1/4 inch NPT threads (purchased at Lowes) to hold the bracket in place.

The flexible arm works great. Yesterday I was out testing my new Side Imaging unit and I hit a floating log. It flexed upward a there was no damage to the transducer or holder. The flex rod is stiff enough to hold the transducer in place. As I approach shore I loosen the double arm and swing the transducer into my NuCanoe. The Side Imaging unit presented a problem because the transducer has to be below the bottom of the hull because the sonar signals are sent 180 degrees to each side. I needed to buy a 6 inch double arm. My old depth finder transducer (a Lowrance X67c) was fine with the shorter arm.

I purchased all of my RAM components at GPS City. You can find them on line. I think their prices are as good as anywhere else. Now the bad news. It's not cheap. I believe with the aluminum and brass cap I have approximately $75 invested.

Got questions? Email me at ziomekk @ bellsouth.net.

The question I receive most - Why do I have carpet in my NuCanoe?

The question that I receive most often about my NuCanoe is- Why do I have carpeting on the floor?

I have carpeting in my kayak for three reasons. First, it quiets the boat. If I drop something like a pair of pliers, it deadens the sound. Next, no matter how careful I try to be, at the end of the day I end up with weeds, bits of line, and pieces of plastic on the bottom of my boat. It's a lot easier to carefully remove the carpeting and shake it out than trying to pick up the trash, especially the small bits of monofilament. Finally, the carpeting soaks up almost all of the water so I don't have to clean out muddy water from the kiss offs. After I shake off the debris, I place the carpet on the driveway to dry. When it's dry, I run a vacuum over it and then place it back in the boat. As a final point, if you like to paddle in bare feet, the carpeting is much more comfortable.

Accessible Storage

For five years, I fished in a Sit-On-Top kayak, and while I caught a number of fish, I did realize that there were short comings to this fishing craft. For example, immediately accessible storage was a major limitation. While I could store extra fishing tackle in the hull or in the "milk crate" behind me, it was not easy to access. All of that changed when I started fishing from a NuCanoe. As you can see in the photos, I use the threaded inserts to position a small tackle box and an old child's lunch box immediately in front of my sitting position to hold a scale, camera, miscellaneous tackle, and packages of plastics. A variety of lures are stored in a plastic container under my seat that is held in place with a bungee cord. I have a small plastic container positioned in front of my fishing partner for him to store any jigs, lures, or plastics for which he may require immediate access. To speed up attachment of all of these storage containers, I use screws with drilled plastic bottle tops that act as washers to minimize the amount of threaded shaft that must be tightened into the inserts.

The possibilities for use of the threaded inserts are limitless. I'm certain that within the next few months, I'll be attaching even more. I'm anxious to hear of any ideas that others may have for customizing their NuCanoe.

Ken Ziomek

NuCanoe Mooring Pole by Ken Ziomek

One on my favorite accessories is a mooring pole. I use it instead of an anchor. The advantages include:

• A paddle holder fastens it to the boat. No anchor in the boat saves space.
• Unlike an anchor, you don't have mud and weeds in the boat when you bring it aboard.
• It's faster to use than an anchor and rope.
• It's great for the more mature (old) fisherman because it gives us something else with which to steady ourselves when entering or exiting the boat.

(I made my mooring pole from a rake handle and a piece of rebar!)