Garmin 160 Blue Fishfinder

[barramundi]

Hi all,

 

I have just fitted a Garmin 80 to the yak.

The size was what swung it for me as it will sit in the front cupholder on the prowler on a base that I have made for it. This just gives me an extra couple of inches of room to swing my legs around than if I'd fitted it where the tackle box is meant to fit.

 

I'm quite happy that when I've got the transducer fitted properly it will be fine and according to the paperwork with it, they are waterproof.

 

What methods does everyone use for fixing the transducer in the hull to shoot thru? My first attempt with the vaseline method let me down even though it looked good beforehand. I don't fancy the epoxy route (Too final) and am leaning towards sitting it on a bed of silicon, but which one and how?

 

Any advice would be very welcome.

 

Stuart.

 

Hi Stuart

 

Is the 80 the same size as the 160??

 

Any chance of getting a pic on the site?

 

See ya mate

[nifty]

Cheers Danno,

I might give that a try, it sounds good to me as I don't want to do any irreparable damage with epoxy

 

Barra,

The 80 is much smaller than the 160 which I believe has been discontinued now. It is just 64 by 128 pixel as opposed to 160 by 160 and uses a single 200kHz frequency whereas the 160 uses dual 50/200 kHz.

 

You'll have to excuse the reflection of the ugly git but here it is....

 

 

 

Good job it's a bit blurred really, don't want to scare your littl'un

 

Stuart.

[barramundi]

cheers

 

 

I wont bother with the 160

 

I think it will be too big

 

Ebay next stop

[YakDiver]

Hi I have a Garmin 80 and it is waterproof as one day I was kicked out on launching the and the fishfinder was under the water for a couple of minutes with no harm, as for fitting the transducer I used the Vaseline, I cut the bottom out of a small plastic container and taped it down with gaffer tape melted the Vaseline in hot water and spread some on the transducer face and placed it in the container and poured the rest in. When cooled I put more gaffer tape round and over the top sealing the whole lot been like it for three years now still all right.

[Pav]

"I don't want to do any irreparable damage with epoxy "

 

If you use araldite rapid you will find the bond can be removed with hot water. Not sure why a thermosetting plastic such as epoxy does this, but it works with alradite rapid. Common practice with paddle blades as in the future you are able to adjust the feather.

 

HOWEVER! WARNING!!... I do not know how the hot water would effect a plastic sit on! / or the transducer. Still worth mentioning as a few of us are paddling GRP kayaks.

[darnsarf]

Agree with Pav

 

Used Rapid with no probs. I have fitted the Eagle CUDA 168. Works great ideal unit for yakking' detatchable, small. waterproof, low power consumption and only £80 from JK Max Navigation. Same as Lowrance unit but cheaper.

 

www.jkmax.co.uk

 

Highly recommend them. Included in line fuse, tech help and didnt charge for extra delivery. As I needed it sent next day.

[Starvinmarvin]

Nifty, how you getting on with the transducer, if you want to take me up on the offer please give me a shout, it's no problem.

 

That is if the village shop still has any vaseline left

 

SM

[Starvinmarvin]

I found that Araldite Rapid will not give a secure fix to Polyethylene, I tested a lot of glues and epoxies before coming across Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy, this works very well, the Devcon 5 minute on the other hand is no good.

 

The Devcon 2 Ton does get increadibly hot, so it's worth mixing in a tin or glass dish held with a gloved hand, the wider the better so that the bubbles can get to the surface quicker and should also slow down the curing period giving more working time.

 

The Caper transducer has been in the hull for nearly 2 years and has yet to move or show signs of cracking off.

 

SM

[nifty]

Thanks very much for all the advice guys,

 

I went into a car parts shop yesterday and saw a tube of "carplan , powerbond clear silicone sealer" and after reading the packaging, decided to give it a go.

I got the yak in the house last night and bedded the transducer in a big dollop and weighted it down and left it. I've just checked it when I got home and it seems solid so I'll just have to see what happens.

 

Thanks again,

 

Stuart.

[Starvinmarvin]

Mike,

 

Tried to get some Marine Goop a couple of years ago, couldn't get any in the UK, the US wouldn't send any, th UK (europe) Distributor is based in Switzerland, very nice chap but still couldn't help, use to sell it in Ireland but no longer available, he suggested the nearest dealer in Germany, but they only had a supply for their repair workshop and wouldn't sell it either.

 

From what I hear it is excellent and bonds just about anything, really surprised that it's not available in the UK. Maybe an opportunity for someone with time on their hands.

 

SM