Side Imaging Fish Finder on Super Fat Cat Tube

Hey guys,

I'm a first-time poster on this site. Wondering if any of you have mounted a side imaging fish finder on your float tube. I just bought a Humminbird Helix 5 SI for my Super Fat Cat. I'll use a Scotty strap mount to mount the head. I bought a 12v 7amp-hr battery and Battery Tender Jr. maintenance charger. I also bought a plastic electronics box to house the battery and replaced the screws with knurled thumb screws to make it easy to take the top off. That will protect the battery and eliminate the chance of something metal touching both the battery contacts when it's in the zippered pocket on the float tube.

The big challenge is mounting the transducer. The transducer has to be deep enough to clear the bottom of my tube and far enough back so the side imaging isn't blocked by my legs/fins. I am just about to build a magnetic transducer mount so I can stick it on the bottom of my seat or maybe on the underside of the cargo area behind the seat. I'll build the transducer mount out of wood and use screw-on rare earth magnets. Then I just need to put a metal plate inside the pocket where the seat bladder is. Before I build the mount I thought I'd check if anyone has figured out a better solution for a float tube.

Thanks,

Wayno

take pictures i was going to get the 7si but never pulled the triger

If I don't get any suggestions I'll go ahead with my plans and post the pics here. Should be done in a week or so.

have you tested the Scotty mount did it give you interferance

Not sure what you mean by interference. I haven't mounted it yet but the finder should fit perfectly in front of the left zippered pocket. The battery will go in the front of the zippered pocket.

this is the mount i use [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  i haven't had any problems with it

That's the Scotty mount I bought for the head unit.   I can't use the Scotty transducer mount because it won't be able to do the side imaging to one side because my legs are in the way.  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] looks like it might work move it back

That is a very cool set up thanks for sharing.

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I use my Scotty mount on the frame I built. All's you would have to do is mount it to the rear of the frame. Good luck.

I use the Scotty [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] mount on my Super Fat Cat. You need to search for it at Amazon or eBay because, for the life of me, I can't find it on the Scotty website!

It comes with a plate to mount the display and a plate to mount the transducer, and a strap to wrap around the tube. I strap it to the left tube, basically right where my legs are. I slide the transducer up to the side of the tube for hiking to the water and back, and of course I slide it down to the bottom of the tube just before I get in the water. Of course, this means the transducer is only a few inches underwater and right at my legs. It's never been a problem.

I doubt that you will see much in the way of interference from your legs/fins. My downvision sonar will sometimes show turbulence in the first few inches of water, but most of the time the bottom is 10 to 20 feet away and the I don't even see surface turbulence.

At less than $20, I'd give the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] a whirl before moving to something more complicated.

I hope this helps!  Welcome to the forum and I'm looking forward to catch reports!

Really awesome setup!  Where did you get the fold down part for the transducer?

Ornery Bob, I can't use the Scotty transducer mount that goes on the strap because my fish finder has side imaging sonar in addition to the down imaging sonar. In the position where the fish finder head is mounted, my legs would block the side imaging on one side which is why I need to mount it further back.

Never mind about the transducer arm mount. I see it on the Scotty website.

Here you can see my transducer mounted on my FishCat. Originally designed for the smaller transducer with only sonar and down scan, I will need to put an offset in the mount to be able to point the transducer forward.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

For the prowler tube I used a Scotty [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with a gear head. A universal mount, a ram ball mount B-202U. I ground down the universal mount to match the diameter of the Stock Ram ball mount B-202U base. also a stock metal ram mount for the tilt. I drilled out the plate on the Scotty [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and installed 1 inch u-bolts to my pvc tubing. I can adjust the depth of the transducer by over a foot and the tilt of it.

All the suggestions are great! Really appreciate it. After reviewing the options I decided that I don't want to build a frame around my super fat cat. I will use the Scotty fish finder and transducer strap mount and connect the Scotty telescoping transducer arm to mount the transducer. The telescoping arm is long enough (18") to angle it back so it is even with the middle of my seat. That way I think my legs will not block the side imaging. When I get it all set up in a few days I'll post some pictures.

Wayno

I worked on mounting my Helix 5 Side-Imaging fish finder on my Super Fat Cat this weekend.   I ended up scrapping the Scotty fish finder mount because the 1" wide strap was too flimsy and wouldn't hold the Scotty telescoping transducer arm very securely.   The mounting position for the head unit was also way too low.    I bought some 2" wide nylon strap and made my own mount.   I decided to incorporate the cup holder sleeve on the float tube to help secure the mount for the head unit.   I made a cylinder out of 3" ABS pipe and two end caps, which fit tightly inside the cup holder.   I bolted the 2" strap to the bottom of the ABS cylinder.   I attached the head unit bracket to a piece of wood and fastened that to the top of the ABS cylinder with a single wing nut.   That allows the head unit to swivel side to side and also allows for easy installation and removal.   For the Scotty transducer arm  I mounted it to a piece of wood and screwed that to the 2" strap.   The arm mount can angle backwards to position the transducer far enough back so the side imaging is not blocked by my legs.   It also swings up to get in an out of the water.    I bought an plastic electronic box to house the 12v 7amp/hr battery and make it safer to transport.   That fits nicely in the pocket, next to the head unit.  

Note the position of the transducer:
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This is the ABS cylinder in the cup holder.   The head unit attaches to it with a wing nut and can swivel side to side:
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Battery fits nicely in the plastic electronics case.   I ordered some knurled thumb screws which will make it easier to attach and remove the lid:
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The battery case in the pocket next to the head unit:
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how many hours do you get on that battery

I like the drink holder/monitor holder. Maximizes space.

A guy I know has the same Helix 5 SI and he gets about 7-8 hours on the 7 amp hr battery. Maybe more if the backlighting is turned down a bit. The battery came in a 2-pack and I bought two chargers, so I'll always have a backup just in case. That battery will power a smaller 3.5" unit for 2-3 days.