06-21-2003, 05:00 PM
Well I've been tinkering around with different ideas for mounting a fishfinder on my pontoon, I've read the comments here, and spent some time at the local Home Depot and Sportsman's Warehouse, and here is what I came up with. This setup works quite well, is easy to take apart, and it all fits in one of the storage bags of the toon. The PVC pipe is 1/2 inch, the PVC tee is a 1 1/4 X 1 1/4 X 1/2 threaded. The caps are 1 1/2 caps. I had to use a dremmel tool to slightly increase the size of the caps, and I also used it to slightly increase the inside diameter of the 1/2 PVC tee. This makes it easy for sliding the 1/2 pipe through the tee. Here are some pictures. The first image is the 1/2 tee mounted on the frame of the toon. I used the reamed out tee, and about 6 inches of 1/2 PVC. I gently heated the one end of the pipe and flattened it out. You must be careful here, too much heat too quickly will burn the PVC. The pipe cools over a period of a few minutes, so be patient, it holds its' shape nicely when cooled. There are 3 #12 X 3/4 stainless steel screws holding the mount on the frame.
![[Image: image1a.jpg]](http://www.xmission.com/~thebee/image1a.jpg)
The second picture is of my "quicktatch" Transducer. The overall length is only 12", this could actually be shortened, as the transducer is about 6 inches in the water. I use the quick D pin to connect the pipe to the tee.
![[Image: image4.jpg]](http://www.xmission.com/~thebee/image4.jpg)
The 3rd image is of the hybrid Johnny Ray/RAM mount. The RAM mount attathes to the frame with a round rail adapter. I made an oak base, that I treated with Thompsons water seal, as the transition piece between the RAM and the Johnny Ray. I'm sure you could just use the RAM that is designed for individual brands of fishfinders, but I already use the Johnny Ray base in my ice fishing set up.
![[Image: image2.jpg]](http://www.xmission.com/~thebee/image2.jpg)
The final image is the mounted unit. I have both a Garmin fishfinder 240, and a 100. I use the 100 when I need to use my 14.4V rechargable drill battery, it only used about 1/2 the power as the 240, so the battery will last about 8 hours. I use the 240 when I have the deep cycle marine battery/minn kota motor attatched.
![[Image: image3.jpg]](http://www.xmission.com/~thebee/image3.jpg)
This was a fun project to work with. It was a little on the pricey side with purchasing both mounting systems, but well worth the effort. If anyone has any questions let me know, I'd be happy to answer them. The next project will be a rod holder! I think some PVC and a couple of D rings will do the trick there. Good luck to everyone next time your out fishing!
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The second picture is of my "quicktatch" Transducer. The overall length is only 12", this could actually be shortened, as the transducer is about 6 inches in the water. I use the quick D pin to connect the pipe to the tee.
The 3rd image is of the hybrid Johnny Ray/RAM mount. The RAM mount attathes to the frame with a round rail adapter. I made an oak base, that I treated with Thompsons water seal, as the transition piece between the RAM and the Johnny Ray. I'm sure you could just use the RAM that is designed for individual brands of fishfinders, but I already use the Johnny Ray base in my ice fishing set up.
The final image is the mounted unit. I have both a Garmin fishfinder 240, and a 100. I use the 100 when I need to use my 14.4V rechargable drill battery, it only used about 1/2 the power as the 240, so the battery will last about 8 hours. I use the 240 when I have the deep cycle marine battery/minn kota motor attatched.
This was a fun project to work with. It was a little on the pricey side with purchasing both mounting systems, but well worth the effort. If anyone has any questions let me know, I'd be happy to answer them. The next project will be a rod holder! I think some PVC and a couple of D rings will do the trick there. Good luck to everyone next time your out fishing!
[signature]