Assembling the T-Pole

1. Place the base of the mount on the boat deck where you want it to be mounted. see Fig 1.           

2. You may use the included mounting hardware or your own mounting  hardware. Install the mount according to your hardware (removing the incline plate makes this easier. When removing the Incline Plate, insure the nut underneath the base is firmly in the base). see Fig 2. 

3. If you removed the Incline Plate in the previous step, replace it now, do not tighten because you may need to adjust it later. see Fig 1.

4. The swivel base and clamps should already be assembled. see Fig 3.

5. The Pole Support should already be assembled and mounted to the Mount Tube. Slide the Pole Support Assembly through the two Swivel Clamps. Adjust the Mount Tube in the Swivel Clamps so that the Pole Support overhangs the edge of your boat by 1 -2 inches and is clear of any obstructions. see Fig 4.

6. Install the Height Adjusting Clamp onto the 60 Inch pole about 6 inches from the top of the pole. see Fig 5 and Fig 7.  This will be used to set your operating height.

7. Install the Aiming Handle onto the 60 inch pole about 1 inch from the top of the pole. see Fig 6 and Fig 7     The Aiming  Handle will be aligned to the transducer in a later step and will serve as your guide to aiming the transducer.

8. When assembly is completed the T-Pole should look similar to Fig 7.  

9. The T-Pole should be mounted on the boat at this point and look similar to Fig 8 .  Insure that all four of the Swivel Clamps are snug, DO NOT over-tighten any of the Swivel Clamps or you will defeat the ability of the T-Pole to give way to obstructions. After using the T-Pole for a short time you will be better able to adjust the clamps for best performance.

10. The only thing left to do is install the Stow clamp. I installed the Stow clamp aft of the T-Pole mount. I pre-drilled a pilot hole in the hull then inserted the screw thru the Stow clamp and thru the center of the velcro strip, then attached it to the hull.  See Fig 9 to see how I mounted the Stow clamps with the velcro wrapped around it for secure stowing.


               Mounting of the Transducer on the T-Pole.

1. Mount the transducer of your sonar onto the lower 6 inches of the T-Pole according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

 Hints:
   a. If the manufacturer of your sonar unit makes a 0 degree mount such as Garmin does.  Buy it!!!  The 0 degree mounts remove any angular distortion caused when the transducer is not mounted aligned to the T-Pole . (example,  Garmin mounts the transducer using an 8 degree bracket and if you use perspective view, an additional bracket that is angled as well). These different angles will drastically affect the alignment and aiming of the transducer.

   b. Use electrical tape to hold the transducer cable to the T-Pole. DO NOT use tie-wraps, they will crush the cable, and most-likely, break the internal wires.

   c. Insure you don't tape the transducer cable any higher than half way up the T-Pole. The upper half of the T-Pole needs to be clear so you can lower it into the water or raise it to stow for running.

   d. After connecting the transducer to the sonar, leave the excess transducer cable on the boat deck but out of the way. Do not bind the cable to anything, including itself, unless you know  that by doing so you will not impede to deploying/stowing of the T-Pole.


              Alignment of the transducer to the T-Pole
                  See Assembly and Alignment

1. Alignment of the T-Pole is pretty basic. 

    a. Set the transducer to the Forward Mode.

    b. Loosen the Aiming Handle and align the aiming handle so that it points                 the same way that the transducer is pointing. see fig 10.

If you aligned it correctly then you will see your bait when retrieving it toward the T-Pole.

If you do not see your bait after a few tries then make sure you are retrieving your bait to the T-Pole by holding the end of the rod on the T-Pole and aligning the T-Pole with your line.

If you still do not see your bait then perform steps 1a and 1b again.


That's all it takes!!!!!