Outdated To Updated Part 8: 360 Mount and Ethernet Hub

Catch up on the series:

Part 1: Bass Boat Breakdown

Part 2: Bass Boat Interior Repairs

Part 3: Minn Kota Raptor Install

Part 4: Bass Boat Repower

Part 5: BBT Custom Dash Graph Mounts

Part 6: Electronics Full Repower

Part 7: Minn Kota Ultrex Install

In Part 8 of this series, we’ll take a detailed look at the installation process of the Big Rig Bassin’ 360 transducer mount and why I selected this mount for the boat rebuild. We’ll also be taking a look at the front Humminbird Ethernet hub to support Humminbird’s One-Boat network and how I manage all the cables for ease of use and troubleshooting. We kinda sorta skipped a head a step on the Ethernet hub, but after Part 9, you’ll understand why.

It’s super important to take careful steps here, you don’t want to have to rewire anything. The goal is to turn everything on and have it work the first time. Take your time, write down the steps and connections and you’ll likely be batting 1000 after the job is done.

Back to the Big Rig Bassin’ 360 mount. This thing is badass, period. It’s very solid, reliable and super easy to install, but what’s more, you can quickly and easily remove the 360 during transport, when putting the boat cover on if need be and if you happen to fish in some ultra-dense vegetation when you don’t need that thing catching a bunch of weeds and slowing you down.

I highly recommend you check out the 360 mount. It’ll stand up the abuse anglers are known to dish out—it’s 100% reliable.

The Big Rig Bassin’ 360 mount is a solid and reliable way to quickly and easily mount and dismount your Mega 360 transducer. The clamp-style mount requires no tools and is very sturdy. These are the two basic components, a base plate and the clamp.

Here’s a close-up look of the clamping mechanism that holds the 360 shaft. Simple and sturdy.

The base plate mounts to the bottom of the Minn Kota Ultrex, and there are versions for the Lowrance, Motor Guide and Garmin trolling motors. Very simple installation.

Installing the Big Rig Bassin’ 360 Mount took 5 minutes. And removing the 360 shaft takes a few seconds. Be sure to mark on the shaft how it lines up with the mount so you can accurately reattach it without having to recalibrate.

This shot shows the white hash mark that is to be used to help you quickly and accurately line up mark you made on your 360 shaft. It’s ready to add the Mega 360 transducer.

Here is another view of the Big Rig Bassin’ 360 Mount—ready for the 360 transducer.

Here is the 360 transducer in position next to the freshly mounted Humminbird Mega Live transducer on the trolling motor shaft. You’ll want the 360 transducer to be above the rotation of the Live transducer that spins with the trolling motor head.

Here is a closer look at the Mega Live and 360 transducers as they sit on the trolling motor. Again, keep in mind the spacing between the bottom of the 360 transducer and how it relates to the swiveling live transducer.

The Mega 360 plug can do directly into a Solix or Apex unit, but to connect to my Helix units, I needed an adapter dongle. It’s an easy connection to make, and the 360 also connects to the Ethernet hub so it can be shared across the network. You need to make the selection that works best for your set up.

This is the dongle end that connects to the Helix. The other end connects to the plug above this picture.

The Mega Live transducer goes right into the Ethernet hub, which eliminates the interference factor. Plus, it can be totally shared across the network to any unit that’s connected to the One-Boat Network—a pretty cool feature!

Here is the rigged Ethernet hub that will go in the front of the boat. You’ll notice that I have it color coded and labeled for ease of troubleshooting or adding new units or moving them around, depending on your layout desires. Make it crystal clear to yourself where each cable goes, this will absolutely make your life easier.

Here’s a closer look at my labeling system. I guess I could have taken it up a notch and used a label maker, but I was in a hurry. Maybe use a label maker—my second-grade hand writing is pretty rough.

As you’re managing all the cables and running them through the right spots, an extra set of hands is critical—I’d suggest getting some assistance for this part of the project. You’ll be glad you did. I had to pay with pizza.

Like I said earlier, I jumped a head with a little of this installment, but in Part 9 you’ll see how and why I mounted the ethernet hub this way. So stay tuned for that. But this is the finished installed hub waiting for the corelating cables. Yes, I installed it upside down so the cable jacks were near the top and easier to get to.

This is the finished, installed and plugged in Ethernet hub. Seemingly a tangled mess, this is actually organized chaos. The space was limited, the boat not designed to be rigged this way, but it can be done effectively—you just have to stay creative.

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