I get ready by surrounding it with a pile of rags and have the plug in one hand, transducer in the other, both with the tiny arrow indicators pointed the right way. Then water gushes all over.

I didn't even use mine in 2015. Left the dummy plug in. Those paddle wheels are never accurate anyway, and there are other ways to judge current. In the final analysis, it's all about VMG, SOG and COG anyway -- and nothing does that better than GPS.