Fish finders in your kayak/canoe

[ted4887]

I'm curious who here has a fish finder mounted in there kayak or canoe. I'm going to be buying one for my kayak this winter, and am looking at this model.

http://store.humminbird.com/products/356206/385ci_Combo_Kayak

Does anyone use this specific model, or have any other suggestions? I didn't want to spend that kind of money, but I do realize that you get what you pay for.

[goblueM]

well I have just a cheap sonar unit with a suction cup that i stick on the bottom of my kayak or canoe. its small and portable, which is nice. quality isn't that great but I don't really use it for much other than marking depth, weedline, and bottom type

i think it cost me 120 bucks, there's a couple decent ones like the PirhanaMax in that price range

[gn83tm]

I have a Vexilar unit on my Emotion Temptation. I was fortunate to find it and there's a discussion about that in the "Consumer Reviews" forum. It has a very low power draw and I'm running it on an eight AA battery pack. So far, I have about 20-25 hours of on time and the batteries (standard alkaline) are at about 2/3 charge. I do shut it off sometimes when it's not needed on the water. Not having to worry about mounting a larger battery made the installation a whole lot easier. The battery pack is just zip-tied into the aluminum mount I made for the Vex. I can disconnect the 'ducer cable, loosen the Ram mount and take the whole thing off quickly. I've heard of guys using the same type of battery pack to run The H-birds and Lowrances but I can't recall what type of battery life they were getting. I think the H-bird kayak kit is a nice deal but I'd think you could spend a whole lot less and get a functional set-up. Supposedly electrical duct seal (shown in the photo) works for mounting transducers but it didn't work for me. I ended up using regular silicone and that has worked well. Here's a couple of pics:

[mnclayshooter]

I have a very similar setup to what gn83tm has. Got an 8-cell battery holder with 9V connector on the end and some 9v connectors at Radio Shack. Got a dry box from Walmart or some other store to put it in. Ran wires through the hull (had to drill a couple 3/8" holes in the hull to do so. Mounted Eagle Cuda in about the same area. Sealed all new openings with marine goop. Got a piece of foam (like the foam from a kids swimming noodle) and cut out the exact size of the transducer head. Marine gooped that to the bottom (inside) of the yak. Then I take a turkey baster with some water at the launch and put a little in the cut out foam, and then slip the transducer into it. I believe Hobie sells a transducer kit that might make this all a lot easier than trying to cut foam yourself. I had a hell of a time getting it to line up at first, but got it figured out.

I think total with rechargable batteries/box/battery holder and finder I was at about $100. Totally worth it.

[gn83tm]

Sounds like shooter and I have the same battery pack although I just wrapped mine in red duct tape (what I had) and zip-tied it in my mount so it would be off the yak when I take the Vex off. Any idea what the battery life is with the Cuda? Why did you decide to do a "wet mount" transducer? I thought about doing that but it seemed like a lot more trouble than just squirting out a blob of silicone and pushing the 'ducer into it. I've wondered whether the silicone would hold when I transport the yak upside down but so far that hasn't been an issue. It's always interesting to hear how other guys do their rigging and that's a fun aspect of the plastic navy.

[ted4887]

Wow, thanks for the helpful information guys. Right now i'm torn between upgrading my kayak to a SOT instead of the sit-in that I have right now. I think that mounting a finder in a SOT would be alot easier than the sit in that I have right now. But i want the SOT for more reasons than just that.