Depth Finder on your Kayak

[FFBrent]

I know this may have been discussed before, but my search didnt work and I went back a couple pages and didnt see anything..

To the point, how do yall rig your depth finders on your boats?
Is there a brand that is best suited/preferred?
What type/size battery do you use?
Through hull? Tips?( I probably need to do this, fish rocks for smallies some)

I have a Tarpon 120 and I have been thinking about it. I had an Eagle Supra Pro ID from the mid 90's I took off the bass boat to make room for a Garmin, but the Eagle wont work.

Thanks,

Brent

[Sandtiger]

I have a Tarpon 120 and a Tarpon 140 and both have depth finders. I mounted the transducer inside between the foot wells using LEXEL. This material takes about a week or so to cure, but then it has been in these kayaks for four years with no problems. I bought a thru hull fitting for the wiring and sealed that with LEXEL also.

Having the transducer in the hull works just fine as long as there are no air bubbles in the sealant. You will not see temperature breaks in the water. In a kayak I do not find this a problem anyway. Water temperature will take a while to read accurately because the hull has to get to the same temperature as the water.

I use Gamin model 90 depth finders because they only draw about 85 milliamps (85 thousandths of an amp) and I can run on a 10 pack of AA batteries all day or night with the light on for that matter. It is also waterproof which is very important.

A color machine will draw more current and so will larger black and white units. Just remember we're talking kayak here and I am not trying to find things I do on my power boat when out in the bay or offshore. I am typically looking for drop offs, holes, and general depth. You will not necessary find fish with it because of the depths normally involved. A 16 degree cone on any boat will only see a circle of about 8 to 10 feet in diameter in 20 feet o of water.

RAM Mounts sell mounting devices for the control head. I have mine mounted on the front of what I would call the center console far enough forward to be out of the way, yet not so far I cannot reach it to change settings.

The model 90, I believe, has one of the better connection plugs for the power and transducer than some of the others I've seen. I have flipped the kayak a couple of times and these units keep on going. Just be advised that they do not have a high resolution screen, but they do indicate battery voltage, depth, show obstructions and everything else a hi-res unit will show, but not as defined.

Good luck.

[surfnsam]

mounted 2 ff one in a redfish and one in a tarpon. from exp. clean and sand the area you want to install the transd. i used 100% silicone to mount the transducer, easier to fix if it comes loose. for a battery i use a 12v 7 amp battery inside a plano box with velcro on the bottom of the box so it doesn't slide around. i can get 3 weeks of use out of it, about 10 hours a weekend

[ictalurus]

How did you get the velcro to stick to the bottom of the yak? I tried heavy-duty velcro, but it came off with the first little bit of moisture that hit it.

[surfnsam]

i used industrial grade velcro and cleaned the area with isop. alcohol, have had quite a bit of water inside salt and fresh and it stays in place. i use 2 pieces about 1x3" on each side of the box

[FFBrent]

Thanks Sandtiger and Surfnsam, that's just the kind of info I needed!

Brent