Fish finders, which ones to avoid or buy.

[bajadog]

Sorry if this topic is old already.

I am looking at spending around $120 on a new fish finder.

Do most come with the transducer?

There are a lot of hummingbirds I see out there, a few Cudas, but
I have not seen to many garmins, or lowrances.

I imagine the ruggedness and water proof factor (JIS 7 or 8) would be
a feature to look for.

Which brands are to be avoided?

Thanks all.

[dorado50]

The $120 ones! Just kidding..... Cudas work pretty good as well as hummers. I think the main objective for a fishfinder on a kayak is to locate bait and give one info on bottom depth and structure. I'm spoiled I like the colored raymarines.....

[mg2969]

i just crapped out my cuda 242
which I picked up for $49 on a double clearance last year at wally mart.
The connector just didn't seal up all that well and i didnt do preventive
maintenance on it. The latter probably being the real cause. I believe Lowrance and Eagle are the same company ?

I liked it. I ran it on 8 - AAs, so that was kinda kewl.

Just purchased a Garmin 140.
I liked how the connector after being seated screws down in place.

The humminbirds just seem to click in place

MikeG

[Holy Mackerel]

Be sure to pick up some Dielectric grease to put on all connections... save 15% now!

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/...-Grease/Detail

I have a Lowrance Eagle Fish Easy II that still works great, I dont think you need to spend a lot of money, but just need to take care of what you have. Be sure to store your FF upon launching, and landing, I dont care if it is La Jolla 1ft surf... I bought a small dry back, I just keep in my hatch...

I currently upgraded to the Garmin 178C GPS/FF internal antannae, and love it. I had some issues, but Garmin Customer Service was quick to send me replacement parts, etc. and this probably was due to my neglect and corrosion of saltwater.

I got mine off one of those GPS Discount sites, but if I had to do it over again, I might just go to West Marine and get their 3 year warranty. However, on a lower end unit, I probably would just be careful, and not get the WM warranty... Then again, I am coming up on 3 years, with relatively no problems... Moral of story, just take care of your sh*T!

chris

[bajadog]

Thanks Chris, MikeG and Dorado.

What does the different colors on the color FF tell you? Density?

Chris POST again quick, your count is at 666....

[Handymansd]

Originally Posted by bajadog

Chris POST again quick, your count is at 666....

[mg2969]

Well said Chris

Sorry re-read my post and corrected.
I didn't do preventative maintenance

[bajadog]

It seem like most of the "packaged" fishfinders have transom mount transducers.

Can those still be use through hull?

[Holy Mackerel]

I lived on 666 Bryant St in College!!

I think I overlooked the original question. Most FF, I have seen come with a puck, and transom hardware, you do not have to use that hardware, and can just glue your puck to your hull with Goop, or another agent.

One other thing to watch out for is your fuse, and fuse housing, they corrode easily. Another good spot to use that Dielectric grease, just a little bit... If you can, try and zip tie that part of the cable to something high off the bottom of your hull inside your kayak, like your scupper post, or a flush mount stem.

chris

[Siebler]

Transom Mount transducers are fine to shoot Through the hull on kayaks. You do not need a "Thru-hull" style as our kayaks are not really a "Boat Hull". These transducers are designed to shoot though a boat hull made of allum, fiberglass, wood, etc.

[kareem korn]

Dude, go cheap. Get yourself the cuda for like around 100 bones. Squeeze a generous amount of Marine Goop on the bottom of the transducer, careful to squeez and pull the tube back so it won't overlap and make bubbles. Push it down inplace in the inside of the kayak and hold in place with duct tape. Keep checking to see if it slides. If it does just push it back inplace. I put a ziploc bag over my ff when launching just cause. But, I've gotten it wet, dropped it on the freeway, ect... and it still works fine. You don't need all the bells an whistles the expensive ones have. I plug my ff to my battery, drop it in a waterproof sack and throw it in my haul. You don't need the waterproof battery case, high end plugs, switches, ect.... That's how I've been running for years. I even use this setup on my longboard. But that's JMO

[dorf]

See the boys at OEX PL!
They set me up with the CUDA 250, Battery in a pelican case, battery charger and RAM Mount. And they stand by their work.

I droped my FF out of the back of my Explorer (3 feet) one time and all I got was a small scuff. Works great!
Use the grease! Keeps everything working the way it should.

[dorado50]

Originally Posted by kareem korn

Dude, go cheap. Get yourself the cuda for like around 100 bones. Squeeze a generous amount of Marine Goop on the bottom of the transducer, careful to squeez and pull the tube back so it won't overlap and make bubbles. Push it down inplace in the inside of the kayak and hold in place with duct tape. Keep checking to see if it slides. If it does just push it back inplace. I put a ziploc bag over my ff when launching just cause. But, I've gotten it wet, dropped it on the freeway, ect... and it still works fine. You don't need all the bells an whistles the expensive ones have. I plug my ff to my battery, drop it in a waterproof sack and throw it in my haul. You don't need the waterproof battery case, high end plugs, switches, ect.... That's how I've been running for years. I even use this setup on my longboard. But that's JMO

Well said, most of the time keeping things simple is by far the best route to go. Also you can upgrade at any time you wish.....

[speedydk]

I spent the money and got the battery in the pelican box setup from OEX Sunset and it works great. I even put the fuse in the box, less corrosion to worry about with connections inside that puppy. The outside of the box has seen sea water but the inside has not. Pretty slick and worth the money to me!

[MVC]

I bought a Cuda 168 at Bass Pros a few weeks ago for 79.00. It works great.

[Holy Mackerel]

Originally Posted by speedydk

I even put the fuse in the box, less corrosion to worry about with connections inside that puppy.

I went and looked at my kayak, that is actually what I did with the fuse as well, fits right in the pelican box! I zip tied the connection from the puck wire to the powersupply wire in a high spot inside my hull... I knew I zip tied something!

chris