Depth Finders for kayaks ?

[k olson]

Santa would like to bring me a depth finder for my kayak but needs some advice. I would love some input on personal experiences

with them, pros & cons, favorites ? Unfortunately, Santa does have a budget of around 200$. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[John Loebach]

Basic & cheap will work. Transducer thru hull inside & a battery & a mounting bracket. Both of my SOT yaks have the setup & its great on ponds & lakes. My gear is a few years old - somebody will chime in on best brand.

[Mike G]

I am watching this one because I am thinking about getting something for my canoe. Through the hull is a good way to go. It will work with solid plastic, fiberglass, or aluminum hulls as long as the hull material is the only thing between you and the water. A 40 year old solution that can be used with most any transducer involves a toilet plunger head. Trim it to form a collar that holds the transducer. Glue the rim to the bottom of the canoe in a convenient location. For use fill the reservoir that this forms with water and insert the transducer. The big pro is that you do not have to have a bracket outside the boat to hold the gadget-no drag.

 

O yeh. Save the left over plunger handle. The dowel can be cut in sections to be used when you have to put heavy pressure on a line that would cut you fingers. When you snag a lure with high test superbraid, wrap the line around the dowel and pull till something gives. You ain't got time to hire a scuba diver to go down and get the lure.

[Scott Ferguson]

I am watching this one because I am thinking about getting something for my canoe. Through the hull is a good way to go. It will work with solid plastic, fiberglass, or aluminum hulls as long as the hull material is the only thing between you and the water.

 

Transducers cannot shoot through aluminum hulls.

[Mike G]

Scott,

 

Mine always did. Sonar is a sonic signal not an electronic signal that would be shielded by the metal. (Electronic would be shorted by water also.) I had to turn up the gain a little. We used the system first on a 12 ft Sears Aluminum Jon boat. On a Grumman 17 ft square stern I used an abbreviated version - no plunger. I just stuck the transducer into a puddle of water on the bottom of the boat. The hull has to be a solid material with no voids. For example, it will not work on sandwiched hulls that put a layer of foam between the transducer and the water.

[Frank Briggs]

Bass Pro has a good deal on a Lowrance which is a good size for your kayak. The price is $159.00 with a $50.00 rebate that brings price down to $109.00. It has a 4in. color dislpay. When I installed mine in my kayak I used epoxy to mount the transducer to the hull. This worked great just when you mount to the inside of the hull you do not get a good read on water temp! The we site Hook One has a few mounts for mounting transducers give it a look.

[ronk]

For a time in the 70s/80s a simple inexpensive handheld depth finder shaped like a gun was sold. It was waterproof & also being floatable I would tether it alongside my floatube. I wish they were still available.

[ericg]

Lowrance Elite-4X DSI (color) on sale at Cabelas for 169

 

I mounted mine with a through hull installation on my kayak, works very well.

 

ericg