Share Your Innovations - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

dsafety · 04-20-2010, 01:27 PM

Can you get a decent reading without having water in the bottom of the hull? If so, this might be a really good way to go.

As a practical matter, most kayaks usually have a little water splashing around, at least mine does. If the transducer is mounted in a space where it is in the lowest part of the hull you should always have some water surrounding the unit. If the transducer is secured tightly to the hull, I suspect that not much water would be needed to make the thing work.

If the lowest place in the boat is not by something you can attach to such as the mast in your example, there is another easy way to strap a transducer to the hull so you can position it just about anywhere. I did this to secure my battery case below the rear hatch in my Revo.

Just take two plastic eyelets, (OEX has them), and goop them to the hull on either side of whatever you want to strap down. After the glue has cured, run some webbing with a cinch buckle through the eyelets and strap down the unit. You could also use some bungee material.

Bob

deepdvr · 04-20-2010, 02:14 PM

Trust me it works. I doubt Josh P. would use this method with his high end finder if it didn't.

You need some water touching the transducer, but not alot. My boat, knock on wood, is pretty dry, so I add a cup or so once I'm ready to turn it on.

I can't speak for other yaks, but with the Hobie revolution the sail mast area is very low and the water never leaves that area even when the new seaforth is throwing up 4' wakes.

There were serious whitecaps and swell on the water at 5PM on sunday and my finder never faltered. After the wind subsided, I checked the hull to see if much if any water entered and it was about the same level.

The beauty of this system is you can start with very little water. If your reading comes and goes, just add more water.

04-20-2010, 01:27 PM	#1
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,124	Can you get a decent reading without having water in the bottom of the hull? If so, this might be a really good way to go. As a practical matter, most kayaks usually have a little water splashing around, at least mine does. If the transducer is mounted in a space where it is in the lowest part of the hull you should always have some water surrounding the unit. If the transducer is secured tightly to the hull, I suspect that not much water would be needed to make the thing work. If the lowest place in the boat is not by something you can attach to such as the mast in your example, there is another easy way to strap a transducer to the hull so you can position it just about anywhere. I did this to secure my battery case below the rear hatch in my Revo. Just take two plastic eyelets, (OEX has them), and goop them to the hull on either side of whatever you want to strap down. After the glue has cured, run some webbing with a cinch buckle through the eyelets and strap down the unit. You could also use some bungee material. Bob

04-20-2010, 02:14 PM	#2
deepdvr Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 591	Trust me it works. I doubt Josh P. would use this method with his high end finder if it didn't. You need some water touching the transducer, but not alot. My boat, knock on wood, is pretty dry, so I add a cup or so once I'm ready to turn it on. I can't speak for other yaks, but with the Hobie revolution the sail mast area is very low and the water never leaves that area even when the new seaforth is throwing up 4' wakes. There were serious whitecaps and swell on the water at 5PM on sunday and my finder never faltered. After the wind subsided, I checked the hull to see if much if any water entered and it was about the same level. The beauty of this system is you can start with very little water. If your reading comes and goes, just add more water.