Fish finder on drift boat

[brewer]

I recently got a driftboat and am considering putting a fishfinder on it. Intend to sell my "rowboat" and use the drifter some on lakes and tidewater as well as rivers. I put a FF on my old boat and am considering moving it over to the fiberglass drifter. Appears like I could epoxy the transmitter inside the hull but I'm possibly looking for a less permanent solution in the short-run while I get used to and set -up the boat. On the web I saw someone who siliconed a PVC stand and filled it with water and just dropped the transmitter in that. Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[eugene1]

Interesting solution with the silicone and PVC, but then you have a 3 or 4 inch pipe glued to your floor somewhere. Probably not an issue if you place it well.

Another option is to just attach your transmitter to a chunk of 1x4 wood. C-clamp that to your boat, EZ. Sure the angle will screw with your depth, but you could shim it or just deal with it. Seems to work for lots of guys though.

Having a FF on your boat can be a really great tool depending where and how you fish.

Good luck,

 

[eugene1]

ps. you brewing anything lately? I'm ready to get back to it after a one year break.

Best,

 

[Irishrover]

I bought a fishfinder that had a suction cup that I just stuck on my hull. It worked well on lakes and was easy to remove for the rivers. The fishfinder ran on d cell batteries and I got tired of messing with it. Now it sits on a bench down in the barn next to my still!

 

[brewer]

Haven't brewed much since I started fishing about five years ago, I need to get back to it. I will probably try clamp and post at first until I figure out where everything else needs to go in the boat, guess I thought it might look a bit hokey but then again it will probably just match the operator. My two boys love using the fish finder on the old boat so I have to get one on the new one. I'll give it a shot and see if I want to keep it or sell it with the old boat and get a portable one. I guess I should see if I can just order the suction cup and use it with my current set up. Thanks for the suggestions. Irishrover - I hope your still is getting used at least if your portable fish finder isn't.

 

[DirectDrive]

If it's a fiberglas boat you can "shoot through" the hull with a puck type transducer.
This type of mount is done routinely and there's plenty of info around on how to do it.

If it's an aluminum boat, Tite-Lok makes the cleanest solution for a gunwhale (gunnel) mount.
I've done the Tite-Lok on my Willie with a "skimmer" type transducer.

 

[rogerdodger]

brewer-

long ago, I rigged a FF to use OFF the back of our canoe, I used a piece of PCV pipe large enough to pass the transducer connector through, put a tee on the bottom, mounted the skimmer transducer to the tee and ran the wire up the pipe and out the top. to hold the trolling motor, I already had rigged a 2x4 transom across the back and it was easy to mount the PCV/transducer assembly on the opposite side using a 1/4" bolt and wing nut (it allowed me to quickly pivot it out and up for shallow water)....I think you could use this sort of approach to configure a temporary install that puts the transducer down into the water and adjust it's depth and even swing it out of the water...cheers, roger

 

[bass]

I would try doing a duct seal install first (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZ9_C1iKP0). There is no drilling, cutting etc. You just make a well out of duct seal and put the transducer in it with some water. I have wells in both of my kayaks and move the transducer back and forth with no problems. If this works you are done. If it does not you are out the cost of one block of duct seal (couple of bucks). The duct seal is sticky and does not harden. You can easily move this around inside the drift boat until you find the location you like the best. Then if you really want you could make a more permanent mount at that point, but I think in a drift boat you might want to change the location of the transducer based on the load.

Just a thought.

 

[brewer]

DD- it is a glass boat and long term I will probably permanently mount a puck transducer ( I kept saying transmitter couldn't think of the right word) but until I get it all lined out I am hesitant to permanently mount it. I will probably run a gas and electric motor on it so there might be a swing arm solution there on the transom as Roger suggests but bass's solution sounds like a good one to experiment with first so I will probably try that first. Awesome ideas thank you all fro taking time to help out!

 

[brewer]

Yeah DD that will definitely do the trick, I like that you can side sweep with it too, that is really cool.

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Hey brewer. There is a company that makes mounts made for attaching sonar to drift boats. They have a pole that extends down to the water. Pretty cool. I cannot remember the name of the company though.

 

[Drifter541]

Drift set up

Drift set up

If it's a fiberglas boat you can "shoot through" the hull with a puck type transducer.
This type of mount is done routinely and there's plenty of info around on how to do it.

If it's an aluminum boat, Tite-Lok makes the cleanest solution for a gunwhale (gunnel) mount.
I've done the Tite-Lok on my Willie with a "skimmer" type transducer.

Could you send pics or give me more details on how to set up my drift boat with a fish finder? What about those fishin buddy's by hummingbird?

 

[DrTheopolis]

My buddy has the portable one (I think it's a Fishin Buddy) that clamps to the transom or gunwale. If the transducer is anywhere near the electric motor, it interferes, but all in all works OK.

For a regular finder, I would thin a U-shaped board that could hang over the transom/gunwale with a 2X4 extending down with the transducer mounted on it would work (never done it, seen it done). Probably cost about $1 to build.

 

[DirectDrive]

Could you send pics or give me more details on how to set up my drift boat with a fish finder? What about those fishin buddy's by hummingbird?

I need to put together a "How-To" but don't have the time lately.
My boat is a Willie which has a wider than standard gunnel. The Tite-Lok as shipped will not fit.
I had to widen (cut) the clamp and alter the contact area of the clamp.
I'm using RAM components for mounting the head (screen).

It's sanitary....looks OEM.