Capitan Morgan:
Hi I have recently built a canoe and would like to fit a fish finder to it. I have come across the Humminbird Fishin' buddy series http://store.humminbird.com/products/271365/120_Fishin%27_Buddy while looking on the net, they are just one unit that I can clamp to the rail and there is no need to drill holes (id hate to have to for the unit or transponder thing). So I have a couple of questions in regards to the functions they offer and In general about sounders as I don't know much about them.
Firstly is a colour screen important at all if the rest of the specs are the same?
Are the fish symbols just for show or are they very likely to determine a fish? I see other sounders that do not have the symbols, do you just go by the concentration of pixels and make an educated guess as to if its a fish or not (even better ones I see you can actually see the shape of the fish). Is it making that 'guess' for you on these types of fish finder?
When they say waterproof, do you think they mean I can hold it under water and it will work? I have not tipped my canoe accidently as yet, but once I start taking some friends along It's likely one will assist with that.
Do you think with transponder on a pole pole stuck in the water on one side of the canoe it would be too much of a hinderance with paddling? I am anticipating trolling a fair bit and It does concern me.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Almost forgot, what else would you recomend!
Binder:
Those things are about twice the price they should be. Until recently the Pirana max 150 or the eagle cuda 300 for around the $150 to $170 mark were the pick of the bunch for yaks and canoes, (both greyscale) but I think they have been replaced by new models recently with matching new bigger price tags!
Its fairly easy to make a standard sounder in to a portable one. Just screw the transducer to a suitable piece of wood of the right length and clamp the wood to the side of the canoe. Screw the head unit to your wife's favourite small cutting board, (to sit in floor of canoe and allow you to point the screen at yourself) add a 12 volt 7amp battery and you have a portable fish finder.
All fishfinders are IPX rated 6 or 7, cant remember which, but they are good for 30 minutes under water to a metre deep. Rolling the canoe wont worry them.
Colour is good, but to get an equivalent sized screen and features equivalent to a good greyscale, add at least $500 to the price.
Fish symbols are to make you think there are fish where there aren't any. Use them in raw mode. Fish look like aunty Doris's eye brows.
I'll see if I can dredge up a photo of my setup, its exactly as you describe, external mounted. Secret is to get the height right.
Binder:
Here is how my Mark 5 goes on my yak using a Ram mount. Note how the transducer head only is in the water when moving along, creates no resistance that I can feel. This was a "rough up" to see if it would work, been using it for nearly 12 months.
Hint - dont put it where you like to bring fish on board!
Binder:
Here are some pics I got ages ago from somewhere I cant remember when I was first thinking about using an external sounder mount (after changing sounders 3 timwes in 6 months I was sick of prying silastic off kayaks and transducers!) So if they belong to someone, please excuse my theft! Its a great idea.
Capitan Morgan:
--- Quote from: Binder on January 04, 2011, 07:00:40 PM ---Its fairly easy to make a standard sounder in to a portable one. Just screw the transducer to a suitable piece of wood of the right length and clamp the wood to the side of the canoe. --- End quote ---
I like that Idea a lot! I'm thinking some aerofoil shaped timber blade with the transducer on the bottom and unit mounted atop somehow "wood" be suitable..
Your setup with the arm looks pretty cool hanging off the side on that arm. :)
Do you have to protect the battery from water totally?