fishfinder for inflatable raft

[JT26]

I have an inflatable raft at home, with a trolling motor and all but no fish finder.
i have no money so i cant go buy a nice fish finder, or one of those portable stick ones.[fishin buddy is what i think thier called]
So i was wondering if i found a cheap older fishfinder would i be able to put it on the raft. there is a thing where i can mount the transducer to but it would barely be under water, is that a problem. Also, for the power source, it would work on a battery used for the engine, right?

Thanks for any advice...

[gpc]

I havnt had a portable fish finder for a few years now. I have pretty much the same problem as you. Big boat, mounted fish finder. Little boat, no fish finder and no $ to get one. But in our old boat we had a portable fish finder and we would stick the transducer about 4" under the water. As far as the power source it all depends on what type of fish finder you get. Some are hooked up to 2 of those big square batteries, some run a series of smaller batteries (Ds, AAs, etc) and some do have alligator clips or another type of connector to hook the fish finder right to the terminals of a 12 volt batterie. You can run your trolling mottor and fish finder off the same batterie, but I know people have problems with dead batteries like this. This is just adding more $ and I know in a raft room is an issue. But you can get a real tiny batteri (mopeds, jet skis, etc type batterie) for an extra $25.

[JT26]

thanks gpc. when we got the raft my dad bought this huge battery like the same size as one of the batterys in the big boat and i thought he was crazy, but now that i just looked up the fish finders im happy he got it cause its the right size for most fish finders. hopefully i can find one on ebay for cheap.

[HillbillyGeek]

I have heard that it is not a good idea to run your trolling motor & fish finder off the same 12V battery because the trolling motor will cause interference. This spring I plan to use a large deep cycle battery for the trolling motor and a second smaller 12V battery for a fish finder & onboard lights. This will eliminate the interference problem and also provide a backup power supply for the trolling motor. (Rowing a jon boat sucks!)

[Anonymous]

I have heard that it is not a good idea to run your trolling motor & fish finder off the same 12V battery because the trolling motor will cause interference. This spring I plan to use a large deep cycle battery for the trolling motor and a second smaller 12V battery for a fish finder & onboard lights. This will eliminate the interference problem and also provide a backup power supply for the trolling motor. (Rowing a jon boat sucks!)

I guess it all depends on if you buy relatively quality components, but I never had any problem with interference while running both the motor and the f.f. I use an Eagle f.f. and it was about $175.00, def. not one of the more expensive ones, but I think most will be just fine sharing the 12v batt.

Some people have talked about portable fishfinders.... you can take actually beat the system and make any f.f. portable if you ask me. I will attach a pic. of what I did to mine. Just mount the transducer to a piece of wood, of course seal the wood with a water proof sealer, then mount that to the boat with a C-clamp. Temporarily use velcro to hold the cable to the inside wall of your boat, as it runs to the monitor.

[Marc Martyn]

I don't think that you will have any problems with interference. A buddy of mine has an electric motor on a Bronco pontoon boat and runs his fish finder off of the same battery and doesn't have any problems.

The transducer has to be in the water at all times. If it comes out of the water, you will get screwy readings. I have mine mounted on my pontoon boat about 3" down. Also, you want it to aim straight down.

[EastsideRedneck]

I mounted my Eagle Cuda 68 unit to the top of my trolling motor w/ two-part epoxy and put the transducer on the bottom of the motor w/ the mounting kit (basically a hose clamp and a piece of plastic.) I haven't made it out on the water to test it yet though. At the very least it makes for a quick setup when I get to the water and I don't have wiring all over my little boat.

[danielt]

Get one of THESE

You can buy they locally and they make different kinds depending on the brand of motor you have.

[EastsideRedneck]

That's the one I was talking about. If you have an older electric trolling motor, like my Minn-Kota 35, you should consider picking up a smaller diameter hose clamp at the hardware store; they are pretty cheap and you won't have a huge curling tail once it is tightened up.

To anyone thinking about stocking up for the season... The Feb 3-9 circular for Joe's has a 20% coupon good for your entire purchase, even sale items, on Superbowl Sunday only.

[HillbillyGeek]

That's the one I was talking about. If you have an older electric trolling motor, like my Minn-Kota 35, you should consider picking up a smaller diameter hose clamp at the hardware store]To anyone thinking about stocking up for the season... The Feb 3-9 circular for Joe's has a 20% coupon good for your entire purchase, even sale items, on Superbowl Sunday only.[/b]

Thanks for the sale info ESR! I may be buying a fish finder soon, but I've got to get permission from the warden (Mrs Geek). :pale:

[danielt]

If anyone is looking for a cheap FF the Eagle Cuda 168 is the best buy for the money. Ive seen then for as low as $65 and is probably the only gray scale depth finder you can get with a temperature reading. They are very easy to use and read bottom just as well as some of the higher end Lowrance units. You wont be able to take over the world but you will have a solid unit for under $100.

http://www.eaglesonar.com/Products/Sonar/Cuda168.htm

[Drewp]

Here you go:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/spo/555120822.html