Making a fish finder mount for canoe NON Permanent

[MikeOGNR]

Hey guys recently been wanting to add a fish finger setup to my canoe I was gonna invest a good chunk of money into one that has the countour maps and plotter as well. The canoe does not have a electric motor so paddling will be main source of movement also if possible I would like to make it moveable as I have a v hull boat aswell. Also my canoe is a 12ft aluminum canoe 

[WIGuide]

If it were me, I'd just buy an extra ram ball with the ram mount. I'd also buy an extra power wire and transducer unless your boat is just open and you can lay the wires out. Put one ram ball on your boat and one on the canoe. You can just swap them back and forth then.

[Turtle135]

Are you looking for something like this to have the transducer over the side and removable? If so google "RAM Transducer Arm Mount"

 

and this is another mounting option: http://www.fishfindermounts.com/

 

 

[MikeOGNR]

Yes basically I wanna get a really nice unit and have a mountable bracket that I can transfer from boat to boat also guys when it comes to paddling how well do they read?

[J Francho]

Get a small flat top, molded plastic cooler.  Attach the RAM balls for the FF and the TD to it.  Put the battery inside, running the cable out the cool.  You can drill a hole for that, or just gouge out a channel to the cord.  I used this kind of setup for rental boats all the time - worked great.  Last tip - heavy rubber tape on the bottom for grip helps, if you need it.

[Turtle135]

14 minutes ago, MikeOGNR said:

Yes basically I wanna get a really nice unit and have a mountable bracket that I can transfer from boat to boat also guys when it comes to paddling how well do they read?

Fish finders read well while paddling for regular sonar and "down imaging". I am not that familiar with "side imaging" but I have heard you need to maintain a certain speed to get good results (and that required speed may be close to as fast as you can paddle).

[MikeOGNR]

1 minute ago, Turtle135 said:

Fish finders read well while paddling for regular sonar and "down imaging". I am not that familiar with "side imaging" but I have heard you need to maintain a certain speed to get good results (and that required speed may be close to as fast as you can paddle).

I'm not really interested in side imaging mostly just I want one with a gps plotter and down imaging. The cooler sounds like a good idea 

[Turtle135]

13 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Get a small flat top, molded plastic cooler.  Attach the RAM balls for the FF and the TD to it.  Put the battery inside, running the cable out the cool.  You can drill a hole for that, or just gouge out a channel to the cord.  I used this kind of setup for rental boats all the time - worked great.  Last tip - heavy rubber tape on the bottom for grip helps, if you need it.

that is a great idea as I imagine if you secured the lid (and made just a small hole for the cable) the whole thing would float in case of a mishap

[J Francho]

20 minutes ago, Turtle135 said:

Fish finders read well while paddling for regular sonar and "down imaging". I am not that familiar with "side imaging" but I have heard you need to maintain a certain speed to get good results (and that required speed may be close to as fast as you can paddle).

I have no issues getting good SI imaging paddling at 3.5 mph.  That is cruising speed with very minimal paddling effort.  Each hull, and paddler will have different results.

[MikeOGNR]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

I have no issues getting good SI imaging paddling at 3.5 mph.  That is cruising speed with very minimal paddling effort.  Each hull, and paddler will have different results.

Any way you could post a pic of your setup with the cooler? 

[Wayne P.]

Down Imaging and Side Imaging are the same technology, just oriented differently. With Humminbird Side Imaging/Down Imaging you adjust the unit for the speed you are going.

Between Zero to about 12 mph works great. Just some movement is required to scan.

Wasn't any wake created doing these screen shots:

[Onvacation]

I know they make mounts for kayaks, but this thread shows what I use on a rental Jon boat

 

[J Francho]

17 hours ago, MikeOGNR said:

Any way you could post a pic of your setup with the cooler? 

I sold it a few years ago, but I modeled it after pictures I found on the web.  I'll try to dig one up.  A bunch of guys on NYBASS did the same thing, since all they fish are rowboat only lakes.

[Turtle135]

here is one DIY solution: http://www.chasintailtv.com/articles/diy-angler/199-make-your-fishfinder-portable

 

[J Francho]

http://www.nybass.com/showthread.php?52528-Making-a-fish-finder-portable

http://www.chasintailtv.com/articles/diy-angler/199-make-your-fishfinder-portable

 

Turtle beat to that one, lol.

[Turtle135]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Turtle beat to that one, lol.

I've always been interested in these DIY setups. Back in the early 90's I used to use a Humminbird portable fish finder with the transducer on a suction cup on my kayak. That *&%$ suction cup would always find a way to pop loose at the absolute worst time! 

[J Francho]

For a bit, I just screwed the TD into a strip of wood that I clamped to the transom.  I just taped the wire to the board.  Ugly, but functional.

[boostr]

You can also try a RAM Mounts Tuff Claw with a Dog bone. http://www.rammount.com/products/tough-claw

I used it on a Tin and attached it to the Gunnel. Worked great.