Fish Finder kayaking accessories question

[Boomstick]

My plan has been to add fish finders to each boat next year, but if I can find financing, I would like to add a fish finder this year and pay it off later in the year - this way the kids and I can take advantage of it.

 

I am looking at a Garmin EchoMap UHD 93sv. Additionally, what do I need to mount it on the dry pod on my Bonafide SS127?

 

I was looking at picking up the following. Is there anything else I'd need? I'm also open to other battery suggestions, but they should fit inside my dry pod.

• YakAttack Mighty Mount w/ backing plate
• A fish finder mount. I believe this is the one I'd need https://www.amazon.com/Yakattack-Rectangular-LocknLoad-Mounting-Raymarine/dp/B07G7DT3BX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
• Battery: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S9G5XF6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

I'm open to other options too. How many hours should I get out of the battery? Should I buy a second and a backup?

 

I believe the mount that Garmin includes for the transducer should give me the 2" - 2.5" I need on the bottom without having to rig up something.

 

Thanks 

[Smalls]

That battery won't work. It has a battery management system that automatically shuts itself off if there's a draw over 1 amp. Your 9" graph is definitely going to draw more than that. 

 

Dakota Lithium and Amped outdoors are probably the most popular batteries with kayakers. 

[CountryboyinDC]

Idk about the battery management issue that @Smalls spoke of, but that definitely sounds like it would be worth checking into - I see that the graph draws 18W, which at 12V is 1.5 amps if my math doesn't fail me.  I did see on the WS website that there was a 2019 update to this battery for the higher-amp-draw graphs, but it doesn't list what it's capabilities are for this parameter.  FWIW, I have the 10 AH NOQUA battery, but for a smaller graph.

I'm not familiar with the particular graph you're talking about.  I have a 7" Lowrance HDS Carbon, and it looks pretty hulking on a kayak, that 9" graph will be huge.  I'd only be able to comment on the overall setup.

If you plan to use the kayak with and without the graph, I'd probably just opt to get a second dry pod.  That way you just take the whole graph, battery, and transducer out as a whole.

For the mounting, I prefer Ram mounts, but what you listed should work.  If you consider Ram, a mount like https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-111U would allow the Ram ball to kind of take the place of your Mighty Mount, and then you'd just put the OEM gimball mount on top of the overall mount, like with the YakAttack one.  I feel like the Rams are more sturdy and easily adjustable than the YakAttack ones, but realistically you're probably not going to be adjusting things all that often.

Should be a nice setup.

 

 

[Smalls]

38 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I did see on the WS website that there was a 2019 update to this battery for the higher-amp-draw graphs, but it doesn't list what it's capabilities are for this parameter. 

They bumped it up to 1.3 amps, if I remember right. I really have no idea why they designed it to do this. 

 

[Boomstick]

5 hours ago, Smalls said:

That battery won't work. It has a battery management system that automatically shuts itself off if there's a draw over 1 amp. Your 9" graph is definitely going to draw more than that. 

 

Dakota Lithium and Amped outdoors are probably the most popular batteries with kayakers. 

Yeah the typical draw is 1mA and max is is 1.5mA, darn! I was hoping it would work because that will fit in the dry pod with cabling with ease. 

 

The 2019+ version I linked is 1.3mA, but that may be problematic too.

 

Amped makes an 18mA that isn't too large and comes with a charger thant looks pretty good, and the price is right.

3 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I'm not familiar with the particular graph you're talking about.  I have a 7" Lowrance HDS Carbon, and it looks pretty hulking on a kayak, that 9" graph will be huge.  I'd only be able to comment on the overall setup.

If you plan to use the kayak with and without the graph, I'd probably just opt to get a second dry pod.  That way you just take the whole graph, battery, and transducer out as a whole.

 

Before I got my kayak, I was between a 7" and 9", but I have pretty good room in the Bonafide. I'm still not 100% sure which way to go but I'm leaning towards the 9" because I'm not buying another one anytime soon. I did fail to mention that I do plan on getting a second dry pod. I have the limited edition Tiki, so I'll get a standard one to drill through. Occasionally I do go out just to paddle with friends where the electronics can stay at home.

 

[Boomstick]

2 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

For the mounting, I prefer Ram mounts, but what you listed should work.  If you consider Ram, a mount like https://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-111U would allow the Ram ball to kind of take the place of your Mighty Mount, and then you'd just put the OEM gimball mount on top of the overall mount

Thanks! I think I'll going with a Ram mount.

[Bankc]

2 hours ago, Smalls said:

They bumped it up to 1.3 amps, if I remember right. I really have no idea why they designed it to do this. 

 

Lithium Ion batteries are known to explode if they pass too much current.  Unlike most other batteries (alkaline, lead-acid, NiCad, NiMH) they require software to constantly monitor the battery to make sure it's not being overdrawn.  So it's a safety thing.  Most other batteries will get hot if overdrawn, and some may get hot enough to catch fire if you pull too much too fast.  But that's usually a slow process and they rarely ever explode (though I have had a few alkaline batteries explode over the years, though they give more of a loud pop than a giant fire bomb).  Though, if properly managed with the software, lithium ion batteries do tend to be pretty safe, though I did have one catch fire on me once while charging.  

 

A word of advice: when buying a lithium ion battery, always buy one that comes with a charger, and only ever use that charger for it.  They get really picky about their charging requirements, and even using a charger designed for a different but extremely similar lithium battery can be dangerous.  

[Fishingmickey]

I running the same Garmin unit 93sv UHD on my Kayak. Definitely go Ram mount's 1.5" ball. I have a 20ah Bienno battery and not super happy with it. I don't like the terminals. The battery performs fine. Just shite small screw terminals.  You might check out the FPV brand of battery. 17.5ah battery should be good for a couple of full day trips. 

Fishingmickey

[Boomstick]

6 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

I running the same Garmin unit 93sv UHD on my Kayak. Definitely go Ram mount's 1.5" ball. I have a 20ah Bienno battery and not super happy with it. I don't like the terminals. The battery performs fine. Just shite small screw terminals.  You might check out the FPV brand of battery. 17.5ah battery should be good for a couple of full day trips. 

Fishingmickey

As an owner, what's your thoughts on the 93sv UHD?

Personally, I was leaning towards Garmin before the UHD came out simply because the interface is great, but the UHD seems to be rather nicely upgraded.

[Smalls]

9 hours ago, Bankc said:

Lithium Ion batteries are known to explode if they pass too much current.

I forget this battery is Lithium ion and not LiFePo4. 

 

 

[Boomstick]

10 hours ago, Bankc said:

Lithium Ion batteries are known to explode if they pass too much current.

I have had numerous cell phones go up in a hot pile of melting plastic -- all Samsungs too, no surprise. So yeah I am aware of that.

[Fishingmickey]

On 5/29/2020 at 3:45 PM, Boomstick said:

As an owner, what's your thoughts on the 93sv UHD?

Personally, I was leaning towards Garmin before the UHD came out simply because the interface is great, but the UHD seems to be rather nicely upgraded.

I've been pleased with the unit. The graphics are excellent. It is very user friendly. I had a Echomap 93 SV prior to upgrading. I had to upgrade to be able to use Panoptix Live scope.  The Live scope is "the bomb". I am loving the video game fishing.

Fishingmickey

[Boomstick]

57 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

I've been pleased with the unit. The graphics are excellent. It is very user friendly. I had a Echomap 93 SV prior to upgrading. I had to upgrade to be able to use Panoptix Live scope.  The Live scope is "the bomb". I am loving the video game fishing.

Fishingmickey

Would you say the imaging is notably upgraded from the Plus? Someone sent me some images, and they do look really good, like significantly closer to Lowrance and Hummingbird imaging. I liked the Garmin because it's easy to use.

 

I am torn if I want to go live scope ultimately to be completely honest. I feel like I might overuse it. But for now, I'm just looking for a quality fish finder first.

[Fishingmickey]

1 hour ago, Boomstick said:

Would you say the imaging is notably upgraded from the Plus? Someone sent me some images, and they do look really good, like significantly closer to Lowrance and Hummingbird imaging. I liked the Garmin because it's easy to use.

 

I am torn if I want to go live scope ultimately to be completely honest. I feel like I might overuse it. But for now, I'm just looking for a quality fish finder first.

I liked the imaging on the old unit too. Not a major upgrade in quality IMHO. I've had Lowrance and the Garmin is as good as or better then. I had tried one of the Hummingbird units when they first came out with down and side imagining. It was a 598 model number and it had a very nice picture. But the scroll rate even on high was slower then molasses in Janurary. It would just flat miss things passing under the boat (like logs). I returned it. I had read some reviews online about it and it was mentioned in the reviews that the "less then top of the line" units the processor speed was a major issue. That experience has soured me on Hummingbird since.

FM

 

[Boomstick]

2 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

I liked the imaging on the old unit too. Not a major upgrade in quality IMHO. I've had Lowrance and the Garmin is as good as or better then. I had tried one of the Hummingbird units when they first came out with down and side imagining. It was a 598 model number and it had a very nice picture. But the scroll rate even on high was slower then molasses in Janurary. It would just flat miss things passing under the boat (like logs). I returned it. I had read some reviews online about it and it was mentioned in the reviews that the "less then top of the line" units the processor speed was a major issue. That experience has soured me on Hummingbird since.

FM

 

I've been looking at images. Hummingbird does seem to have the best. The Lowrance HDS has the best screen but that comes at the expense of battery life, and the imaging doesn't have nearly the contrast of the Hummingbird. The Hummingbird images definitely seem to be the best quality as they simply have the best contrast. Garmin and Lowrance seem to be pretty close. Raymarine seems to have very good images, but I'd have to fork out a little bit more.

 

I'm primarily leaning towards the Garmin for their ease of use, but they also support 1120kHz side imagine and a wider down imaging conde at higher frequencies sacrificing distance, but 76m is more than I need so they have a very good scroll rate. So I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with the Garmin overall.

 

[Boomstick]

So I found 0% financing for 15 months, so I can largely focus on rebuilding savings and pay it off later in the year. I think I am going with the 18ah Amped Outdoors battery with the Amped Charger. Should give me at least a weekend of fishing per charge, although I would like the Dakota so I can get their solar charger next year when I'm camping, but they only have a 10ah and a 23ah battery. The 10ah should be fine, and the 23ah may fit but might be tight with the wiring, and is a bit more expensive. I looked into FPV as well, but they seem sold out everywhere. I guess I could always add a second 18ah battery and bring two charged, or charge it with Dakota's charger.

 

As for the mount, I'm debating going with the Yak Attack just so I can get the extension and also solely for the reason that I rigged myself with primarily all YakAttack gear and can keep that consistent (if I ever "go pro" maybe I can get a sponsorship lol) but I am leaning towards the Ram mount. My style of fishing is I would largely use it seated and once I find a hotspot that I'm flipping a jig into, then I'll stand.

 

The only thing I need now is some of those dry thingies to run wires through, and I'm set.

 

[Smalls]

On 6/1/2020 at 7:34 PM, Boomstick said:

but I am leaning towards the Ram mount.

I don't think it matters much on a kayak, but I looked at both and went with Ram because it felt sturdier. 

 

I've heard nothing but great things about YakAttack's thru hull kit, though. A little thinner and more customizable. 

 

I don't know much about solar charging, but I imagine you could piece together your own kit for a similar price than Dakota's. Or just buy theirs, and use it with whatever battery you buy. We won't tell anyone. 

[Boomstick]

1 hour ago, Smalls said:

I don't think it matters much on a kayak, but I looked at both and went with Ram because it felt sturdier. 

 

I've heard nothing but great things about YakAttack's thru hull kit, though. A little thinner and more customizable. 

 

I don't know much about solar charging, but I imagine you could piece together your own kit for a similar price than Dakota's. Or just buy theirs, and use it with whatever battery you buy. We won't tell anyone. 

They all recommend using their chargers with their batteries. Dakota said it should work with pretty much any lithium, except probably the Amped Outdoors 18ah NMC which drops to 8v so I can't use it anyway

 

I have everything on the way I need besides the battery, mount and fish finder. A local store was going to order me a Garmin EchoMap UHD 93sv, but they can't get them and seem to always be busy and haven't called me back. So at some point I may get it from somewhere else. I have narrowed the battery down to either the Amped Outdoors 18ah LiFEPO4 or maybe 2 Nocqua 10ahs - I could charge one when camping when using the other etc

 

[Smalls]

6 hours ago, Boomstick said:

They all recommend using their chargers with their batteries

They wouldn't be very good salesman if they didn't ?

[Boomstick]

37 minutes ago, Smalls said:

They wouldn't be very good salesman if they didn't ?

Largely true. Some chargers will kill a lithium battery, I know this from experience. If you match the specs, it should be fine.

 

I will also add that I am partially considering going with a Hummingbird just because if their fantastic imaging quality. The units are big though - the 7" is probably at least as big as the Garmin 9", but due to cost I'd be going 7" anyway. I did a bit of research into the two, and each has their overall perks. As far as lake maps, they both seem to have the larger lakes and not have the smaller lakes I'd fish but most of those are real small so that's expected so that's a tie. The Garmin seems to have a one up for range and scanning and overall ease and what I'm seeing is minimal tweaking is needed for cloudy water vs stained water. The Hummingbird has amazing imaging though, although the UHD definitely narrows the gap significantly.

I'll probably be thrilled with either unit, but hey...

[DogBone_384]

I power my Lowrance Hook5 with my Milwaukee M12-XC 6.0 battery in a pelican box using the quick disconnect from a Battery Tender.  It weighs almost nothing and I get roughly two days out of a full charge.

 

I can’t say you’ll get that with your 93sv, but two M12’s fit in the Pelican box I use.  I have an M12 charger that plugs into both a household outlet and a cigarette outlet so I can charge it anywhere.

 

[Boomstick]

On 6/26/2020 at 7:31 PM, DogBone_384 said:

I power my Lowrance Hook5 with my Milwaukee M12-XC 6.0 battery in a pelican box using the quick disconnect from a Battery Tender.  It weighs almost nothing and I get roughly two days out of a full charge.

 

I can’t say you’ll get that with your 93sv, but two M12’s fit in the Pelican box I use.  I have an M12 charger that plugs into both a household outlet and a cigarette outlet so I can charge it anywhere.

 

Thanks! I actually just received my Garmin, the YakAttack mounts (I'm not sure if they're still sold out everywhere, but for a solid week before I ordered I couldn't buy the RAM mounts anyhwere), and Amped Outdoors 18ah battery. I rigged it up in my dry pod, everything came out well except I got the Mighty Mount slightly crooked. You can hardly tell until you put the YakAttack mount and the unit on, then it's definitely noticeable. Oh well.

 

I also bought a cheap 12ah SLA battery to use as a spare when camping for when I can't charge the lithium.

 

I already learned how to do most things with the Garmin, set waypoints, adjust sensitivity and brightness/contrast etc. Can't wait to get out with it - missed this weekend between all the thunderstorms and getting haircuts.