Installing electronics on a kayak?

[CM-fisher]

Hi all,

I am thinking about trying to buy some basic electronics (Humminbird pirahna max 4 or Lowrance hook 4x) to put on my fishing kayak. My question is how would I go about installing those and what other things do I need for power/mounting it? I have heard of electronics installation kits and I do have an accessory mounting track on the kayak (Lifetime teton angler 100). Please advise, thanks

[Bankc]

The easiest way to do it is to get a holder for your transducer and screen, mount that to the accessory track, and run a wire to the battery somewhere on board.  YakAttack, Scotty, Railblaza, RAM, lots of companies make transducer arm mounts and fish finder screen mounts.  Sometimes you can find both in the same unit.  

 

If you look online at various videos and pictures, you'll get the general idea.  You may or may not want a waterproof battery case to keep the battery dry.  I have one, but rarely use it because the same technology that keeps the battery acid from leaking out also keep the lake water from leaking in.  But they're handy in salt water because salt is very corrosive.  

 

Not much to it, really.  Just positive to positive and negative to negative.  There's also an inline fuse you'll need to install, but a lot of fish finders come with those, and instructions on how to do it all.  

[DogBone_384]

I have FeelFree Lure 11.5s and power them with 9-ah batteries kept in a waterproof Pelican box.  I ran my wiring in the hull with Hobie through-hull grommets and use a Battery Tender quick connect on the battery box.  The battery box is Velcro'd in the storage hatch.  I also have USB and cigarette plugs flush mounted in the cockpit.

 

I use Lowrance's scupper transducer mount on one kayak and a RAM-Mount arm for my side-scan transducer on the other.

 

Good luck with your project.

[Krux5506]

Actually setting everything up is easy, but figuring out what mounts and other stuff to buy was a pain for me. I ended up getting this from yak attack after what felt like quite a while of finding what would work best - https://www.yakattack.us/rectangular-fish-finder-mount-with-track-mounted-locknload-mounting-system-ffp-1003/

 

I use this battery, which so far so good - Have gotten over 8 hours at a time with it and still didn't die. Time will tell I suppose but for now it's great. https://www.thegpsstore.com/Holiday-Gift-Guide/Nocqua-10Ah-Pro-Power-Kit-for-Electronic-Devices?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI68Gv5pW48wIVHW1vBB1dEwN-EAQYASABEgJr3vD_BwE

 

Mounting your transducer may or may not be tricky but on my Old Town Predator I bought a scupper mount from Navarre Kayaking which is a cleverly designed and 3D printed mount that is pretty simple and works good. 

[Koz]

I have the Yak Attack CellBlok for my battery case and this sits on my rail. Attached the the CellBlok I have both the mount for the fish finder and a Yak Attack Switchblade for mounting my transducer.

 

So when I break down my kayak after a day on the lake I just remove this one combination unit on my rail.

 

That being said, stacking the Fish Finder mount on top of the CellBlok adds some height that you have to navigate when landing a fish. My fish finder mount has a lot of adjustments, so I can lay it down instead of having it stick up too far.

 

It works for me, but I had to experiment with putting the unit on both the left and right rails a few times before deciding my final placement. My rails run right up to my seat, so I settled on putting it on the left rail as close to the seat as possible. Keep in mind that I have a pedal kayak and that pedal unit is a bit of an obstacle sitting in the center that I need to navigate around while fishing.

 

I think at some point I will probably experiment with putting the CellBlok behind or under my seat and just having the fish finder on the rail. But right now this works well for me.

[Standard]

I have a Garmin Echomap 73SV, using the Scotty transducer arm / head unit mount to attach it to the rail on my kayak.  I just place the battery in the front and stuff the power cables under the netting.  

 

The Scotty transducer arm is a bit flexy, but not an issue in open water and has helped out when I'm not paying attention and run the ducer into some rocks.  Surprised how far it can flex without breaking..

 

Only downside is mainly due to my kayak, Jackson Bite FD.  No rail to mount it by the seat, so it's up by the pedal drive.  If I'm not paying attention I can bump it with my foot, and it's a bit farther away than I'd like.  Also can't quite get the transducer down far enough to fully clear the prop drive, so it blocks out some of the SI on the left side.  Planning on working up another mount over the winter to bring it closer to the seat, so that'll solve those issues.

 

I didn't want to run any cables through the hull or use the scupper mount for the transducer, when I'm on the river it would just be added weight.  

[schplurg]

I made a power box with a plastic ammo box and parts from Amazon. Has two USB ports, one cig lighter port, plus 2 sets of pos/neg posts.

 

 

I put it in my milk crate. Controls the fish finder, my light, charges my cameras and phone, plus whatever else. I think the batteries are 11ah. I actually leave one camera plugged in at all times.

 

I'm no electronics wizard as you can probably see, but it was easy to make and fun. I charge it by connecting the charger to a set of posts then hit the corresponding switch.

 

I like it because I can also use it for power while camping, either in the van or a picnic table.

 

I made the sticker too (Darth-Baiter!). Says HotBox and has my name and little phrase on it "Bad*** Homemade Stuff". I put epoxy over the sticker to protect it

 

[Boomstick]

I have a Bonafide SS127, and I installed the transducer on the bottom of the dry pod, put the battery inside the dry pod and the head unit on top. Then I can take it out and put it inside my truck for safe keeping.

 

My oldest son has a Kaku Voodoo, and we got a YakAttack cell block that mounts to the rails.

My youngest has an Old Town Topwater 120 that has a transducer mount. We run the wire into a dry bag in the hull that has the battery, and run the wires back out the hatch - no holes drilled!

 

I would go on Youtube and search for your model and see what people do.