To the guys on kayaks with fish finders?

[MediumMouthBass]

I recently got a Garmin Striker Vivid 5" CV and its IPX7 water rated (so it can withstand getting some water on it or be submerged for a certain amount of time at a certain depth).

Heres a little story and then my question, at the main lake i fish i have to go from the boat launch to the other side of the lake. I cant go right through the middle because of how many people on jet skis and speed boats use that area. So i stick to the no wake zone that follows the edge of the lake, but many times these guys on the jet skis and boats go very fast in the no wake zones and come right towards you, they sometimes even go the wrong direction (even at very high speeds). So i am usually having to paddle as fast as i can to avoid them, and when doing that my kayak and everything on it get soaked. And i mean soaked, every area of it gets extremely wet from the paddle throwing the water forward.

I found the area i want to put the fish finder where it wont interfere with my paddle or casting rods, but still anywhere i can put it will get an extreme amount of water on it.

I did some research on the water proof rating and yes it can withstand water for some time, but this is my first fish finder and i had to spend alot of money on it and want to do what i can to make sure it lasts a long time. (And just because it can withstand certain amounts of water doesnt mean it should for a prolonged period).

So to those of you who have any Garmin Strikers or another brand with the same rating on a kayak, how much water splashing on it can they actually withstand for long periods of time? or do you put a bag or something waterproof over it when you are going to be in rain, rough conditions, or like me and paddling fast.

I appreciate any advice or comments, thanks.

[VolFan]

I’ve never worried about my Striker unless the yak was upside down and even then, I just flipped it over. It’ll take waves and paddle splashes no problem. Mind your battery and connections though. 
Editing this - you shouldn’t be throwing water forward when you’re paddling, maybe other than drips from the blades. Smooth is fast.

[airshot]

Get your phone out and start taking pics of the speeders, make sure you get the registration numbers in the pics.  Contact the DNR and an attorney....boat/ jet ski owners are fully responsible for their wakes and any damage or injury they cause.  With pics, it is perfectly legal to make a formal complaint and or citizens arrest.  Sometines an example needs to be set, your local sherriff should back you up...

[Darth-Baiter]

Yea. I’ve fished in biblical rain. No issues. 
 

and w paddling.  Smooth is fast, fast is smooth.  My friend is old school and he’s fast with paddles.  He barely makes a mess. 

[Kirtley Howe]

Making a "citizen's arrest" can be risky. You never know how the other party is going to react, and they may react with violence. Also, not all states have provisions in the law for Citizen's Arrest so you could get yourself in a lot of trouble. My advice is to take the pictures, contact the authorities, and leave it to them. Also, posting an opinion piece in a local paper, or comment in the "readers comment" section can draw a lot of attention to the problem, and possibly increase enforcement of the rules. Be safe out there.

[Woody B]

"Citizens Arrest" isn't legal in NC.  

 

I've fished (in my boat) in rain so bad my inflatable life jacked inflated.  No problems with any of my sonar equipment.   

[Bankc]

It should be fine.  I would think any fish finder would be able to handle any amount of splashing or rain you could throw at it.  They're almost always fully sealed to prevent any water from getting inside.

 

Where the issue arises is water pressure.  So long as it's not submerged below the water, the pressure inside the fish finder (1 ATM) and the pressure outside the fish finder (1 ATM) will be equal.  So while there might be water all over the device, there's no pressure to push the water past the seals and into the electronics.  Hence no damage.

 

However, submerge the device in 10 meters of water, and now you have twice the pressure on the outside than on the inside.  And that's 14.7 pounds of pressure every square inch trying to push water past the seals.  It's gonna take some stout seals to hold up to that for very long.  

 

IPX7 is rated for 30 minutes at 1 meter.  And that's way more protection than you need for any splashes or heavy rains.  

 

Another funny thing I learned while doing some underwater photography is that water pressure ratings aren't just about depth.  I had a camera rated to 30 meters and went to photograph some stuff about 5-10 meters down.  The camera got immediately destroyed because the waves in that area were really rough and exerting more than 30 meters worth of force on the housing.  So that's something to keep in mind.  

[Susky River Rat]

I have had my strikers soaked in rain hosed it off took a wave over the bow and have had any issues.

[casts_by_fly]

As BankC noted, IPX7 is 30 minutes at 1m.  So if you flipped the kayak and couldn't right yourself for a half hour then you "might" be in trouble.  Otherwise I wouldn't worry. 

 

10 minutes ago, Bankc said:

Another funny thing I learned while doing some underwater photography is that water pressure ratings aren't just about depth.  I had a camera rated to 30 meters and went to photograph some stuff about 5-10 meters down.  The camera got immediately destroyed because the waves in that area were really rough and exerting more than 30 meters worth of force on the housing.  So that's something to keep in mind.  

 

I'm going to call hooey on this one unless you were in portugal photographing surfers in a big wave tournament.  Then you might have had 20m waves on top of the 10m you were under.  Otherwise, waves breaking on the surface will not impact the pressure at 10m.  The force is distributed across the top meter or two before it ever gets down to 10m.  I would wager that while the camera was rated for 30m, its not effectively designed for that.  The most reliable underwater camera (sans housing) is the Olympus TG series which has proven its bonafides over the past 10 years or so.  Its only rated to 15m.  I think there is a coolpix from Nikon that is 30m rated, but I don't have experience with it.  Any other camera without a housing that says 30m is spoofing the IPX testing and I wouldn't trust it.

 

If you're talking about inside a housing then there are a lot more options, but housings come with their own complications and caveats.

 

[flyfisher]

23 hours ago, airshot said:

Get your phone out and start taking pics of the speeders, make sure you get the registration numbers in the pics.  Contact the DNR and an attorney....boat/ jet ski owners are fully responsible for their wakes and any damage or injury they cause.  With pics, it is perfectly legal to make a formal complaint and or citizens arrest.  Sometines an example needs to be set, your local sherriff should back you up...

A citizen's arrest, really?  good luck with that.  

I have a Helix and never thought about rain or damaging my unit.  Also if you are drenching everything then you are being very inefficient.  Slow down and smooth out that paddle stroke.  I just turn my motor up to 100% now though and don't miss what you are experiencing.

[Choporoz]

I have never had any water related issues with the unit head.  I used to have temporary issues if the female cable ends, got soaked and were still wet when I hooked up.  Dielectric grease took care of that, though.

[MediumMouthBass]

@flyfisher slowing downs not really an option for me on this lake in most of the areas you have boats and jetskis coming at you or near you over 60 mph in the no wake zones right next to the shoreline, so ive gotta get out of there as fast as possible.

On other lakes it not much of an issue since i can paddle smoothly but build up enough momentum to gain speed.

 

Thanks guys for the replies it really helps, i knew when i first bought it that it would be alright if water got on it, but i wasnt sure how long it would last being soaked in water a couple hundred times a year.

[Bankc]

19 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

I'm going to call hooey on this one unless you were in portugal photographing surfers in a big wave tournament.  Then you might have had 20m waves on top of the 10m you were under.  Otherwise, waves breaking on the surface will not impact the pressure at 10m.  The force is distributed across the top meter or two before it ever gets down to 10m.  I would wager that while the camera was rated for 30m, its not effectively designed for that.  The most reliable underwater camera (sans housing) is the Olympus TG series which has proven its bonafides over the past 10 years or so.  Its only rated to 15m.  I think there is a coolpix from Nikon that is 30m rated, but I don't have experience with it.  Any other camera without a housing that says 30m is spoofing the IPX testing and I wouldn't trust it.

 

If you're talking about inside a housing then there are a lot more options, but housings come with their own complications and caveats.

 

It was on the northwest coast of Maui.  And I don't remember the size of the waves, but I do remember each wave pushed me forward and then back about 20-30 feet as they passed.  Honestly, it was probably too dangerous to be out there.  You definitely had to keep your head on a swivel to keep from getting crashed into the corral.  And the pressure wasn't so much from the weight of the water above you as the wave passed, but from the force of the movement of the water across you.  Kind of like how the wind can exert a lot more pressure than just the atmosphere itself.  Pressure is pressure, whether it's coming from all points at once or just one.  

 

The camera was a Sea & Sea Motormarine II EX (35mm film) and was actually supposed to be rated to 45 meters.  And while not a Nikonos, it also wasn't a toy and had all new seals.  It was designed for divers, so it should have been up to the task and did fine in a test run at a swimming pool, though that was only 18 feet.  

 

My point being that the IP ratings are designed with static water pressure in mind, and in the real world, that's not always what you experience.  

[gim]

On 7/23/2023 at 2:13 PM, MediumMouthBass said:

So i stick to the no wake zone that follows the edge of the lake, but many times these guys on the jet skis and boats go very fast in the no wake zones and come right towards you, they sometimes even go the wrong direction (even at very high speeds). So i am usually having to paddle as fast as i can to avoid them

 

If they are outside the no wake zone, they are legal.  Even if they are sending waves your direction.  I do agree that its a jackass move and I encounter that fairly frequently too.  If they are inside that zone constantly, I would report it to the local authority and let them handle that.  Of course they will have to get caught doing it to see any consequences.  As others have stated, I would NOT try to make a citizen's arrest.  Trying to enforce law or rules without a badge isn't going to work.  If someone tried to do that to me, I'd ignore them.

 

Jet skis make almost no wake compared to some other watercraft.  Wake boats are the ones you need to watch out for to be honest.  They might completely capsize you.

[Darth-Baiter]

me and my kayak have a strange gravitational pull to jet skis.