Quote from: willidru on April 29, 2014, 06:52:22 AM

So got a tandem kayak (Necky Cruiser II with rudder) it came with 2 seat and 2 ores. For now until I find another kayak me and my cousin will be riding double. I'm now in the market for a Fish/Depth finder. Couple questions:
1. With tandem were would you mount since 2 peolpe are on it but sometimes if alone will use the middle seat.
2. Wasn't planning on putting an expensive unit on it. Wanted peoples opinions on buying seperate FF and GPS vs combo unit. Seems like cost would be pretty comperable.
3. Transducer through hull or not?
4. Color vs Black and White

Thanks for any advise

You will find, as a general rule of thumb, that going with two units; one FF & one GPS will be about 1.5X the cost of a combo unit.  Not to mention the increased power consumption which means you either:
a)  Need 2 batteries
b)  Need a much LARGER battery
c)  Run the unit 1/2 as long (3-4 hours on the water)

This, of course, does not take into account the possability of buying a handheld GPS.  I am talking "fixed" screen units.  Most buy a combo unit!  With my combo Lowrance unit, I can mark waypoints right from my fishfinder page so no having to fumble with two units or split-screen pages ... unless I want to 

As for position of a unit on a tandem.  I guess it would depend if your tandem has a center-seat (1 person) option.  If so, maybe mount two ram balls (one for the center seat position) & one for the rearward seat & leave the power cord on the FF/GPS long enough to reach both positions.

If you have any questions on the Lowrance line, feel free to reach out to myself or 'Wingshooter' for any assistance.  There are a lot of guys on here who run H-Bird too that I'm sure would be willing to answer questions on that line.

Bill

Makes sense, thanks for the input. I do have a center seat option and hopefully I will find another kayak so we can ride solo most of the time. One item I didn't mention is that my primary function is for Ab diving. I haven't yet expanded into spearfishing or kayak fishing. What Lowrance model would you recommend? If I did go GPS seperate it would be hand held.

So got a tandem kayak (Necky Cruiser II with rudder) it came with 2 seat and 2 ores. For now until I find another kayak me and my cousin will be riding double. I'm now in the market for a Fish/Depth finder. Couple questions:
1. With tandem were would you mount since 2 peolpe are on it but sometimes if alone will use the middle seat.
2. Wasn't planning on putting an expensive unit on it. Wanted peoples opinions on buying seperate FF and GPS vs combo unit. Seems like cost would be pretty comperable.
3. Transducer through hull or not?
4. Color vs Black and White

Thanks for any advise

Thank you guys,
I will do both.
Would a day or two of freediving course helpful ?

Absolutely

You should also look at joining NorCal Underwater Hunters. Has alot of people willing to help free divers.

Willidru,

  The Extreme is extremely flat! No Rocker and sits low in the water. was a good kayak 10 years ago but outdated.
  The X13 is similar to the trident in size and feel. A little rocker and a fairly fast kayak good all arounder.
  The X-factor is a wide very stable kayak with a lot of payload! it is a great kayak for all fishing but a little slower in the water. A lot of people love the xfactor and dive off it. AbKing loves the xfactor and It would be my recommendation. I own all three and would steer you away from the extreme. For diving and an all arounder I would recommend the X-factor!

Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks so much.

My name is Bill, I'm recently in the market for a kayak for abalone diving on the northcoast. I was diving with a group of NorCal Underwater Hunters and they turned me onto NCKA after I realized how much better a kayak would be for free diving. Now I need to figure out what kayak to get and set it up. Any suggestions?