New fish finder or Transducer/Quick Moun/Kayak Kit for existing FF.

Hello guys and gals,

I'm stuck on a dilemma right now between what to rig up on my new-used 12ft kayak. This 12 ft kayak will only be used in the delta and lakes.

At yesterday's Tiki derby, I was using a Buddy's FF which I rigged to the side using a slidetrax mount. It works great besides the fact it caused drag and with all those water hyacinths, made it a PITA to go thru.

Now I'm looking at either getting a cheap fish finder ($200 budget) or buy a transducer, quick mount and kayak in hull mounting kit ($200) and use my existing HumminBird 597ci DI.

Which route would you go?

I'd use the HB. I'm not sure if I would use the in hull mount they sell though. It is rigid and with hull flex it may break the seal and leak. I would try to use some sort of closed cell foam like a noodle. I know that transducer is not round like a noodle though. Someone around here will know what material to use.

I would use your Humminbird. $200 seems pricey for installation tho. The kit on Amazon is $34?

As far as where to mount the trasducer there are 3 options shoot through, scupper and external. For freshwater I would go with scupper or external because you get an accurate temperature reading. I have an external setup on my Eddyline and it works great. It flips up when you are paddling over cover and you can move the whole unit to another kayak and it keeps the hull weight down so easier to lift. Scupper installation are the best all around for a permanent install and you don't need to buy a kit. Make your own out of PVC. You dont need a kit for shoot through either.

 

  $200 for an install kit?     That's ridiculous!  Use Duct Seal for an internal "Thru hull" install, Alshobieoutback I think was the first to use this stuff, check his posts for details.  I used a block of close cell foam that was used as packing in a small shipping container.  I simply cut an outline of my FF transducer out of the block then contoured the block to my hull (Inside) then used silicone to secure the block to the hull.  My transducer sits maybe 3/8" into the block (2" thick foam) enough depth to have water cover the transducer fully.
   It's very important that the transducer has NO air between it and the hull.  Fill the hole with the transducer in it with water, and as long as the water doesn't leak out, there will be NO air below the transducer!
  Or the PVC in scupper is also a very cool way to go.  $200 for install kit?  That's laughable.  Please save your money!  I understand that some people might not be very comfortable with trying to do modifications by themselfs, but there are lots of us here that are, and not afraid to help. Don't be afraid to ask for help!
 

Do you know if the 597ci DI is compatible with transducers that are not DI?  if so, I'd probably go ahead and install it.  I don't think it would be worth buying a new DI transducer for the kayak, considering they cost something like $150.

recently i installed my 383c on my boat - i purchased a new humminbird 550 with transducer, did an exchange for a trolling motor mount ducer, and used all of the mounting hardware from the 550 to mount my 383c.  i still have the head and am planning to sell it on ebay or something.

Oops. The mounting kit isn't $200, the transducer ($120) + quick mount ($30) + power cable ($20) + kayak mounting kit ($30) = ~ $200.

My 597 is currently the fish finder my tarpon 160 and Arima boat. It just sucks to spend another $200 in parts just to use the unit. The parts alone is half of what I bought my tarpon 120 for! 

I don't know if the non DI would work, I know it's half the price of a DI transducer. I guess I got to pay to play!

if you don't need your 597, you can always buy a cheap B&W like an eagle, lowrance or piranhamax, especially if you don't use the T120 that much.  never hurts to have a backup fishfinder in the future either. 

Don't worry about the kayak mounting kit.  Some closed cell foam cut to fit the shape of the transducer and gooped to the hull with the water method is best.

I use the same Humminbird FF on my kayak and boat, works great! 

If you do decide to go Lowrance, the mounts and connection plugs are the same. I have a Lowrance mark4 for my yak and a Elite 5 for my PB. Sometimes I interchange them, very convenient. They're non dsi but the resolution is awesome.

After doing some searching and price comparison, I found the best solution is to buy a cheap HB DI fish finder.

HB 561 DI - list price $199 ... extra $30 for kayak mount

HB 346c DI - list price $249 ... extra $49 + $30 for kayak mount.

If I'm going to spent $200 in parts, at least I have an extra fish finder for back up and is interchangeable with all the transducers.

 

thats what i did with my 383c..worked great after doing the research to make sure i was getting the right transducer.