depth finder

[Special]

Just wondering what depth finder you would reccomend for $100 or under. Are the $40 really cheap ones any decent? Are they easy to install?
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[tubeN2]

Welcome to BFT message boards Special. There are many depth finders to choose from.

Are you planning on hooking one up on a boat, kayak, pontoon or float tube?? We do have a special recommendation thread on the float tubing board.

Just go there, open up the Thread that says "Best of the Best" and look at the section for "Fishfinders, Sonars". You can find many different reviews on what is out there, prices as well as the pros and cons of many different types.[cool]
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[Special]

I'm sorry, but are those product suggestions for float tubes only? I have a 14' row boat with (I think) a 6 foot transom and 10hp outboard
Im eyeing up the humminbird piranhamax, possible 210 or 215
will it install on the boat?
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[tubeN2]

Most of the fish finders are made for boats. You can separately purchase transom mounts for them.

most come with the hull mount but are cleverly adapted for the float tubes or pontoons.

The Hummingbird 200 and 215 both are set up for hull mount.

It doesn't take much to turn one into a transom mount. They have converted them on the Pontoon crafts. Take another look over on the Tubing board.

It may give you some creative ideas.[cool]
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[gdn443]

As always Special you get what you pay for. Spend as much as you feel you can afford on the finder and you won't be disapointed. Hummingbird makes a great finder. I had one on my 12ft boat with a transom mount.
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[Special]

I bought a humminbird product that comes with a transom mount
Ill find out for myself soon, but while Im waiting, how does it handle dense weeds?
can it see fish in them or does it just identify the top of the weeds as the lake bottom?
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[tubeN2]

Dense weeds will mostly show up as structure. You will not be able to define a fish in the weeds.

The fishfinder is always best when used to find your structures. That's how you know where your fish are. They won't all show up on the screen and the screen won't necessarily show the fish that you are about to catch.[cool]
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[Special]

I got the item, but wasnt prepared for the fact that it requires a starting battery. My friend will help me with the mounting sometime shortly but I decided to go out for the electrical
I have a fuse as the instructiosn suggested, and heaps of electrical tape

I am curious, however
Is it really safe to hold a battery that can deliver a few electircal horsepower in an uncovered boat?
what would I expect to happen if, say, the battery decided to short-circuit?
can it sit in standing water not up to its contacts? (ie a few inches after a rainstorm)


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[birddogwi]

You should check your local boating laws but I'm pretty sure any batteries of such size are required by law to be in a covered battery box with a safety strap securing the cover and somehow fastened to the boat in a stationary manor. This is a safety precaution through and through and should be done even if your local laws don't require it!!

** For instance **

- In the [#ff0000][url "http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/enforcement/docs/BoatingRegs.pdf"]Wisconsin Boating Regulations Handbook[/url] [#000000]it states on page 15 under the title [/#000000][black]"Equipment Requirements[/black][#231f20][size 1][black][size 2]"[/size][/black] :[#000000][/#000000][#000000][/#000000][/size][/#231f20]
[#000000].[/#000000]
[#000000].[/#000000][/#ff0000][#ff0000][#00a1e1][size 1] [ul] [li] [/size][/#00a1e1][b][#ff0000][size 3]Boat Battery[/size][/#ff0000][font "Helvetica"][#231f20][size 1][black][size 2]: It shall be unlawful to operate a motor driven boat [/size][/black][black][size 2]equipped with a storage battery unless such battery is secured [/size][/black][black][size 2]against shifting. Such batteries shall be equipped with nonconductive [/size][/black][black][size 2]terminal shields to prevent accidental shorting of battery [/size][/black][black][size 2]terminals. Both positive and negative terminals need to be covered. [/size][/black][black][size 2](Covered battery box with strap works best.)[/size][/black][/li][/ul][/size][/#231f20][/font][/#ff0000][/b]



as far as the standing water goes.. I would pull the bilge plug when you get home and prop the trailer up enough so that the water doesn't have a chance to stand in it anyways. Doing that helps keep the boat clean too []
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[tubeN2]

I'm not sure that you would need a battery that big. Practically all of us that use Float tubes and similar sonars, have SLA or "Sealed Lead Acid" batteries.

A single charge on a 7ah battery will last you all day on the water. Do you know what the power and current requirement is for your sonar?? That will determine the size of battery that you will need for a good days fishing.[cool]
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[Fendercaster]

As far as the battery being submerged is concerned, I can speak from experience. I once fell asleep on my boat and was awakened by my wife asking if the boat was supposed to have six inches of water in it. The boat had been anchored improperly and waves had sloshed over the transom. I looked in the battery compartment and the battery was completely under water, terminals and all. It did start right up though, I made a beeline to shore and pumped it out!
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[tubeN2]

That is a large battery. I bought mine at Cabelas. For @30 bucks, you can get two 12v 7ah SLA batteries and a charger. You can get a small case for them too.

It is always better to keep the battery dry. Just remember, the battery is storing power which means that it can be potentially dangerous to submerge in water.

You can always keep them stored in the bow and run a couple of wires to the stern. Just be sure that they don't interfere with the performance or function of any other accessories that you may be using on the port or starboard side of the boat. [cool]
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