Brand new to kayak fishing, very new to kayaking. Took my new kayak out for the first time on Friday, then Saturday night I knew I had to get the fish finder mounted.

Being unsure of the best place to mount transducer, I spent a bit of time brainstorming(translation: drinking beer) trying to figure out a temporary way to get it mounted in different locations so I could see what works best.

I spent some time playing with some rare earth magnets I harvested from some harddrives and pvc, contemplating making a magnetic unit.

Then I got the idea of making a clip for my molded in kayak handle and just clipping the unit to my kayak.

Granted, this doesn't allow me to move it around, but by this point I was determined to get it on the kayak before Sunday.

Using my propane torch, 3/4 inch schedule 40 pvc and my bench vise, I started forming.

This is what I ended up with:



This is the complete mount.


This is the clipping portion of the mount in line with the inside of the molded in handle of the kayak.


The unit, once it has been clipped on to the handle.



These are of the unit attached to the kayak. Hanging off the right side, right next to my seat.

This mount is NOT as sturdy as screws. Because of the length of the PVC, it inherently has some play to it, and the clip, while tight getting it on, it does keep it in place, but I can wiggle it a bit if I'm trying.

While using it, I didn't notice it move at all. In fact I was astonished at how much it didn't move while paddling. However, I have full confidence that it will pop off if I run into something, being that it is basically a lever.

I did notice a little something interesting though, on my short recording of my trip. At first I was confused by it, then it all made sense.


This is a side imaging picture I took. The highlighted portions turned out to be my strokes.


Here you can see I needed to turn left quickly, so I stuck my paddle into the water and back paddled, killing my forward momentum and turning hard left. Obviously creating a lot of turbulence as well.

So my questions here are, just how steady does the transducer need to be to be accurate?

Also, will these paddle strokes interfere with the performance of the unit? Or is it just something that I'll learn to ignore as time goes on?

Thanks for your time, if you made it to the end!

Nice build! You do need a steady mount. If it's moving while paddling you'll get a bad return and a fuzzy shot of the bottom. The paddle strokes are no big deal but lowering the transducer deeper will stop it. I pick up people padding next to me but not my paddle strokes.

Thanks for the reply!

About how far below the water does the transducer need to be to not pick up your own paddle strokes?

1st time view for me