I am wanting to add a simple fish finder on my boat. More than finding fish, I want to know the water depth so I don't get into a bind. And the MPH is a bonus. From what I have found, most of the ones I have seen cost more than my boat. Does anyone use a cheaper version to recommend? Also, do they pull much off the battery?

Academy has a Hummbird Helix 5 for $299. It's compatible with Lakemaster. The screen size is basically the size of your phone. It should be minimal draw on your battery.

If you can find them, Basspro/Cabelas has the Garmin Echomap 93 for $599. That one is a 9 inch screen and a low draw. Built in maps are decent.

In Lowrance you're probably looking at the Hook series.

Also keep an eye in the Trading section. Right now there is a Helix 9 gen 2 for $600.

I put a Lowrance hook 7 on my Jon boat. It was on sale for 399 new. Then in the trading post on here I picked up a lowrance HDS 7 for 250. So if your not in a big hurry you can watch the for sale area. I like the hook 7. Pretty good base map.

Thanks for the good information, I will look into those.

I bought a Garmin Striker 4 for my skiff. I mostly want to know the depth, but it shows speed, and has GPS for waypoints. It's only $100, or so. The only shortcoming is the screen's only 4-1/2 inches. If you can deal with that, it's definitely the best bang-for-the-buck fishfinder. Mine runs all day long and never drops more than 1/4 volt. The manual is a joke, but there are tutorials on Youtube that you can use to learn. Good luck, IslandJim

7 inch and under screens don’t pull much off the battery.
You can run them all day on a 12volt 8aH deer feeder battery.

If you have exceptional eyesight and don’t mind not having a map of the lake, the Garmin Striker 4 is a great choice.

You have good timing: Academy Sports just started clearing out last year’s models.
Also agree with looking at the classifieds here (purchased two fishfinders that way)
IMO, this is the best deal at the Academy Sports website.

Awesome. Thanks again guys, for all of the help on this.