Thread: Two boats and one Depth Finder

I have a kayak, a Jon boat, and only one depth finder. I wanted a way to be able to carry the depth finder in the kayak and still use it in the Jon. To do this I mounted the finder head on the cover a small plastic box I purchased at Wal Mart.



To stiffen the plastic I used a piece of thin aluminum as a backing inside the box.



The battery was an obstacle until I remembered that I have a battery-powered drill that uses 12V batteries, and it came with a charger. The only challenge now was to connect the Depth Finder wires to the battery. I just stripped a length of the wires, folded them over to add some bulk and tinned them. Then I placed the proper wire on the proper terminal on the battery and wrapped a stout rubber band around the battery and wires to secure them. The battery fit nicely inside the box along with the long power wire.



It provides enough weight to make the unit stable while in the boat. Getting the transducer in the water was the next step. I took some sheet Styrofoam, carved a boat shaped chunk, mounted the transducer to the bottom, and routed the cable to come off the little boat at the pointed end. This is then just slipped over the side of the Jon or kayak and it drags along behind with no problems. Mine is bigger than it needs to be but it works.



If you have read this far and asked yourself, “What do I do, as I don’t have a 12V drill?” Harbor Freight has a replacement 12V Li-On battery (item # 68059) for $19.99 and a Fast Charger (# 68398) for $14.99. This will give you the whole arrangement for $34.99 plus your local taxes or you could get the drill kit (# 69360) for $42.99 and use the battery when fishing.

Any other brand battery-powered tool will work, but remember it must be 12V as there are lots of 18V and even 24V units out there and that much voltage will damage your depth finder.

I priced the gel cells and similar batteries and chargers and the cost was significantly higher than buying the Harbor Freight unit. A note of caution though: Harbor Freight tools are inexpensive and some of the quality control is less than stellar. Keep your receipt as they are Very Good about returns should you get a defective unit.