# How did you mount your fishfinder?



## JimInMichigan (Jul 17, 2014)

I'm looking for idea's on mounting a small 4" screen FF ( I'm leaning towards the Piranhamax 175 ( mostly due to price range of under $100 )).

3 seat rowboat with tiller steering, so I'd like it to be where I can see it while steering, obviously. Only thing I can think of is the seat in front of me. Being a small screen, not sure I'd be able to see it well though. To the left of me is the flip up seat door where the battery for the sump and lights is located, so to the left of me wont work. Just wondering what you guys did.


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## kofkorn (Jul 18, 2014)

Back when I was running my 14' Meyer with a similar seat setup, I had my FF located on the port side of the middle seat, facing straight toward the center of the boat. That gave me the ability to see it from the rear or front seats. I tucked it as close to the side of the boat as possible. IIRC, I used a piece of 2x4 to mount the FF base to and then I was able to drill small holes in the braces and screwed the 2x4 to the braces instead of drilling holes in the seat. 

I liked the middle seat because it was close enough to easily see and operate, and it wasn't in the way when I was monkeying with starting the motor or removing the fuel tank. My FF bracket stayed mounted in the boat and I just installed and removed the FF from the bracket when I went out for the day.

Good luck!


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## lovedr79 (Jul 18, 2014)

when I had my 10' I had mine on the bench off to the side as far as I could get it yet still be able to swivel in around if need be.


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## miketheknife (Jul 18, 2014)

I have the same boat as you. I also have a two person pond boat. I made my whole FF unit portable.
I used the bracket and part of the shaft from a junk trolling motor. Here are a couple of pics.






If you have any questions, just holler.
Mike


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## rickybobbybend (Jul 19, 2014)

A suggestion: mount it to a small piece of ply with long enough wires and then go out and use the boat. Move the FF to various positions and see which works best for you. I did that and wound up mounting it permanently on the far side of the driver's bench. Middle seat immediately in from of driver was a close second.


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## Wallijig (Jul 19, 2014)

See the Lowrance Elite 3x? under $100 with color display and temp sensor.

https://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder/Elite-3x-en-us.aspx

Can get in all season pack also and use for icefishing also

https://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder/Elite-3x-All-Season-en-us.aspx


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## onthewater102 (Jul 19, 2014)

I'll get you a pic of how I mounted mine - I used (2) RAM mount 1" balls with a 1/4 20 threaded female at opposite ends of a piece of 1/2" PVC conduit with a threaded rod down the middle holding them together. I got the ram mount for the fishfinder I was using along with an extra compression fitting so I can pivot the display 2' forward of the middle bench seat, 2' to the side if I'm fishing off the port side, or 2' straight back toward the rear bench to see it better while on the tiller. 

I've got side-imaging using the thru-hull transducer. Made me very nervous drilling a 1.125" hole straight thru the bottom of my boat, but after a ridiculous amount of marine epoxy I've got it to the point where it doesn't worry me anymore.


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## JimInMichigan (Jul 20, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360100#p360100 said:


> Wallijig » 19 Jul 2014, 14:05[/url]"]See the Lowrance Elite 3x? under $100 with color display and temp sensor.
> 
> https://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder/Elite-3x-en-us.aspx
> 
> ...



Color would be cool, but 3.5" screen might be a little harder to see than the 4" on the Piranhamax 175. I know when I upgraded my cell phone from the Samsung EVO with a 4.3" screen to the Samsung S3 with a 4.8" screen, the difference is quite a bit larger.

Also, the Piranhamax 175 has 200/455 kHz beam, compared to the 3x's 83/200 kHz. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the higher kHz beam means a more refined picture?

Piranhamax 2 year warranty, compared to 3x 1 year.

I'm not totally sold on the Piranhamax and I'm open to suggestions. I'm all new to this, so trying to make the best decision.


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## onthewater102 (Jul 20, 2014)




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## JimInMichigan (Jul 20, 2014)

Now that's pretty cool. Could you give me a link the ram bases you used? Will the bases tighten up enough to keep the arm in the air where you want it?



[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360170#p360170 said:


> onthewater102 » 20 Jul 2014, 08:20[/url]"]


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## onthewater102 (Jul 21, 2014)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360200#p360200 said:


> JimInMichigan » 20 Jul 2014, 13:07[/url]"]... Could you give me a link the ram bases you used? ...



Deck plate, clamp #1 & Mounting plate for the fish finder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AXSUM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(2) 1/4-20 female threaded 1" balls: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006RKF1X8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2nd clamp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KWPJ04/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There is a 2' section of threaded rod 1/4-20 available from any hardware store down the center of it, and a section of 1/2" sch. 40 electrical conduit cut to fit the as-measured distance from one ball to the other once they're seated on the rod. I got lucky and sourced a bunch of it through a big ebay lot, some of which I sold to buy the rest of the parts. I think all in if you were to buy the parts it would cost about $70 - but even that's nothing compared to the cost of a 2nd headunit.



[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=360200#p360200 said:


> JimInMichigan » 20 Jul 2014, 13:07[/url]"]...Will the bases tighten up enough to keep the arm in the air where you want it?



Yes - but not well. The fishfinder head unit applies too much torque from 2' away. If you used a shorter length it would hold straight up - but that wasn't what I was trying to accomplish. I did it so that I have a screen in front of me no matter which side of the boat I'm fishing from or in front as I'm sitting in the back working the gas engine. Anything shorter than 2' wouldn't reach across the center line of my 1436 (36" wide) boat.

I rigged it up temporarily to test it and have been very happy with it thus far. I plan on routing the cords through the conduit alongside the threaded rod and painting the PVC tube black to match everything else.


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## flyingvranch (Sep 4, 2014)

Here's how I did mine in a similar boat such as yours. I mounted it low down below the gunwales so tree limbs wouldn't damage it when running limb lines. I can see it from my seat when driving the boat.


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## marshman (Sep 8, 2014)

I did this. Mostly because I'm planning to build a grab bar/mini console in the same area, so testing the location...but it's easily removable, just unplug the wires(wires stay in place)detach from base...


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## Dark3 (Sep 9, 2014)

View attachment 1
View attachment 2


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## Loggerhead Mike (Sep 9, 2014)

Ram mount is the way to go


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## marshman (Sep 9, 2014)

I love that ram mount setup... Not sure why I didn't think of that...


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## Dark3 (Sep 9, 2014)

marshman said:


> I love that ram mount setup... Not sure why I didn't think of that...


Thanks! Pretty simple for sure. Just trimmed a bit off of a 2x6, cut two equal pieces, spray can sealed, and painted to match. I have always made sure from when the boat is new, to make wide enough bolt holes to accommodate any size mounting plate I may ever need. Same with the ducer area. I have made that mistake before. Stuff keeps getting bigger lol


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## fishjunky (Sep 12, 2014)

Dark3... Do you transport with the head unit in place?


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## Dark3 (Sep 12, 2014)

fishjunky said:


> Dark3... Do you transport with the head unit in place?


Yes I do, usually with a bunge strap to ensure the cover doesnt fall off. God knows alot of stuff has blown out over the years lost to the road. Its not always up that high either.


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## fishjunky (Sep 12, 2014)

Thanks. I usually pull mine off but have been thinking of just leaving it in place... One less thing to do during launch/retrieval.


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## Dark3 (Sep 12, 2014)

Also note to anyone doing a similar job. Those are lag bolts (large screws) holding the mount to the board.


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