Finder Finder

August 12, 2017

I dont fish, but I needed a speedometer and depth finder. It dawned on me that I might buy both combined for only a little more than the cost of one. The depth finder alone looked to be a little over $100. I found this Garmin Stiker 4 fish finder for under $100 on sale at Menards. It has GPS speed and location, water depth and temperature, all on a nice digital screen.

So I installed it today.

The first challenge was getting it mounted parallel with the boat. The boat is sitting a little tilted on the trailer, plus I'm mounting it on the stern at the bottom of the hull right on the vee. So I knew just eyeballing it could be decieving. So I used the level to tansfer the angle of the swim platform to the location on the stern.

First, measuring the angle of the swim platform from level, and marking a piece of cardboard with that angle.

Next, I cut the cardboard.

Tape the cardboard to the level and now I can strike a line on the stern that is parallel to the swim platform.

I first guessed at the location of the mounting bracket and marked the screw slots. Then I marked the line on the tape that was parallel to the swim platform. You can see how much I was off, when I just guessed. This proved the value of spending the time to measure the right angle.

The transducer mounted with the cable running up and entering the bottom of the swim platform. That was the best location for entry both from the outside and inside.

The transducer from the side. It looks like it doesn't project down below the hull, but it does. Just an optical illusion from this angle.

Here's the fish finder mounted on the dash where the speedometer had been.