Rigging a sit-on kayak for spearfishing?

[Magpie]

You stumble upon and interesting fact there Dario when you say the RTM Duo is like the Ocean Kayak Malibu.

RTM (Rotomod) are a French company that used to manufacture kayaks for Ocean. However Ocean decided (don't know why) to move their manufacturing but RTM retained some of the designs and carried on producing them under their own name.

If you look at the Ocean Scupper Pro and the RTM Tempo you'll see they are as good as identical with just some fittings and the tank well being slightly different.

Also explains why Scott's Ocean Scrambler had Rotomod on the side

Just thought someone might be interested.

 

[scottwilson]

Cool Magpie, I never knew that

 

[dario_deli]

Scottwilson, I was wondering where is the battery for your fish finder. I was thinking to buy a fish finder with gps integrated but than I thought about the problem of the battery.
Magpie I'm a good observer, aren't I?

 

[foxfish]

You can power a fish finder with a 12volt motorcycle battery but a GPS ff combo is an expensive bit of kit! You could buy a second hand boat for £600?

 

[dario_deli]

yeah you're right but at the moment I wouldn't know where to palce a boat and anyway if I buy the GPS ff combo I'll use it when I can have a boat as well. I've seen the Garmin GPSMAP 420S in ebay for around £250 but I was wondering if it is really essential with the kayak with which I think I can't cover long distances.

 

[foxfish]

Well where I live (VAT free) you can buy a GPS for about £280 but then you need the local map = £90. I would not think of going out of site of land in a yak so it would only be in case of emergencies (fog maybe) that a GPS would be useful? Nothing wrong with that of course but they are sensitive pieces of equipment so you will have to careful not to get the unit too wet (or the battery).
A sounder (fish finder) can cost less than £80 & for a bit more you can get a self contained battery powered model.

 

[Pav]

I bought from the USA a Cuda 128 fishfinder for £50 from Walmart. I made my own portable battery housing from a waterproof case and 2 AA battery packs from work to provide 12v. Compact and cheap. Battery life wasn't an issue as you would expect but I didn't find the fish finder as useful as I imagined from the kayak as I tend to fish for the Bass with lures in shallow water over the reefs.

My GPS again was £50 (USA Walmart!). Only waypoints (no map). I took mine out one weekend in the car and put in all the marks I needed (harbours , slips, points etc) so in case of emergency I can find my way to a suitable getout.

USA if you have any one going on business or holiday is roughly 50% what we pay in the UK.

 

[foxfish]

I was talking about chart plotters, GPS with a map on screen but you have a point about a waypoint GPS. I think a lot of yak owners use hand held waypoint GPS's I know someone who has somehow got GPS on his mobile phone.

 

[scottwilson]

Scottwilson, I was wondering where is the battery for your fish finder. I was thinking to buy a fish finder with gps integrated but than I thought about the problem of the battery.
Magpie I'm a good observer, aren't I?

Foxfish got it spot on with the motor bike battery, I bought mine from gt motorcycles in town and mounted it inside the red box. My fishfinder is the eagle 168 Eagle Electronics - Cuda™ 168 . Got it from ebay for about £60 the only downside is it took about 3 weeks for delivery. I use it mainly to find new dive spots and depth. It also tells you the temp of the water. If you read the manual it tells you what each shade of grey means so you can know whether you looking at kelp bed or a sandy bottom or just rocks.

Its funny really cause the one thing I dont use the fish finder for is,,FISH. but more to find the right ground for the fish.

whatever you do DONT BUY THIS [ame="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FISHING-TACKLE-DIGITAL-PORTABLE-FISH-FINDER-A-NO-RSV_W0QQitemZ160215469999QQihZ006QQcategoryZ15263QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]FISHING TACKLE DIGITAL PORTABLE FISH FINDER (A) NO RSV on eBay, also, Accessories, Boats Watercraft, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 12-Mar-08 19:20:42 GMT)[/ame]

they are a complete waste of money imho , it dosent even show you what the bottom looks like it just beeps and shows a picture of a fish complete pile of cr#p.

As for the gps. ive been thinging about a etrex Buy Garmin eTrex Legend GPS - GPS at Field & Trek

as you can load them full of way points and is compatible with MapSource software which you can then buy the blue charts software for.

if you really want to be geeky you could take it out on your yak and then upload your data onto mapsource, hit the google maps button and it will plot exactly where youve been that day over the google map.

 

[dario_deli]

Foxfish got it spot on with the motor bike battery, I bought mine from gt motorcycles in town and mounted it inside the red box. My fishfinder is the eagle 168 Eagle Electronics - Cuda™ 168 . Got it from ebay for about £60 the only downside is it took about 3 weeks for delivery. I use it mainly to find new dive spots and depth. It also tells you the temp of the water. If you read the manual it tells you what each shade of grey means so you can know whether you looking at kelp bed or a sandy bottom or just rocks.

Its funny really cause the one thing I dont use the fish finder for is,,FISH. but more to find the right ground for the fish.

whatever you do DONT BUY THIS FISHING TACKLE DIGITAL PORTABLE FISH FINDER (A) NO RSV on eBay, also, Accessories, Boats Watercraft, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 12-Mar-08 19:20:42 GMT)

they are a complete waste of money imho , it dosent even show you what the bottom looks like it just beeps and shows a picture of a fish complete pile of cr#p.

As for the gps. ive been thinging about a etrex Buy Garmin eTrex Legend GPS - GPS at Field & Trek

as you can load them full of way points and is compatible with MapSource software which you can then buy the blue charts software for.

if you really want to be geeky you could take it out on your yak and then upload your data onto mapsource, hit the google maps button and it will plot exactly where youve been that day over the google map.

I've seen the cuda 168 and I don't dislike it at all and then it's really cheap! There're 2 versions, one is portable and more expensive. Do you know the differences? I've understood that the main difference is the trasducer which is easy to set but I'm not sure.

 

[foxfish]

You would think some enterprising chap would sell a sounder with a short transducer wire, you cant cut the thing & they are usually 20' long.
I use this one on my little boat Buy Cheap Raymarine DS400x with Transom Transducer - Reviews UK

 

[scottwilson]

dario


Optional Portable Version:

• Optional pack includes Port-Power Pack case and portable 200 kHz Skimmer® transducer with suction-cup mounting bracket (batteries not included)

Suction-cup mounting hhmmmmm I think I will pass on that one theres no smooth surface on my yak

another forum I use from time to time is Welcome to our Kayak Fishing web alot of them use the 168 ff. Ive seen alot of people mount the ducer inside the yak but as I dont have a hatch I cant, and theres no way in hell im paying £70 for the oval hatch :head

 

[foxfish]

Gps 60 GARMIN Gps Gps United Kingdom Dive Scuba store .com
I noticed this in the db shop.

 

[dario_deli]

Sorry for the question which may sound stupid. Does the trasducer have to be set in a particular way? I mean is it easy to set up? I've seen that someone put it inside the kayak through the hatch but I thought it had to be pointed toward the bottom. I'm a little bit confused about it.

 

[scottwilson]

You right in saying that it has to point to the bottom. If you look in the pictures below it shows how the ducer on mine has to point. The bracket that came with the ff is pretty good IMHO.

The way ive mounted my transducer is not the best way I know but ive not had any problems yet.

 

[dave]

I think a GPS with integrated maps is overkill on a kayak. I have one on my boat, and it is a nice toy, but to be honest I hardly ever use the chart screen. I upload waypoints from the PC before going out if I want to go somewhere new. The GPS is mainly for finding my way back to specific spots (wrecks, pinnacles , scallop patches etc) that I have found before. Also on the small handheld units I think the screen is a bit small to be useful with maps
One a kayak I would go for a Garmin Etrex or Foretrex; small, simple and cheap, so not too tragic if you lose it overboard (just make sure you have all your secret spots backed up though!)

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[Magpie]

From what I've read you can mount transducers inside the hull of the Kayak and they work fine, the key is to mount it in a big splodge of silicone type adhesive so there is no air between the transducer and the hull, there must be no bubbles in the silicone.

Some fit a bit of foam tube to hold the transducer in position inside the kayak, which is then filled with vaseline and the transducer fitted inside the tube so its in full contact with the vaseline, again making sure there is no air bubbles.

 

[Magpie]

Battery FAQ Fishing Techniques, Rigging Explanations, Kayak Recommendations and more

 

[Mr. X]

...I know someone who has somehow got GPS on his mobile phone.

I do too. He has an optional module on the back of his Nokia phone. I know several people who upgrade phones every year - unfortunately he's not one of them.

 

[scottwilson]

im with spearo Dave on this one. the etrex are good for the price, you can pick one up off ebay for around £50.