Fishfinder Fiasco
Have you ever started a project thinking you could knock it out in short order?
Something simple like finally attaching the fishfinder you got for Christmas to your kayak. Surely that could take like an hour tops. Right?
Apparently not.
As I wrote in my last post Tired, a goal I had set for myself over the weekend was to finally install the fishfinder I got for Christmas on my kayak, along with a few other small quality of life upgrades.
Like this sweet librarian sticker. I'm pretty sure it makes the boat go faster. Or as my spouse said, “it at least makes it appear well read.”
I got up on Sunday, the family and I made parfaits for breakfast. I drank copious amounts of coffee and finally headed outside to see about this fishfinder.
As I started pulling things out of the box, looking at the factory installed transducer mounting holes on the keel of the kayak, I quickly realized that the bracket that came with the fishfinder was too narrow to fit in the mounting holes on the kayak.
Saddened, I hit up Google, Amazon, Ebay, anything I could think of to see if an alternative bracket existed. Nothing. I was beginning to think that this project was toast and that I wouldn't be getting this thing done today. Finally, I stumbled across a YouTube video of someone with the same kayak as me. They had to build their own bracket to make their transducer fit.
“I can do that too!” I thought. I've got the skills, the tools, the know how, the determination. I could probably have this thing done in another hour. Tops.
I wasn't sure when I started how that bracket might look, but I took a trip to the hardware store to gather supplies anyways.
When it comes to library work, I tend to plan out everything. Especially with grants, programs, etc... too many moving parts to not have some kind of an idea of how you want things to go. However, when it comes to building things, I rarely follow a blueprint. I don't even like using the IKEA instructions, and if you've ever assembled one of those things, you know how crazy that can get. I prefer things to happen somewhat organically. I experiment. See what works, what doesn't. Come back at the project from a different angle, until a plan all clicks together in my head and then, I make the thing.
Most efficient? Certainly not. Frustrating? At times. But it's kind of fun for me. I like a good project with a tangible thing as the outcome.
So, I'm at the hardware store. I need to grab some small bolts to mount the fishfinder head unit to the YakAttack mount that I bought. The kid at the hardware store helps me get what I need. But I still need material for the bracket. As I am combing the aisles, a flicker of a plan begins to form in my head. I find some steel flatbar, grab a few small angle brackets, a few other bits (that I quickly discover will not be needed), checkout and make the 10 minute drive back home.
I get the head unit attached to the mount. That was easy. Then I flipped the boat over to work on getting the transducer installed. To my dismay, I discover that the bolts that came with the fishfinder will not fit in the factory insets. I went to my small shed and dug around for all the machine screws I could find. None fit. I really didn't want to lug the whole boat to the hardware store, so I went back to Google, kayak forums, the manufacturer's website trying to find the size bolts that are needed. Nothing.
With a heavy heart, I loaded the kayak on the roof rack and headed back to the hardware store. This project was becoming way more complex than I thought it would be when I woke up Sunday morning.
The same kid that had helped me earlier that morning grabbed an assortment of bolts, climbed up on the hood of my truck and ran through them all until he found one that fit.
PSA: If you own a Bonafide RS 117 kayak and are looking to mount a transducer onto the factory insets on the keel, you need a 10-32 machine screw. Length will depend on what kind of bracket came with your fishfinder, or as in my case, the kind of bracket you have to build. I recommend getting stainless steel as the bolts will be underwater.
I paid him the $0.50 for the 2 bolts and headed back home to build the bracket.
I finally settled on a design for the bracket. I didn't need half the stuff I bought on my first trip to the hardware store. I just used a small piece of the flat bar I had purchased, drilled four holes in it where I needed them, and mounted the transducer.
I'm simplifying things a bit here for brevity, but this seemigly simple thing took me several hours of tinkering, cursing, and one additional trip to the hardware store.
After I finally had the transducer mounted, and was confident it would not fall off, I was able to flip the kayak back onto its proper side and wire everything together. This, I am happy to say, went rather quickly. I did have to drill two holes in my boat for this step, and I didn't like doing that very much, but it's done. Everything looks good and it should be water tight.
At this point is was just about dinner time. I was a bit bummed as I really wanted to get it out on the water and see if everything worked. My lovely spouse said go for it, so once again, I heaved the kayak onto my roof rack and drove the few miles to the local lake.
I'm happy to say that everything worked. I don't know how to read the graph, I have never owned a fish finder before, but with time I'm confident I will figure it out.
I only stayed at the lake for about 30 minutes. The family was hungry, and I had fajitas marinating in the fridge. I loaded back up. This thing weighs like 80 pounds empty. That's a lot of weight to load on your own when it spreads out over almost 12 feet. Got home, unloaded and cooked dinner.
The fajitas were great. Despite all the setbacks and frustrations of the day, I was happy that I had accomplished what I set out to do. It took way longer than I expected, but as a wise person once told me, always plan for something to take twice as long as you think. My spouse said that several times throughout the day as I grumbled about how long this “little” project was taking.
This is my first post with pictures. I'm not sure how often I will do that, but I felt this one warranted their inclusion. Thanks for reading.
Until next week.