Hey tubers with sonar,
I found this on a website and was wondering if it would be a good place to mount the transducer. If not, what way do you mount yours? Have any pics?
I’ll probably get a eagle cuda 168 in the next month and am looking for a good way to mount it.
That will work, but it has the potential for snagging on weeds and/or the bottom when you launch or beach. And, if you accidently drop your craft on a hard surface (asphalt or concrete parking lot), you can crack the housing around the transducer. I know. I replaced one for $50 after a moment of carelessness.
Here’s some pics of the mount I am using these days. It consists of attaching the transducer to the bottom of a length of PVC (1/2") and then using a length of stretch cord with a loop in it to snap it in place when you launch. You can tilt it up out of the way and it comes off quick when you come back in. I have other pics and instructions if you wanna try something like that.
How do you like your Eagle sonar? I weas looking at the Eagle Cuda 240 for my toon. I may make a modified version of your sonar mount. I like the design and it must work well since you get into so many fish. 
**Hey Craig, I have tried or seriously reviewed many makes and models of sonar for tubing. I have settled on the “low end” Eagle units as a good compromise between price, quality, power, etc. They do a reasonably good job for the requirements of float tubing, at a price that most can afford. **
There are always those guys that have to have “higher, bigger, faster, more”, but the truth is that most of the time, while tubing, you are fishing relatively shallow water and do not need the bells and whistles found on some of the pricier units. The main function of my sonar systems is keeping me in the right depth and letting me know what kind of bottom or structure there is below me. Yeah, I like to see the fish on the screen too, but the truth is that I catch most of my fish without ever seeing anything on the screen.
The difference is when you are looking for a school of fish relating to bottom structure, or suspending in deeper water. Then the sonar lets you know how deep to drop your lure for a vertical presentation, or how deep to retrieve your lure if you are casting and retrieving. Of course, if you troll, it also clues you in to how deep you need to drag your lure to expect to find fish.
Most of the smaller and less powerful Eagle units draw only a small amount of juice. That makes them ideal for float tubing, since you can get by with a 5 to 7 amp/hour SLA battery. Some of the bigger and more powerful sonar systems would suck such a small battery dry in an hour or so. It’s great to be able to watch your jig below your craft, and watch fish come in to it, but that function is wasted a large percentage of the time and only drains batteries faster.
Obviously, there are a bajillion ways to rig up a transducer. I have tried about half of them. Most work, but some better than others. The big considerations for me are being able to set up and take down the system quickly, when launching or beaching, and to be able to move it up to keep from getting the transducer tangled in weeds or cracked on rocks, etc. After that, it is simply a matter of function. If it does what you want and need, then it is a good unit. If it does not give you the right info, whatever you paid for it is too much.
As I recall, the 240 is a combo unit with GPS. That can be a boon on big waters. I have been planning to add GPS to my arsenal too, but I think I will go with a separate unit…hand held…so that I can use it for other applications too.
Great, the main point of my chosing the cuda 240 was because of hte GPS functionality. I cover alot of water on my toon and especially with the trolling motor I will be covering a great deal of water and also like to try and hit some of the similar holes I find from time to time and the GPS will allow me to mark the spot and return the the same location with ease.
Thanks for the suggestions and information. Very useful as always.
cheers.
Yeah, the GPS technology has sure changed our way of refinding good spots. I got pretty good at “triangulating” on some waters, but when you are on big ponds without visible shoreline references, it is useless.
Until I get my GPS unit, I guess I will have to stick with making a mark on the water, or the side of my tube, so I can find my good spots again. (Snicker, snicker)
Could always go back to the pad of paper and pencil like the ruggid days when you rode dinosaurs to and from school up hill both ways, in the rain right? 
Maybe I am just getting lazy.
I have almost the same model as TD except mine is the 128( only difference is a smaller screen) and I have liked it. I mount mine the same way he does and haven’t really had any problems,
jed
Thanks for the info tubedude. I saw that in the archives but wasnt sure if you had a new, better way to mount it. Thanks
Yessir, that’s still the way I have my transducer rigged. It is quick to put on and take down, and you can rotate it out of the way in shallow water.
I have worked through a lot of designs over the years, but this is the best one.
hey td got a question for you on a transducer mount for an odc 420. how about a shoot thru the hull mounted behind the seat on the pvc bottom ? it would be inside the boat, nothing to snag on never have to move it.
**First of all, welcome to the playroom. **
Second of all, it would probably work, but not as well as on a boat. The main reason is that in a tube you are always rockin’ and rollin’. It would not be a steady platform like on a boat. That would make the cone angle go all over the place and would affect the accuracy of the readings. Could be done though.
My newest sonar setup, on my H3, is designed to have the transducer more to the rear, on a swing down shaft. Pictures below.