The most challenging rigging jobs to me have always been adding rudders and hatches to kayaks that weren’t designed to accept them. Usually this involves snaking cables, fabricating brackets, and a little plastic welding here and there.

The best part about the increasing popularity of the sport is that kayak manufacturers are making boats now that don’t need many modifications to be highly functional fishing kayaks. 

The biggest problems with depth finders are corrosion from salt water and getting a good clear signal through the hull.

Corrosion can be avoided to a large degree by simple maintenance, but based on the phone calls and emails we receive most people don’t take the time or are very lax when it comes to maintenance.

Also, most transducers are set up to shoot through the hull of a kayak, which has worked very well over the years. The downside can be a less than perfect signal. If you mount a transducer in a foam pocket and set it in glob of Vaseline you will get a pretty good signal. But if that transducer comes loose on the water, you’ll have to beach your kayak and push it back into place. This is OK if you’re in a lake, river, or even in the bay - but if your in the open ocean you’ll definitely need some assistance with this.

If you use silicone, Goop, or Lexel to glue a transducer to the inside of a hull the results will certainly be more permanent.  But – if you get any air bubbles between the transducer and the hull you will either have a poor signal or no signal at all and may have to start over.

The bottom line is that both methods will work if done properly and the remedies for common the common problems that arise are fairly simple.  Until the industry has some better options to offer it makes sense to stick with what works.