How to Install a Fishfinder on a Fiberglass Boat? Latest Guide

Fishfinders have become an increasingly important part of causal and professional fishing expeditions.

A fish finder can make all the difference in catching a large number of fish in one go, or coming home with next to nothing at all.

It is a quick and efficient way to maximize the number of fish you catch and reduces the time you spend accomplishing the task.

While some professional-grade boats might come with a pre-installed fishfinder, most people install it themselves.

Especially fiberglass boats don’t usually come with this extra feature therefore most people install it for themselves.

It is not too costly to purchase a fishfinder and so most people do not mind investing a little money.

How to Install a Fishfinder on a Fiberglass Boat

Installing a fishfinder might sound like a painfully long and complicated feat, however, it is much simpler than it sounds. With that in mind, we have concocted a review laying down all the steps. We hope that these step by step guidelines will help our readers in successfully installing their own fishfinder with little to no extra help.

Step 1: Locating the Fishfinder

The location of the fish finder needs to be at an optimum angle and position. The placement of your fish finder will determine of easily it can be seen from the cockpit. The right spot will make it visible to everyone onboard the cockpit.

The best way to go about it is to use a measuring tape to measure the free space you’ll have once you install the fish finder, and if that’s enough. Moreover, you can measure the width and length of the fish finder of your choice suiting the capacity of your boat too. Besides the width and length make sure there is enough depth in the place you want to install the fishfinder.

Another important aspect of picking the right spot is being in close proximity to the power supply. Make sure the power bus is as close to the fish finder as possible, it’s not wise to spread wiring across a watered-down boat. Also, make sure that there are additional terminals for any other electrical equipment you might need and use as well.

Step 2: Drilling for Mounting Holes

Make sure to measure twice and cut once when you begin drilling for mounting holes. Always remember this rule of thumb as it ensures precision and smooth drilling. Once you’ve doubled checked on your measurements it will leave little room for any error.

Moreover, keep in mind to drilling as efficiently and quickly as you can. Trust your abilities and make clean smooth holes in one swift drill. Slowly going about the task will give you messy results that won’t be appealing to the eye neither will they get the job done.

Step 3: Wiring process

It is common knowledge that a fish finder would need to be powered to make it work. Therefore it is important, as we mentioned before, to install the fish finder as close to the main power source as possible.

Make sure electrical wires have a safe passage to the fish finder. You would need an open port behind the mount to connect the wiring to the fish finder. If there aren’t any pre-existing openings you could always make use of your drill and make a hole wide enough for the wiring to get across.

Step 4: Power Supply

Once you’ve installed the wiring your fish finder is ready to use as soon as it’s powered through the main source. Make sure to clamp the bundle of wires together and save as much space as you can without overcrowding the boat. The plug you use for connecting to the powerline must also be safe and secure.

Always remember that the conditions of the boat are moist at best or completely watered down from the surroundings, therefore it is important to have protected wiring for the power supply at all times. You may need different types or lengths of wiring depending on the specifics of your fish finder such as the type of fuse.

All in all, once you’re certain that the wiring is safely installed feel free to do a test run by turning on the power supply. It is important to test it before making use of a fish finder in open water and having any issues.

Step 5: Final Check

Once all the installation procedures have been covered make sure to do a physical and technical exam of the equipment. Try to wiggle and move around the fish finder to make sure it is bolted strongly into the surface of the glass boat. For the next step, turn on the fish finder and make sure the technology works smoothly and efficiently.

Conclusion

As we mentioned in the beginning, installing a fish finder is not that difficult of a task. If you patiently and tactically follow all the above steps you should have your fishfinder up and running in no time. Like all electrical equipment, it is important to be safe while doing such installation or maintenance work. Make sure to follow a procedure that ensures the safety of users at a later stage as well.

Fishfinders are a cost-effective commodity that is quite helpful to hobbyists or professional fishermen. If you have one of these in your boat, be assured that you will catch a good amount of fish in very little time.

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Wade Johnson

Wade Johnson is an expert fisherman, who goes fishing as a hobby since childhood. He just loves fishing and never missed fishing on weekends. He also traveled to different countries and experienced fishing almost everywhere. He decided to change the way of fishing, by introducing some really cool gadgets and equipment through this blog, that he used and found helpful, now trying to guide you!