Suction cup mount for fish finders?

[towdog]

Do they make mounts like what they have for GPS units in cars for fish finders? Because of the angle of the windshield on my bowrider, I don't have room for a conventional mount on the top of my console. A suction cup mount against the windshield would be perfect.

But I am wondering if the higher weight of fish finders and the sharp movements of boat travel might make the suction cups not feasible for this use.

If not suction cups, anyone have other ideas for mounting depth finders to a console? I might end up having to just get one of the simple depth gauges that only lists the depth and temperature instead of the graph.

On a side note, now that Garmin is making depth finders, I wonder why they cannot be as slim as their GPS car units. Is there any reason why depth finderse have to be thicker?

Thanks.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Suction cup mount for fish finders?

Take a look at RAM system mounts. They make a variety of mounts for many GPS and fishfinder systems.

I had the same problem as you describe (I think). No room between the console and windshield using the supplied gimble mount.

I ended up orienting the gimble mount 90* to the back. I cut a piece of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 6" aluminum angle and mounted the gimble mount to the vertical leg of the alum angle. I then mounted the horizontal leg of the alum angle to the console with a single bolt in the center to allow it to swivel. A couple of large fender washers and a rubber disk provided a smooth stable movement.

I now have a mount that fits where I wanted it and has both tilt (gimble) and swivel (alum angle) movements for maximum versatility.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Suction cup mount for fish finders?

Do you have a cup holder at your helm?

I had a solid piece of wood 'turned' at a wood shop, and fit my depth finder mount to the wood. When I anchor, I yank the wood out...and replace it with a diet Coke (right...!).