How to Mount a Fish Finder on an Inflatable Boat

A sounder is only useful when its transducer stays in clean water and its cables stay out of your feet.

Most fishing-boat guides tell you to add a fish finder. The part they skip is where its transducer goes on a small inflatable, especially when the outboard, drain and launching wheels all compete for the transom.

Here is a setup order you can use before buying a bracket or drilling a hole.

Where should a transducer go on an inflatable boat?

Start at the rigid transom, not the tube. Look for a position where the sensor remains immersed at fishing speed but sits away from the propeller wash, hull steps, drainage outlet and wheel hardware. The exact side and depth depend on your motor, hull and transducer: the sounder manufacturer's installation diagram takes priority over a generic measurement.

On a catamaran, check the water flow behind each hull at the speeds you intend to use. A sensor that reads at idle may lose bottom at speed if air passes across its face. Test in calm water, then mark the final position before permanent fastening.

Which mount should you choose?

1. Start with a removable bracket

A clamp-on or purpose-made removable transom bracket lets you adjust the depth and take the sensor off when packing the boat. Confirm the bracket actually fits your transom thickness and clears the motor and wheels. Secure the cable separately; never let the cable act as a tether.

2. Consider a fixed bracket only after a water test

A permanent bracket can be tidy, but holes in a transom deserve a measured location and proper sealing. Ask the boat maker before drilling, especially near reinforcement, the drain or wheel fittings. Do not drill an inflatable chamber.

3. Treat suction mounts as temporary

They need a clean rigid surface and may release in chop or at speed. Follow the mount's speed limit, attach a safety tether and lift the unit before beaching.

How do you route the display, cable and battery?

Put the screen where the skipper can see it without leaning across the boat or blocking the tiller. Run the cable along a protected edge, leave a service loop near the motor so steering cannot pull it tight, and secure it without pinching or perforating a tube. Store the power supply in a secured splash-resistant box, with a fuse sized to the sounder's instructions. Keep connectors above any water collecting on deck.

A tidy setup leaves a clear path from the seat to the bow. On the Viper 330 Sports package, plan the display and rod-holder positions while both aluminium seats are installed, not in an empty showroom hull. For more deck area, check the Viper 400 Open Bow: its 4 m layout changes the cable run and working space, not the basic mounting rules.

What else belongs in a fishing-ready layout?

• Put rod holders where a rod clears the motor, Bimini and the person casting.
• Keep tackle and tools in a secured bag under a seat, not loose beside the battery.
• Check wheel movement before fixing anything to the transom.
• Take the boat on a short local test with the sounder running before a longer fishing trip.

The generic advice to “add a fish finder” hides the expensive part: whether the bracket, wiring and battery actually fit your boat. Match the hardware to your chosen model and sounder before paying for an installation.

Want the fit-out written down before you order?

Send us your boat model and sounder/transducer make, and ask for an itemised mounting and delivered-price option. We will distinguish standard package items from extras rather than guessing what is in your basket. Explore the fishing boat range or call +61 2 4335 1603.