My pimped out ride...

I've been laid up a bit with a bad back and between that, the weather, and life in general, I haven't been out on the water in ages, but I gleaned some pictures from some really bad video footage and thought I would post them for fun. If I can't fish, I can think about fishing!

I will eventually get a decent video review for these things, but for now here are some feature pics. My tube is the Outcast Super Fat Cat and I love it. It's my first and only at this point, but it's definitely a quality product and I'm having a ball with it.

First off is the CastMate. What an outstanding rod holder this is! I built my first pipe based holder before I had even been on the water and it was great, but after using it for a while, I decided that I wanted to make some changes in the setup and that meant building a new one from the ground up and that's the real drawback of plastic pipe systems - you end up building a new one every time you want to try something new. If you've built more than one rod holder, you should get a CastMate - you'll love it!

With the CastMate, you have total flexibility. You can add or subtract rod holders of various heights, and I've added the tackle table and the camera mount. They even have a cup holder and a fish finder mount, and you can easily configure and reconfigure them to your heart's content

If you want to try radically different setups, no problem. If you want to take it apart and have half of it on both sides of your tube, no problem. If you want to tailor your setup to fit a particular place, or style, or combination of equipment you feel like using that day... no problem! Having total flexibility helps you step up your game.

Plus, it's easily adjustable when you're using it on the water. You can quickly move any rod to any position to suit your immediate situation. Point them up, down, in, out, forward, backward, it's all there with a twist of the wrist.

It's also very light weight. Even "fully loaded" like mine is, it still weighs less than my ABS pipe rod holder.

I'll be doing a full video review of the CastMate soon because I think it's a quality product and a great system and I recommend it highly.

And cheaper than building a new pipe holder every time I get a new idea

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Next up is the battery for the electronics. After an initial disaster with an cheap ammo case, I went with a Pelican Tool Case Model 1120 and standard cable glands to make the waterproof case penetrations. The rig for the iPad power cord is a bit of a kludge using a car cigarette lighter case, but it works well enough and being able to run the iPad while connected to power means you don't have to worry about keeping the screen brightness at maximum for 4 to 6 hrs at a time and it won't be trying to go into power saving mode all the time.

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One of the biggest problems was finding a way to keep the iPad waterproof and mounted in viewing position. I initially tried using the Wi-Fish head unit as a platform and I had a tactical style case for the iPad and I used velcro to stick the iPad to the Wi-Fish, but it was very dodgy. Then I discovered the iPad case and mount made by Amor-X and it's working perfectly.

Here's the battery stowed for use and the iPad running Navionics. The head unit for the Wi-Fish is now stowed in the pocket and those messy cords tuck away in the pocket nicely as well.

Still working on a video review for the electronics.

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I didn't start out with the idea of building a state-of-the-art setup, but now that I look up from all my tinkering around, I feel like I may have hit that spot inadvertently. As the Brits would say, "I'm well chuffed with this kit!"

Thanks for your support and happy pimpin!

Very cool set up Ornery Bob!
I am looking forward to the video as I  have a few questions
Where do you hide the transducer?
How do you like the screen on the iPad and can you compare it to Raymarines screens? 
How is the iPad anchored?

AT any rate congratz on putting that system together.

Thanks! I'm using a Scotty fishfinder mount which is basically two plastic plates with a strap that wraps around the tube. So the mounting plate on the sonar transducer bolts to the bottom plate of the Scotty mount and the iPad mount bolts to the top plate. I slide the transducer up the strap to the side of the tube for transporting and slide it down to the underside of the tube when I launch.

The iPad case from Armor-X has a fitting built onto the back of the waterproof cover that mates up to several different mounts they make but I'm using their suction cup mount which I ended up bolting down to the top plate of the Scotty mount. I would get the "Flat Adhesive Mount" if I had it to do over, but what I have works very well and allows me to position the iPad however I want.

The case itself is made to be submersible and certainly is, but since I'm running the power cord into it, it's really just splash proof, but even with the cord, the closure system is so robust that I'm certain it would stay dry even if a wave were to splash completely over it. I tested it with the cord in place and a piece of cardboard standing in for the iPad and hosed it down and everything stayed perfectly dry.

I've never seen the screens of regular fish finders except in videos, so I can't really say how the iPad compares. If I were on a boat with a covered bridge, it would be great 100% of the time, but out in direct sun, it's not always so wonderful. It's the clear vinyl waterproof cover that gives me the glare issues, but I can usually tilt or shift the mount around to minimize glare. The brightness of the screen can't compete with direct sun, but I can't imagine that fishfinder screens would do much better. Apple is pretty much known for great display screens.

The iPad is an old Gen 2 model that frankly, was in a drawer and about to go for sale on eBay, when I discovered the Wi-Fish and then looked at the other finders in the Dragonfly line and realized that I could have a giant 9.7 in screen for just a bit more than their 4 in model. Plus, their Downvision image quality is amazing, so that's why I chose this particular setup.

You can get refurbished iPads on eBay for really cheap, but the economics wouldn't have been as favorable if I didn't already have the spare iPad. However, if this spare dies, I won't hesitate to use my newer iPad in it's place. The cover is that good.

I also have to admit that the computer geek in me finds it just flat out cool to be using fish finder and GPS marine navigation apps on an iPad on my float tube out on the ocean! Loves me the computer jive.

I'm old enough to remember when sonar and satnav were only for those who had big boats and big money. Feels great to be doing it for a couple of hundred bucks... on a friggin float tube!

Wow that is all very cool you are pimped out for sure. The Ipad fish finder mount is killer crazy and the battery pack is wicked. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.

Congratulations on your ride looking very good keep up the good work and the videos