So I walked in to West Marine....

[Baja_Traveler]

....thinking I was going to pick up a Lowrance HDS 5 for the new PA14 I'm picking up on Tuesday - and what am I greeted with when I get there? The most kick-ass managers special I've ever seen on the HDS 7! Based on online research I expected to pay somewhere's about $850 - 875 for an HDS 5, but the special was $899 for the 7 - with the 50/200 transducer! That not only blows away the best online price I can find of $1100, it annihilates it.
So now not only do I have an awesome screen size, but the 7 uses less power than the 5 because it uses LED backlighting and the 5 doesn't! Yes, I'm a happy camper. If you are jonesing for one of these - get down there before christmas eve to take advantage of the deal.

http://www.pbase.com/baja_traveler/image/147758290.jpg

[ful-rac]

If thats a gen 2...yeah killer deal! I have the 7 myself on my PA love it!

[dorado50]

The bigger the unit the harder the pounding:D.....a $900.00 sonar for a kayak is so much overkill. I don't get it?

[Baja_Traveler]

Until you see one of these Gen 2 Hi Def screens in action it would seem overkill - but then there are those who would call a PA14 overkill also...

[Fiskadoro]

The bigger the unit the harder the pounding:D.....a $900.00 sonar for a kayak is so much overkill. I don't get it?


Times change. :D

I remember the first time I posted about using a color GPS/sounder, a Garmin 398 I got off ebay for a few hundred, on my kayak. You'd of thought it was the end of the world. One of the guys said something like: "All you need to fish a Kayak is a rope, a gaff, and a paddle, and a PFD anything else is ridiculous overkill!!!"

I still hoop with my original Garmin 120 finder, and an old Garmin 45 GPS, and still fish with my 398, but then again if someone gave me a HDS 5 I'd certainly use it.....

....... though probably on my skiff:cheers1:

[xpresso2am]

Congrats on the new yak!!! I met you on mission bay a while back. Great find on the Hds. I was thinking about the Hds 5. Now I'm thinking differently. Cheers and have a great holiday season !

[GregAndrew]

The WM I went into today had the Gen2 HDS7 for $849 with the 83/200. Was there a price difference for the 50/200 ducer? Also, the WM salesman told me that Lowrance is supposed to offer you the same unit for $300 when you return your HDS5 for warranty repairs?

[Baja_Traveler]

The 50/200 transducer costs $50 more than the freshwater version (83/200). Something about the higher frequency coils being more expensive to make...

Don't know about the Lowrance warranty situation - I paid the $100 for a 4 year extended warranty through West Marine. I figure it's going to be on a kayak and busting through surf that inevitably hits you at the La Jolla launch coming and going. I bring it in to WM, and they deal with Lowrance in getting it fixed or replaced at no cost to me. At the same time, I'll be contacting USAA to get it on my insurance policy in case of theft, that way I've covered all bases. I can afford this thing now - but I'd play hell trying buy another one to replace it...

[Baja_Traveler]

Congrats on the new yak!!! I met you on mission bay a while back. Great find on the Hds. I was thinking about the Hds 5. Now I'm thinking differently. Cheers and have a great holiday season !

Hey! - we need to meet up and do spotties in Mission Bay! I can finally pedal around like you! I'll be hitting the bay alot with this new finder marking good holes.

[xpresso2am]

Let me know. I'll make time. No worries. Plus I want to pick your brain about compound and recurve bows. I think I want to try that next. !!!



:DHey! - we need to meet up and do spotties in Mission Bay! I can finally pedal around like you! I'll be hitting the bay alot with this new finder marking good holes.

[GregAndrew]

Looks like Lowrance has a rebate going till the end of the year too.

http://www.cabelas.com/assets/pdfs/lowrance_150_visa_card_rebate.pdf

[Baja_Traveler]

Holy crap! Thanks for that link!

$150 rebate!!

[xpresso2am]

Looks like Lowrance has a rebate going till the end of the year too.

http://www.cabelas.com/assets/pdfs/lowrance_150_visa_card_rebate.pdf


Well crap, I guess I have to buy it before year end. This makes the deal very very nice!:you_rock: