The rigging of my Hobie Revolution 16 continues. The next item to install on the kayak was my fishfinder. A vital piece of equipment as is used nearly every time I go out. The Hobie Revolution 16 is Lowrance ready. This means that it has been designed to accept the fitment of the Lowrance range of fishfinder transducers. Under the hull of the Hobie Revolution 16 is a plate that is held in place by three stainless steel screws. The plate clearly identifies the Lowrance branding.
The first step was to remove this plate by taking out the three screws. Under this plate is a cavity that is large enough to house some of the bigger transducers.
The transducer itself is fitted directly on to the removable plate and is held in place between the upright slider mouldings. To do this, the Hobie Revolution 16 is supplied with a fitting kit which includes spacers and stainless steel fittings to hold the transducer in place. The transducer is fitted to the removable plate and the height is then adjusted. I made sure to keep the transducer as level as possible to allow more accurate depth readings. Water will surround the transducer when out on the kayak allowing the signals to be transmitted.
The next stage was to feed the transducer and power cable through the scupper hole underneath the removable plates fitting position. This cable feeds through the scupper hole and comes out in the rear well of the kayak. Once the cable is fed through the scupper hole the Lowrance Ready transducer plate was screwed back into position and the Hobie was turned back upright.
The Hobie Revolution 16 takes into account of cable management and right next to where the transducer cable is fed through the scupper hole is a waterproof threaded fitting which gives access to the inside of the hull. Hobie supplies a number of varied sizes of rubber seals to be used when feeding the transducer cable into the hull of the kayak. By selecting the correct one ensures a water tight seal. So I removed the threaded cable gland and fed my transducer cable through it and into the hull of the kayak. Then I selected the correct sealing rubber and tightened it all up. To remove the cable gland I had to reach inside the hull and hold the nut to loosen it off.
So, with the transducer in place with no need of Silicone or any other adhesive, it was time to bring the cable up to where my fishfinder would be located. The Hobie Revolution 16 comes with pre-drilled holes and water tight cable glands going into the hull of the kayak for cables feeding up from below deck. I decided to have the fishfinder mounted on the left hand side of my seating position. This meant that I would have to remove the water tight cable gland and feed the transducer cables up through the exposed hole. To replace the cable gland is just like as discussed previous, making sure to select the correct supplied seal for the cable diameter. I made sure I had enough cable fed through to allow my fishfinder to be plugged in.
Now that the transducer and power cables were sorted it was time add some Ram Mounts equipment. Ram Mounts have a great piece of kit that is ideal for my Lowrance fishfinder. It is the 1″ Ball Marine Electronic Mount for Lowrance. I also got a 1.5″ Ball Quick Release Track Base for my already installed Yak Attack Rails. The nice thing about these Ram Mounts for the Lowrance is that it fits directly to the fishfinder head unit which means there is no need to come up with a base plate idea. Just slide the Quick Release Ball on to the Yak Attack Rail and tighten in place. Then add the fishfinder mount and tighten this on to the Quick Release Ball. Finally, I seated the head unit on the lowrance ready Ram Mount and plugged it in.
That was it for the fishfinder install. Now I want to upgrade my battery housing but I am still decided on what approach to take as Hobie have their own range of battery storage ideas but I will have a think about it.
The Hobie Revolution 16 has really taken the anglers perspective on this kayak and fitting the fishfinder and transducer was a breeze and to be honest very tidy. The cable management in place is brilliant and keeps the cable runs tidy and out of the way yet keeps entry and exit points for the cable in locations that are accessible. I am delighted that I will not need the Silicone again for the transducer as the lowrance ready transducer skim plate got rid of that. It was a fun little job to do on my Hobie but enjoyable at the same time.
Fishing With Mack 