DIY PVC Fishfinder for Hobie Outfitter/Oasis

I realize you guys have probably seen a lot of these installs, but I thought I'd share mine for anyone who specifically owns a Hobie Outfitter or Oasis. Disclaimer: very little of the finished design is from my brain; I stood on the creative backs of giants here on this forum and elsewhere, and merely stole their ideas to help me catch fish!

The finished setup will work interchangeably in the molded cup holders in either the 2013 Outfitter (left side), or 2014 Oasis (right side).

The finished water-resistant system is 4" and 3" irrigation PVC holding a rechargeable 9800mah 12v lithiom-ion battery, coiled excess Lowrance transducer and and power cable. The FF head (Elite CHIRP 5) is mounted on top of a threaded PVC cap using a 1" RAM ball base and RAM extension arm. The head unit has a RAM ball mount, so there are two points where the head/screen can be moved/manipulated.

The transducer is the HDI 83/200 variety, attached to the exterior port side hull using a rare earth magnet mount/arm from Fishfindermounts.com. When not attached to its mate, the interior magnet is prevented from sliding around the hull using some adhesive Velcro and 550 cord anchored around a scupper post. The mount is solid and I've never had it move or fall off. When not in the water, the transducer arm can be swiveled up and locked out of the way, or just pulled off the hull side entirely when beaching. The whole system can be pulled out or inserted into the kayak in seconds. I use a thin peice of foam (yoga mat) wrapped around the 3" PVC bottom to hold the unit snugly in either cup holder.

I have been getting 8.5 hours of continuous FF use out the li-ion battery, which is fairly small and very light (compared to lead acid/gel) batteries.

Here are some pics:

Couple of more pics below:

this is a great idea when having multiple kayaks... thanks for sharing.

//ed

The ingenuity around here never fails to amaze me. That's great !

It is a little close/tight on my Oasis, but the perfect distance and height on my Outfitter. Out of the way for pedaling, etc. Can rotate it up when standing for sight fishing. Great FF and mobilie solution, again borrowed from a buncha kayak fishing brainiacs way smarter than me. In the middle of a PA 14 install now...much easier with the Lowrance ready stuff!