Lowrance Elite 4 HDI Install on a OK Trident 11

My old Humminbird was starting to have issues to it was time for an upgrade!  Many of the posts on mods seem to focus on Hobie and the longer OK kayaks so I wanted to post my experience installing a Lowrance FF on my OK Trident 11.  I also got a lot of help from the threads here so I wanted to return the favor.

2010 OK Trident 11 with a recent Mod Pod Upgrade
Lowrance Elite 4 HDI
Hobie Thru Hull Wiring Kit
Hobie Fish Finder Mount 3 (Ram)
Ram
Goop
Foam Gardening Knee Pad
Heat shrink
Deans Connectors
Father-in-law’s soldering skills

The Hobie Thru Hull Wiring Kit and the Hobie Fish Finder mount really made this an easy job.  My original plan was to use the Scotty FF mount where I can just utilize the existing rod holders… none available at West Marine or CCK.  No worries because CCK in Sac (thanks!) carried a Hobie FF mount along with the thru hull wiring kit needed to do a quality install.   This allows me to continue transporting my kayak upside down on my roof rack’s cross members. 

Transducer -
With photos and input received from Fishing_Folsom along with a number of threads on in-hull installs I decided to do a water bath for the transducer.  I was a little disappointed in not being able to use my existing scupper hole because of the larger transducer but that’s that and I moved on.  I traced and cut up a foam knee pad and gooped the 2 pieces together and let it sit for 24 hours.  I then cleaned and sanded the area I wanted to mount the pad then gooped the pad to it, put a 20 lb weight on top.  The hull has a curve in it so thankfully the weight was the perfect shape.  I gooped some velcro to ensure it stays in place.

Power -
For the power I took advantage of my father-in-laws soldering skills and his RC plane parts.  A male Deans connector was soldered to the cord that connects to the FF.  The battery end had female spade connectors soldered onto a female deans connector.  I was originally going to solder the spade connectors to the battery terminals along with liquid electrical tape but decided against it.  Having the quick disconnect is still nice to have so no complaints.

Mounting the FF -
I thought the mod pod would directly accept a Ram ball mount that was part of the Hobie kit … unfortunately this was not the case with the ball mount provided in the kit.  Oh well, thankfully there was room for me to use the mounting bracket included in the Hobie kit.  More holes drilled, some goop and I was good to go along with a more secure feeling than if I had used the existing holes.   

Cable Routing –
I decided to clip the NMEA cord and use liquid electrical tape on the end of it then zip tie it to the power cord.  I was going to leave it long enough where I would have both going through the Hobie wiring kit but none of the rubber adapters had the appropriate sized holes for both cables.  Not a big deal.  The Hobie kit worked great and I only used goop on the backside on the lock nut. 

On the water -
I wanted to test out the fish finder at Ocean Cove but it was predicted to be windy so my brother-in-law and I headed to the Sac port early Sunday morning.  It all worked out great and am very pleased with the mod pod, the fish finder and approach I took with the install.  I’d like to say the 7 lb striper I caught was due to the new fish finder and my skill but it was probably due to me placing the mudsucker at the right place at the right time. 

MarcelM, good thing you didn't head to Ocean Cove.  The campground and launch are closed until next spring.  But then Salt Point is still open (year round).

Nice and clean, looks good.  You didn't mention an in-line fuse anywhere, I hope that's in there somewhere?

Don't forget to update the operating software!  It's FREE and REALLY helps to keep the units running at their peak performance.

MarcelM, good thing you didn't head to Ocean Cove.  The campground and launch are closed until next spring.  But then Salt Point is still open (year round).

Good to know.  Hopefully I can hit the salt before the season ends.

Nice and clean, looks good.  You didn't mention an in-line fuse anywhere, I hope that's in there somewhere?

Yes, it's there! 

Don't forget to update the operating software!  It's FREE and REALLY helps to keep the units running at their peak performance.

Thanks.  I'll check it out.  One thing I do need to figure out is how to bring out better contrast when using 800khz.  I liked the separation but the fish marks were harder to see even when increasing the contrast.  It was better when I maxed out the brightness.

I may as well include some on the water pics and the CPR striper. 

Nice job on the install...and the striper.

Just getting caught up to read your thread, and well done man! I love how detailed your install was. Way better than mine, and very clean. And, that fish...what a nice way to show the hard work paid off!!!

Bravo Marcel!

-Quinn

One thing to remember about the DSI (down scan imaging) portion of the HDI units:

In DSI mode (noted by a monochrome looking screen), the targets will appear much smaller & more like a "dot" rather than the traditional fish arch that we are used to seeing.  why?  The DSI tunes out the clutter & "reflection" of the fish that appears when echos hit the bottom & reflect back upwards at the fish ... creating the well known "arch" look.  The "dot" will look smaller, the deeper the water is because it is more to scale with the fish size vs. water depth.  Imagine slicing the water.  A 20" fish in 100' of water is fairly small, scale wise.  The same fish in 15' of water will appear larger, scale wise as compared to the water depth.  You will also notice a little difference in the same fish when comparing how it looks in 455 vs 800 or 83 or 200.  It's all a matter of sound waves vs. how the computer processes the info.

Hope this helps to clarify it a little.