Yet another fishfinder question

I'm looking for a fish finder for OK Ultra 4.7 (which I have not seen yet I'm planning to buy Ocean Kayak Ultra Kayak Transducer Kit (unless somebody tells me I don't need it). Kit is designed for Hummingbird's transducer, but I do understand that with some work it should fit Lowrance's as well.

1. I saw picture with Lowrance transducer on Ultra, it *seems* to be sticking out a bit. Anybody knows, any concerns?

2. It does seem that many people prefer Lowrance, and, of course, there are others. Not planning to start religious war here, just wonder if there is any (one?) good reason to go for, say Elite 5 (+, what seems to be, hassle of fitting transducer and cables) instead of Helix 5. I looked at specs, interested in first-hand experience.
Have not decided on exact set of features, but I assume I can build the same configuration with both.

3. More generic question - which features you (or your friend) over-bought? I'm mostly fishing inshore, sometimes bay and freshwater.

4. Any other recommendations? Particular model?

Thanks!

I have an ultra as well, with the same questions. ....i found this...

http://mudholechronicles.twofly.net/2014/01/installing-lowrance-elite-4-fishfinder.html?m=1

Ocean Kayak & H-Bird fishfinders are owned by the same parent company so this is why you see it say "fit for a H-Bird transducer".  As for needing a "special install kit", they are out there & for some they work well, others find a way to DIY & save some money.

Key things you need to do when installing a transducer to make any unit work correctly:

Transducers do not work 'in air'  The face of the transducer must either be in the water or if you shoot thru the hull, must be in contact with the hull, have a water bath or use a fluid/sealant to fill the air gap between the transducer face & the inside of the hull.  No air!

Face of the transducer must be parallel or as close to parallel to the waters surface as possible.  It is emitting a sound that needs to bounce off the bottom & fish only to return to the boat.  If it is sending its sound out at an angle, it may never bounce back.

Don't cut/shorten the transducer cable - EVER!  It "can" be done but not by you, me or anyone but  a small group of trained people.

Sticking below the bottom of the kayak isn't a big deal unless:
   You drag this across the rocks, beach, your truck/car rack, garage floor, etc...

For most of us, having the face of the transducer protrude a little below the bottom of the kayak isn't a big deal.  These transducers are SUPER TOUGH plastic & epoxy filled.  Changes are you would damage the mount holding it before you broke the transducer.

Placement:
   It should be placed such that it stays in contact or the area where mounted stays in contact with the water all the time... no air.  If it looses signal with the water, it can take a period of time to "re-connect".  What I'm saying is don't mount too far forward where the bow of the kayak can get tossed out of the water on a wave/swell.  You also don't want to mount in areas of 'turbulent' water such as behind or next to a Hobie or Slayer or W.S. drive unit that creates air bubbles in the water.

This should be enough info to get you started.

Thanks!

The regular or old Lowrance 83/200 transducer fits good, using the Humminbird kit. I have a feeling the newer HDI & CHIRP transducer might not fit as well because it's larger, so it may stick out some.

The regular or old Lowrance 83/200 transducer fits good, using the Humminbird kit. I have a feeling the newer HDI & CHIRP transducer might not fit as well because it's larger, so it may stick out some.

Pat is correct, the Lowrance HDI transducers are quite a bit larger.  The Raymarine transducers are even larger yet.  It is my understanding that the 83/200 HDI transducer by Lowrance will fit the Lowrance ready Hobie kayaks and the Wilderness Systems with the removable electronics pod.  I've "heard" that the 50/200 HDI will fit the Hobie with some modification BUT I don't have concrete answers on this.

In general, the fishfinders that utilize both regular FF & downscan type imaging will have a much larger transducer because they are packing un the extra crystals for the higher freq. ranges such as 455 & 800.

Thank you, gentlemen. I'm trying to find out if Helix DI transducer fits nicely - if it does it's probably going to be a deciding factor (there must be one, right?  )

I've personally only heard of 1-2 of our guys who maybe have a Helix.  Maybe one if them will chime in assuming they went thru with the purchase of one.

I know Bill, eho is just awesome, but don't like any add on data cards from Navionics. Get a gold one with loaded data already on. Navionics HD masses up my HDI and is better without.

So, after research and 2 e-mails with Humminbird support (who chose not to dive into the question I asked, but kind of confirmed that original Ultra's kit will not work with Helix's DI transducer) I bought Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp.

 I guess now, since it uses a larger 83/200/455/800 transducer, which, I assume, will not fit into Ultra's scupper hole, it will have to go inside the hull. More fun

Thanks all for replies!

Navionics Gold & Lowrance Nautical Insight PRO are both stable & fast in the Lowrance Elite Series units.  The HD chips are best run in a HDS series unit.

Bill