Moving my Lowrance FF to my "replacement" hull

Today's project:  Take the Lowrance 4HDI from my old hobie hull (already removed) and install it in my replacement hull.

I don't have any pix of the removal because I took it out of my old hull back several weeks back, when I took the hull to the welder to fix the cracks.  I'd glued the transducer (Marine Goop) in my old hull.  I removed it with lots of elbow grease and a putty knife. I managed not to damage the old hull!   

The first difference in my "new" install was using the transducer slot in the replacement hull, a 2014 model.   No glue this time around!   Here's all the hardware needed to connect the transducer to the sleeve.  No instructions come with them but it was pretty clear where things should go.



Here is what that looks like, once it's all assembled.  I left about 1/4" clearance between the transducer and the bottom of the sleeve.



That entire assembly screws onto the bottom of the hull with three screws, and the cable passes up through a scupper hole into the aft storage well.



It comes up behind the seat in the aft storage well and there's a pre-drilled hole there with a "plug".  You remove the plug and then the transducer cable goes through this hole into the hull.



One of the more difficult things  for me to figure out was how to use these grommets to wrap around the cable and then fit into the plug.  These were grommets I had left over from my first install where I did not use them properly.  This time I figured it out and used them correctly !







Here is this step, completed -- the cable goes from the transducer sleeve on the bottom of the boat, through the scupper hole, then into the hull behind the seat.



I did most of that work with the yak on it's side.  It's not a bad reach on a small boat like this (from the hatch to the hole) but I suspect it gets more difficult on a larger yak.



Next, it's the same process bringing the cable up from inside the hull to one of the pre-drilled plug holes on the starboard side of the yak, where I intended to mount the FF.  Pop the plug, run the cable, install the grommet, and re-install the plug/cable combination.



Now it looked like this.   I struggled a bit -- I was not sure I wanted to do this with the cable, but I opted to go with it.
Next I played with where I wanted the RAM BALL -- then mounted it



Then I went ahead and mounted the head unit to to see if this is really what I wanted to do.  At that point I committed to the transducer cable routing and I DRILLED a 1" hole forward of the RAM BALL mount for the power cable.   I planned to keep the battery in a dry bag in the forward hatch.



Then I took my old plug from the old hull and ran the power cable.  Here is the wiring, completed without the FF mounted.



Here is my power solution -- a battery, some trailer hitch electrical connectors for fast connect/disconnect, and a dry bay.



Here is what it looks like, installed, ready for the water.



AND HERE'S THE FINISHED PROJECT -- It took me all day because I went really slowly but I think this will work just fine.  I can't wait to get it OTW! 



Here's a look at the aft area where the transducer cable comes up and goes into the hull, behind the seat



Here's a close look at the FishFinder as installed and mounted …



Dave's happy!   

Even though I've never been a fan of permanently mounted electronics, she looks very clean and convenient to use.
Great job.

Nicely done.  Thanks for sharing Dave.

Looks great.