Mounting Lowrance on 2015 Tandem Island

I picked up the Lowrance Elite 4 and the Hobie Fishfinder Installation Kit III recently, and I am a bit confused as to where to install the fish finder.

I really like the Railblaza star mounts for the akkas, and picked up one + the universal mounting base, assuming I'd install the Lowrance on the rear akka (green circle below).



However, I only see the through-hull plugs in the map pockets and behind the rear seat (blue stars above).

This means I'd have to run the cables to the Lowrance from the blue stars out to the rear akka which might not be ideal. Or, drill a hole near the akka (on the ridge behind the front seat) and get a new through-hull port there?

Alternatively, and since I sail from the rear seat, it looks like I could maybe get some sort of screw-on mounting system and position in the cup holder area of the rear seat? (I use the port side bottle holder and don't really use the larger starboard cup holder). What would be recommended to mount in the blue circle area to hold the Lowrance?

I could see this (blue circle) as beneficial because I could then reach the Lowrance controls from a seated position, however, the starboard side is already pretty busy with all the sail rigging.

Has anyone mounted a Lowrance on a 2015 (or earlier) tandem island?

I have a Lowrance Elite 4 with Chirp Mounted on mine. I bought the fish finder installation kit with battery and cables from Hobie for this fish finder and located the battery in the rear round hatch(works great). The lowrance 4 has 3 cables, one the blue attachment (Transducer) cable and the other 2 cables being the red(power and data) cables( I felt it would be difficult to run all three thru on hole). I spoke directly with Lowrence and was told it did not need the fuse that came with the fish finder if the battery is rechargeable, which mine is. The Kit came with an extra round rubber grommet to drill an extra hole( it has directions on how to do this and which kind of drill bit to use). So this is what I did... I ran the transducer line thru the predrilled hole in the mess pocket, I then drilled a 1" hole inside the mess pocket, but I choose to drill the new hole on the side wall inside the mesh pocket because I feel it is better protected from water intrusion by being on the side. I made sure I could reach inside the round hatch to the location first in order to screw the fitting onto the back side of the grommet(Also not inteferring with any down rudder lines). Now all this is in the rear seat right side mesh pocket. I ordered the 8" Gear trac that you get from Hobie, it comes in a package of two. I then mounted the two tracks one each side (port and Starboard) right and left just behind the rear aka bar( starting about 1/2" behind the aka bar connection on the flat plastic area just behind your green circle) , I did this because I wanted to have the means to view the fish finder from both the front or rear seat, also I attached scotty rod holders to each gear trac. I have enough cable pulled out from the grommets to reach the fish finder. When not in use I fold up the cables and tuck them inside the mesh pockets, the cables have a rubber cover for the cable ends when unattached for protection. Here are the parts I used:

I used a Ram Mount Universal 1" Quick Release Track Rail Adapter to mount to the Gear trac
Ram Mount Double 1" ball Adapter
Ram Mount Long Double Socket Arm for 1" Ball Bases
Ram Mount for Lawrence Elite-4 fishfinders

In case you want to know which rod holders and parts I'm using:
2 Scotty Baitcaster rod Holder without Mount ( one for each gear trac)
2 Scotty Gear head Track Adapters

I might get another Scotty Gear Head Track Adapter and mount a Scotty Anchor Lock to the Gear Trac.

Someone commented about the fishing rods being located behind the front seat, asking if they interfere with the front seat when reclined, in my case I didn't see that happening. Hope this helps.

Sam

I never heard of not putting in the in line fuse before. What kind of rechargeable battery do you have?
T2

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Fish worship--is it wrong?

Just a warning on the drill bit not to use to make the one inch hole in your boat. I just mounted my Lowrance on the left side of my TI. I had to cut a hole in the left mess pocket. I used a Bosch Daredevil 1 in. x 6 in. Spade Bit. This bit has a screw drive lead point. I knew ahead of cutting the hole that it might be a problem but went ahead anyway. The screw drive on the bit caused the bit to engage the plastic of the boat too fast and the bit basically broke through the boat instead of cutting through and left a very ragged hole more rectangular than round. Luckily with a file and the O ring of the fitting I could almost not see my mistake.

SeaWorthy, great idea about side mounting the hole.

It's possible I got bad information about the fuse from the Lowrance Support Line, I'm going to check back with them to confirm. When I do I will let you know what they say.

I have the Lowrance (with the power cables) attached to a battery box. One wire (the one for the transducer) goes thru the hole in back of the front seat. The battery box is attached by means of the Ram track to the floor of the boat.

With this system I can move the Lowrance from one boat to another (leaving the transducer and its wire in the boat)

I have my lowrance running from the map pocket "Lowrance ready hole" to a railblaza starport mounted in the right side cup holder with a 6" extender, adapter, and ram ball mount. Works great, and I can tuck or remove everything if just sailing. Plus, it still fits your beer juuuuust fine!

I have a Lowrance Elite 5 w/chirp installed in the factory drilled holes. I used a 12" YakAttack Geartrac with a 12" Fullback backing plate. I had to cut a 1/4" section out of the backing plate to allow for the in hull fitting for the ama securing bungee post. I also cut the NMEA data cable off about a 1/2" from the plug so that I only had to route two cables through the hull. So far this has worked well and being able to see your speed has helped optimise sail trim in varying conditions. if you send me your email address I can send you photos.
[email protected]

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John Robb
2015 TI Azul
Sarnia ON. CAN.

I just spoke with Lowrance Tech. Support about not needing to install the fuse with the Lowrance elite 4 with chirp. They confirmed with me I didn't need the Fuse. The battery I have is the DiaMec 12V9AH rechargeable battery. It has an intial current of less than 2.7A. It is the battery that came with the Fishfinder Installation Kit III Lowrance Ready, that you can find in the Hobie Parts and Accessories book. I wanted to make sure I wasn't giving out wrong info., but would recommend others to check for themselves. The first time I spoke with tech support I was told because it is a rechargeable battery, this time I was told because it has a low current. Mine came with a fuse and I considered installing the fuse anyway, but now would prefer not to, one less place for water intrusion.

hello, I am waiting on the arrival of a new 2017 TI. I already got all the accessories I needed/wanted waiting to be installed. Among the stuff I purchased in advance, I got the Elite 5 TI with total scan fish finder, Hobie battery kit for GPS, through hall wiring kit, and Ram mount for the Lowrance. The big question is where, how and on what to mount it. I'm not sure the Ram mount is best way to go. Ultimately I would like to mount my phone, GPS, VHF radio, and maybe even a GoPro camera on the boat.

I was looking into a rail system but not sure with what to go with (Hobie H rail? YakAttack?) and where to install it. I would assume I will occupy the rear seat. My objective is to install everything in one day and just enjoy the TI ever after. I am trying to avoid expensive trial and error or worse drilling and installing and than patching holes after relocating the mounts. Another note, I am planning to store the boat on a hoist system almost touching my garage ceiling, so keeping low profile or be able to fold the mounts is important

Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Eddie