Jackson Kayak Big Rig – Lowrance Elite-5 HDI – Scupper Transducer Mount & Lowrance Elite-5 HDI Fish Finder/Chartplotter Install by Matthew Trucks | Mar 18, 2014 | Big Rig, Fishing, JK Team Posts, Rigging, Saltwater, Saltwater Fishing, Team JK | 13 comments Creating a semi-permanent install for multiple kayaks is a challenge. Since most of us fish on a budget two separate fish finder units is not feasible. For about 1/4 the price of a new Lowrance Elite 5 HDI unit you may purchase a new Transducer, Power cable, and the neat Lowrance kayak scupper mount kit. This application is only for sit on top kayaks like the Big Rig with round scupper holes. The mount and this particular transducer as of 2014 other Jackson Kayak Models will not work due to the oval scupper shape and being that the bottom of the supper is simply not wide enough to accept the transducer mounted flush. In the photo to the left shown is the un-boxed scupper mount and the transducer and cable. This transducer has been a challenge to mount to other kayaks until the Big Rig with its enlarged hull scupper clearance as it is Raymarine ready. To install simply using the bolt washers mount to the bottom of the scupper mount as you would the transom mount. Once this is completed pull the plug end of the transducer wire from the bottom of the scupper through towards the deck. Once all of the cable is pulled then insert the threaded plastic into the scupper. The transducer should face bolted end/cable to the bow. Then slide the gray fitting down the threaded shaft and tighten the thumb nut all the way down until snug. Once fit you may cut the shaft and place the Lowrance cap on top. Done!! This is the best way to install any transducer out there. You get accurate temperature readings and a completely better signal for clarity rather than the shoot thru hull option. I prefer to hide all of my wires and cables within the hull of the kayak. Just less mess less things to snag your hooks on and the best way to protect expensive electronics cables. Due to the 1″ diameter colors on the Lowrance HDI plugs we need to drill a 1″ hole to get these cables inside the hull. Now that’s a huge hole. It took a while to find a part to seal this with for a really clean install. I’m not the type that likes to run cables through hatches. West Marine makes a hull pass through that worked perfectly for this application. I have never seen these used on a kayak before but they are excellent. Low profile watertight and clean! To start use a 1″ boring drill bit. The hull pass through fitting includes a rubber grommet. I used this as a template placing it exactly where the fitting would be placed. Marked the center with a punch and drilled. See drilled hole to the right. Run sonar plug through and using the thru hull cap press firmly with a screwdriver and screws will self tap. The rubber will push out and this when it is tight. Do not over tighten as the screws will strip out the plastic therefore becoming loose. Do the same steps for the opposite side but this time with the power wire and the transducer plug through 1 hole. This one bring the sonar plug through the hole first. Then snake through from the outside the power wire. The power wire will be then run to your battery location. Mine will be in the stern. The white wire in the photo runs back to the stern for the battery box hook up. I will splice that into the power wire for the unit. Along with the standard molded in center Gear Track on the Big Rig and paired with a Ram Mounts Electronic Mount for Lowrance this is an excellent system! There are now multiple places to position the unit. The option to slide forward or back or mount to the side Gear tracks however is most comfortable. Matt Trucks Jackson Kayak Fishing Pro Staff 13 Comments Leigh on March 18, 2014 at 10:22 am G’day Matt, I’m looking at buying a cuda12 and also want to buy the same sounder as the one you were talking about. Is it possible to get a cuda 12 manufactured with a round scupper hole, or can it be done in the future. Cheers Leigh Reply Matt Trucks on March 20, 2014 at 5:34 am Leigh, Thank you for your inquiry. As the scuppers within the Cuda series model are unable to work with the Lowrance scupper mounts due to the oval mold shape. On this particular unit you may want to follow my skid plate bracket fabrication for the Cuda 14. It will also fit the Cuda 12 skid plate as it has the same dimensions. Others have done in hull transducer mounts which i understand reduce the quality of sonar image. Link to the skid plate mount is here: https://hub.jacksonkayak.com/blog/2013/10/07/jackson-cuda-skid-plate-transducer-mount-fabrication/ Please respond with any other questions. Cheers back! Matt Reply Patrick on March 20, 2014 at 1:58 pm Matt, Do you have a link to the part from West Marine? I did a search on their site and came up empty handed. This is exactly what I want to do. Thanks for the write up! Patrick Reply Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:54 am Patrick sorry for the delay the link is. http://westmarine.com/west-marine–two-hole-wire-caps–P003_094_010_501 If that doesn’t work search westmarine.com for Thru Bulkhead Wire Cap. Reply Robert Johnson on March 21, 2014 at 9:02 am I have a lowerance elite7 will that work on a big rig thanks Reply Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:52 am Robert it should work fine its the same setup Just a larger display. Reply Matt Trucks on March 22, 2014 at 12:51 am Leigh, Unfortunately the Cuda 12 has oval scupper holes as of this model year. The Lowrance elite5 HDI also does have a rather large transducer which does not fit inside the scuppers of the Cuda models any way as of the 2014 model year. In the future I hope to see Jackson Kayak mold the scuppers the way they have on the new Big Rig. About installing the Lowrance elite 5 HDI on the Cuda the simple way. I would recommend using the RAM Mounts transducer arm setup. This way the transducer can be in the water. You may also follow my skid plate bracket install here. https://hub.jacksonkayak.com/blog/2013/10/07/jackson-cuda-skid-plate-transducer-mount-fabrication/. You will have to enter the water rear first this way but its the best to eliminate drag. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask! Reply Dan Goddard on March 25, 2014 at 9:36 pm Can you please tell me the exact hull pass throughs you used from West Marine. The WM near me only had ones that were less than 1″. They are getting two 1 3/8″ in for me from another location and I just wanted to see if these were the ones you used or if I should keep looking for 1″. Thanks, Dan Reply Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:55 am Dan, it is called Thru Bulkhead Wire Cap. West Marine makes the cap but you can only get it online i believe. Reply Andrew Brockett on April 13, 2014 at 4:54 pm Great How To and Pictures. Info on the hull pass through would of been helpfull. I did some searching on WM site and did find them Wire Cap Two Hole Black #8717886 $5.99 Accommodates 1 or 2 cables nylon cap covers a 1″dia. hole. Hope this helps everyone. Reply Scott spencer on April 15, 2015 at 7:30 pm Which battery do you use with this setup? Reply Matthew Trucks on April 22, 2015 at 2:57 pm Hey Scott, I am currently using a 12Ah SLA battery. It is around 9 lbs. This battery will run the fish finder for around 18-20 hours prior to a full recharge. Reply Bob Fernandez on July 24, 2017 at 10:57 am I am trying to mount the transducer for a Garmin unit with side imaging. I know there is a transducer “cover” for Hobie and I was wondering if there was something similar for a Big Rig so that I can get full coverage on the side scan. Reply Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
Leigh on March 18, 2014 at 10:22 am G’day Matt, I’m looking at buying a cuda12 and also want to buy the same sounder as the one you were talking about. Is it possible to get a cuda 12 manufactured with a round scupper hole, or can it be done in the future. Cheers Leigh Reply
Matt Trucks on March 20, 2014 at 5:34 am Leigh, Thank you for your inquiry. As the scuppers within the Cuda series model are unable to work with the Lowrance scupper mounts due to the oval mold shape. On this particular unit you may want to follow my skid plate bracket fabrication for the Cuda 14. It will also fit the Cuda 12 skid plate as it has the same dimensions. Others have done in hull transducer mounts which i understand reduce the quality of sonar image. Link to the skid plate mount is here: https://hub.jacksonkayak.com/blog/2013/10/07/jackson-cuda-skid-plate-transducer-mount-fabrication/ Please respond with any other questions. Cheers back! Matt Reply
Patrick on March 20, 2014 at 1:58 pm Matt, Do you have a link to the part from West Marine? I did a search on their site and came up empty handed. This is exactly what I want to do. Thanks for the write up! Patrick Reply
Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:54 am Patrick sorry for the delay the link is. http://westmarine.com/west-marine–two-hole-wire-caps–P003_094_010_501 If that doesn’t work search westmarine.com for Thru Bulkhead Wire Cap. Reply
Robert Johnson on March 21, 2014 at 9:02 am I have a lowerance elite7 will that work on a big rig thanks Reply
Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:52 am Robert it should work fine its the same setup Just a larger display. Reply
Matt Trucks on March 22, 2014 at 12:51 am Leigh, Unfortunately the Cuda 12 has oval scupper holes as of this model year. The Lowrance elite5 HDI also does have a rather large transducer which does not fit inside the scuppers of the Cuda models any way as of the 2014 model year. In the future I hope to see Jackson Kayak mold the scuppers the way they have on the new Big Rig. About installing the Lowrance elite 5 HDI on the Cuda the simple way. I would recommend using the RAM Mounts transducer arm setup. This way the transducer can be in the water. You may also follow my skid plate bracket install here. https://hub.jacksonkayak.com/blog/2013/10/07/jackson-cuda-skid-plate-transducer-mount-fabrication/. You will have to enter the water rear first this way but its the best to eliminate drag. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask! Reply
Dan Goddard on March 25, 2014 at 9:36 pm Can you please tell me the exact hull pass throughs you used from West Marine. The WM near me only had ones that were less than 1″. They are getting two 1 3/8″ in for me from another location and I just wanted to see if these were the ones you used or if I should keep looking for 1″. Thanks, Dan Reply
Matt Trucks on April 10, 2014 at 3:55 am Dan, it is called Thru Bulkhead Wire Cap. West Marine makes the cap but you can only get it online i believe. Reply
Andrew Brockett on April 13, 2014 at 4:54 pm Great How To and Pictures. Info on the hull pass through would of been helpfull. I did some searching on WM site and did find them Wire Cap Two Hole Black #8717886 $5.99 Accommodates 1 or 2 cables nylon cap covers a 1″dia. hole. Hope this helps everyone. Reply
Matthew Trucks on April 22, 2015 at 2:57 pm Hey Scott, I am currently using a 12Ah SLA battery. It is around 9 lbs. This battery will run the fish finder for around 18-20 hours prior to a full recharge. Reply
Bob Fernandez on July 24, 2017 at 10:57 am I am trying to mount the transducer for a Garmin unit with side imaging. I know there is a transducer “cover” for Hobie and I was wondering if there was something similar for a Big Rig so that I can get full coverage on the side scan. Reply
