Fishing Journal 2015_07-12

The decision to stay at camp with Ricky and Becky was a no brainier. They have the most comfortable pull out couch in their camper!! I woke up around 6:30 and then went back to sleep. I didn’t get up until around 8:30 and once we ate breakfast Ricky and I went to go paddle in the river. It was a beautiful day at Chips Folly Campground! The river had to be the perfect place to test the Sealect Designs Tru Course rudder system I had installed a few weekends prior on the Kraken. After breakfast and cleaning shrimps meant for dinner we swapped kayaks off Ricks trailer. Rick Swapped his Native Propel to his Slayer and I swapped my Big Rig For the Kraken!

A short drive down to the boat ramp we dropped our kayaks in. The river is slightly brackish and is tidal water. It was a really low tide and everywhere I went my paddle bumped the bottom. The Kraken paddles really well. Turning was improved significantly with the addition of the Tru Course Rudder system! The kayak is truly a big water fast and stable boat.

Ricky brought his Canon Rebel T4i camera and he shot some video for me displaying the operation of the Sealect Designs Rudder System. Its great to have help with these sorts of things.

We were also able to get in a little fly casting lesson for about a half hour!

I am hoping to get back down to the camp this summer!

Jackson Kayak has really simplified the installation of fish finders for the end user first with the Big Rig and now with its new offshore kayak the Kraken! Like the Big Rig the Kraken is Raymarine Dragonfly ready. This means the Lowrance HDI skimmer also fits really nice in this scupper with the Lowrance Scupper Mount Kit! This article covers how to install a Lowrance skimmer transducer & Fish Finder on the Kraken in a scupper hole so the transducer is in the water.

Things you will need:

• Lowrance HDI Skimmer
• Lowrance Scupper Transducer Mount Kit
• (2) West Marine Wire Cap
• Drill with 1″ hole saw
• Philips head screw driver
• 2 waterproof butt connectors
• 3/8″ diameter x 4″ long heat shrink tubing

Install:

First unwrap the transducer cable from its packaging and twist tie. run the wire from the hull through the scupper up to the deck . Unboxing the scupper mount simply follow the diagram. With the HDI/Chirp skimmer you will simply slide the transducer on the track at the bottom of the transducer mount. It needs to be positioned forward on the mount so slide the track all the way up to where the wire goes inside the transducer. Now Slide the foam insert and then through the top bracket that will fit perfectly to the scupper. Using the wing nut thread it all the way down to the top bracket to snug it up. Once snug you may now clip the threaded plastic off flush with the bracket and clip the cap over.

Now to run the transducer wire to the inside of the kayak.  Using a 1″ diameter hole saw drill through the radius area of the hatch. BE careful as the plastic is ver thin here. Once the hole is made runt he cable through the wire cap and screw the wire cap in using the screw driver. The screws will self tap.

Next for wiring back to the fish finder unit and battery. This is really up to you where you would like the location to be. I tend to keep it out of the way of where fishing line cannot fowl with the wires and also so adjusting the location of the fish finder on the fly. Also take into consideration the factory installed battery box tray between the front day hatch and the center hatch (7). In my case the fish finder location is to be on the center hatch tracks and being fully adjustable to slide the entire length of the track. The decision to run the wired through the deck in front of the center hatch in my case was the conclusion. This location allows the wires to swing and not get int he way when operating the hatch. The next step will be fabricating a track mount console that will allow me to mount the fish finder to the center of the hatch.

To connect the battery using a plug connector first slide a 3-4″ x 3/8″ diameter heat shrink tubing over the bare wire side of the Lowrance power wire. Crimp the butt connectors to the wires with the  correct polarity and heat shrink the connectors. Then slide over the 3/8″ heat shrink tubing and shrink  the connectors in. I prefer to use clear heat shrink tubing due to all of the use int he salt water. Sometimes connections fail and have water seep in. This speeds up the trouble shooting as now the corrosion is detectable visually.

Complete!