Seadoo X20: Lowrance Hook4/Transducer Install using a Split Thru Hull Cable Fitting

[joha0036]

Hello, I've posted a few projects on this forum under another post but figured this one deserved its own thread. As a new owner of an X20 I've been going through and dialing it in for the summer season that seems it will never come. Today it is snowing in Minnesota after 70 deg weather earlier this week.

Below you can find the youtube video I made of this fish finder install with external skimmer transducer mounting so I could keep the functionality of the downscan imaging and the water temp sensor.

The fitting I used is U.S. Patent pending and was designed by a guy in Toledo named Loren Piotrowski. His contact information is in the video and in the comments of the video is a link to his video explaining the fitting in more detail and how to use it. This fitting is exactly what you need to do a water tight install on any fiberglass hull be it jetski or jetboat. Check out the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql-mdRKGTQA

 

[biffdotorg]

Beautiful looking install. It's crazy how over-engineered yours looks in comparison to the factory speedo cable coming out just below it. Any reason for not just going with something like that?

How does the new Lowrance work for you? If I had the balls to drill and seal a cable like this, I would consider the upgrade.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[joha0036]

Beautiful looking install. It's crazy how over-engineered yours looks in comparison to the factory speedo cable coming out just below it. Any reason for not just going with something like that?

How does the new Lowrance work for you? If I had the balls to drill and seal a cable like this, I would consider the upgrade.

Thanks for sharing.

The reason I did it the way I did was simply because the end of the cable for the transducer is a 1" fitting that plugs into the back of the head unit (blue cable fitting shown in some pictures during the video). The speedo cable fitting is just a wire so it's much simpler. There aren't any fittings like the speedo cable fitting capable of passing the 1" lowrance fitting through it and then squeezing down to seal on the cable. Does this make sense?

The lowrance is working great. Obviously I get a little washout on the screen when giving it throttle in reverse from all of the water turbulence but it reads bottoms very well in sonar and downscan modes going forward all the way up to full speed. It also marks fish quite accurately and allows me to let the kids catch crappies off the back of the boat easily.
I am working on updating the video to add a water test to the end of it and will post here when I do.

It should also be noted that this was a really simple install as long as you have the split cable thru hull fitting drilling and sealing the hole isn't an issue.

Thanks for watching!

 

[biffdotorg]

That makes complete sense. I totally forgot about the big lowrance end you have to deal with. I know that was one of the biggest factors in why I shot through hull instead of drilling a hole.

I will give you the big steel balls award for sure! Nice work.

 

[joha0036]

That makes complete sense. I totally forgot about the big lowrance end you have to deal with. I know that was one of the biggest factors in why I shot through hull instead of drilling a hole.

I will give you the big steel balls award for sure! Nice work.

Yep - if I wouldn't have found Loren and the fitting he's making I would have probably went shoot Thru Hull route as well. The hardest part of the job was finding a fitting. With it, the install was a breeze and with downscan imaging and water temp functionality becoming more and more affordable I can see a lot of people wanting to install this way. Hopefully the video and his contact information helps others!

As a side note other than the conversations Loren (the guy who invented and machines the fitting) and I had during the process of me doing this project I am in no way affiliated with him. He's just a great guy to work with, was very responsive and very helpful the whole way through it from questions about what transducer I'm using so he could custom make the fitting to specifically fit the cable through quick questions during the install - very good guy to work with.