Lowrance or Hummingbird for OK

For all you OK fans....or those who know their boats. I was wondering if the new OK Ultra 4.3 or 4.7 boats will fit only hummingbird FF on the center console? I was reading up on these and I couldn't figure out if the built in transducer mount under the boat will accommodate both hummingbird and lowrance FF.

I have the Lowrance Elite 4 FF and I am leaning toward purchasing the Ultra 4.7 so I wanted more info on this. Thx

I hope there isn't an issue.  I just bought a higher end Lowrance  Elite that I plan on mounting on my OK Ultra 4.3.  I should know in about a day or so when it arrives.   

I did do some homework by joining one of the New Zealand kayak fishing forums where the Ultras are far more common.  Plenty of Lowrance units mounted on Ultras there.

That said, the Ultras are designed with Humminbird transducers in mind  (Ocean Kayak and Humminbird are both owned by Johnson Outdoors), so the fit is probably better there.

Brian

Hey Brian, that's a good idea to join the New Zealand forum! I'll check out those forums too to see how they fit the Lowrance on the OK. Once your Lowrance unit arrives and you get it mounted, let me know how it went.

BTW how do you like your 4.3? I was considering the 4.3 but I like the live well feature on the 4.7, even though I will seldomly use it as such, I could use it as extra storage.

Send a pic of you 4.3?

I love my Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3.  I had the 4.7 for about a year but I felt it was a bit big for me.   The 4.3 has a bit more rocker and performs really well in the ocean.  They're making a 4.1 now in New Zealand, but so far I don't think those are going to be imported to the US yet.

One thing I'm going to take advantage of is that on the 4.3 there are molded in brass inserts on the bottom of the kayak in the transducer depression.  I don't remember if those were also on the 4.7.    Anyway, those are spaced so that you can screw your transducer to the bottom of the kayak using the transom mount bracket that comes with your fish finder.

My Lowrance unit is due any day and I'll have a "hey look at my new toy" post as soon as it's installed. 

Brian

I tell you what... If I had possessed the money I would have bought the 4.3 my local shop had... I think it was like 800, maybe less. I just walked around and around it. I named her Eliza... Beautiful kayak.

$800 for a new 4.3 would be a SMOKING deal.  MSRP, I think, is $1800.

I was mistaken. It was a 4.7 and it went for 699.00.

One thing I'm going to take advantage of is that on the 4.3 there are molded in brass inserts on the bottom of the kayak in the transducer depression.  I don't remember if those were also on the 4.7.    Anyway, those are spaced so that you can screw your transducer to the bottom of the kayak using the transom mount bracket that comes with your fish finder.

Those weren't on the 4.7, at least the early model 4.7.  I heard rumors they may have changed the 'ducer dimple on the newer 4.7, but can't confirm.

-Allen

I was mistaken. It was a 4.7 and it went for 699.00.

Smoking deal.  I would have bought that if I saw it.

-Allen

Man, it was up here in the classifieds for a while.

I love my Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3.  I had the 4.7 for about a year but I felt it was a bit big for me.   The 4.3 has a bit more rocker and performs really well in the ocean.  They're making a 4.1 now in New Zealand, but so far I don't think those are going to be imported to the US yet.

One thing I'm going to take advantage of is that on the 4.3 there are molded in brass inserts on the bottom of the kayak in the transducer depression.  I don't remember if those were also on the 4.7.    Anyway, those are spaced so that you can screw your transducer to the bottom of the kayak using the transom mount bracket that comes with your fish finder.

My Lowrance unit is due any day and I'll have a "hey look at my new toy" post as soon as it's installed. 

Brian

If you don't mind me asking, what is your height & weight? I'm 5' 9" 170lbs, and on the slim side...I need to hit the gym. In your opinion, is the 4.7 too big of a boat for me?

I'm 6'1" 185 lbs.  If I was just fishing the Ocean it wouldn't be too big for me.  When I said "for me" I guess I really meant "for my needs".   I do a lot of fishing in the Willamette River and the 4.7 wasn't as maneuverable as I'd like for river fishing.   It also weighs nearly 80 lbs and wasn't exactly easy to throw up onto my truck.

I just like the Ultra 4.3 more.

Brian

I have a 4.3, and I just purchased a Lowrance Elite 4 Gold To mount on it. I just completed the mount today, and haven't had it in the water with the ff mounted yet ( hopefully tomorrow!), but I was able to mount it without too much trouble.

Lowrance sells a scupper mount for the transducer, but I am going to try it without for now and see how it goes. Fortunately, the molded inserts on the bottom of the dedicated transducer scupper hole in front of the rotating hatch are a match to the mount that comes with the lowrance unit. Two screws and you are all set.

The trickiest part for me was getting the cord through the stainless pipe on the rotating hatch to enable mounting the ff in the location it is designed to be mounted. The watertight fitting on the transducer/power cable won't fit throught the stainless tube. I ended up removing the hatch, pulling off the lock ring from the stainless tubing (not easy, I have a pair of nice blood blisters to show for it). Once you pull the lock ring, it is pretty simple to get the cord through and mount the finder. Lowrance does give a ton of cable with the transducer, so it is kind of a tight fit wrapping it up in the little built in storage space on the rotating hatch, but I did get it in.

It would have been nice if they had been a bit more generous with the length of the power cable. I wanted to mount may battery behind the seat, accessible through the rear hatch. I had to splice on a length of 18ga wire to run back there in order to make it work. And don't fear get to put an inline fuse on there while your at it.

The unit seems really nice, I'll put it to the test this weekend. The best thing about it was that for an extra $20 over the base model, the Elite 4, it comes with a Navionics chip. Well worth the $.