Lowrance Mark 4

I've had my nose to the ground looking for the best option to outfit all my kayaks with depthfinder/gps combos.  I have been running the Eagle Cuda 350.  Its not the most powerful or detailed sounder out there but it is cheap and works well enough for me to be happy with it. Would I like a high end Hummingbird etc. sure, but when I need to put it on four kayaks the budget gets to be more of an issue than the latest bells and whistles.  I think I may have found something that fits what I need at the price point I can handle.  Ran it through its paces for a bit at Fishermen's today and liked what I saw.  Easy menus (screen is a tad small), detailed map (way better than the cuda, not quite navionics good but darn close), good power output (2200watts), small foot print, and uses the same power and sounder cables as the Cuda,  all for under $200 bucks

http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/Mark-Series/Mark-4/

Was thinking about upgrading to one of those myself, they seem like a very nice unit for the bucks

The mark 4 looks really nice, especially since it has an SD card so you can upgrade the maps and hopefully transfer way points. 

This is really nice for $200. I might have to sell some stuff for the upgrade.

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I've got mine almost ready to test. The custom puck I carved for the topedo-shaped DSI transducer was installed with Goop, so I can easily remove it if it doesn't work as expected. Then I will just go to using a transducer arm.
I already had one of those waterproof cases exactly like what Lee bought for his battery, and I whipped up a battery box with two home-made grommets, one for the unit's power cable (has a DSI filter on it) and the other for running an extra set of leads to my compass backlighting. I gooped some 1/4" neoprene to the bottom for anti-skid and anti-vibration. This box fits nicely between the scuppers in the hold just forward of my 8" hatch, which is just in front of my seat.
I still need to mount the head on my side-trax sideboard, using 4 self-tapping screws.
Easy enough, but first I need to rig up my Pacific Action Sail, so that I can position my side board to make sure the rigging clears the sonar/gps unit.  Will do that today.

I am going to charge the battery and check it out in simulation mode, and then test it on the water soon. Weather and ocean conditions permitting, I'll be fishing the Ling opener. That would be a good test!
I am also installing the transom mounting bracket on my 16' john boat, so i can test it out using the skimmer transducer as it was designed to be used. Then I will be able to compare the clean images obtained, with shoot-thru images from my Tarpon, and then know if the plastic hull degrades the image any.
I can even insert a micro SD card and take screen shots to verify this, if I was so ambitious.

Learning curve racers, start yer engines!

I've got a Mark 4 DSI on the way, too. I haven't decided on how I should mount the transducer - I am eagerly awaiting to hear what you all who have the DSI models say about the performance differences between thru hull and in-the-water. I think I can come up with a pretty decent arm for in-the-water mounting, but I will probably go thru hull in the short term. I think I'll try the plumber's putty for that.

Sounds like we'll be getting enough DSI sonars in the group to get a good feel for thru hull signal degradation, if it exists.

I rigged up my Pacific Action Sail yesterday and played around with locating the Mark 4 directly to the mounting plate on my slide trax. Although I was able to get the sail rigging lines to clear the head unit, the end result looked like a potential gremlin-in-the-making. In order to get the best clearance, I would have to have it located forward of my foot, which is too long a stretch to easily reach the control buttons.  So I am ordering a Ram micro-mount (and an extra base to install in my PB) which I will install on the slide trax mounting plate.

Then I can angle the unit in toward the center of my yak, much closer to my reach, and out of the way of my rigging. The unit also will be more protected from spray and inadvertent paddle strikes.

I just ordered a rudder and some other stuff (Scotty Gear Head, Pelican box) for my Tarpon from Outdoor Play. They e-mailed me a 20% off deal (coupon code SPE-1000) yesterday, going on for 48 hours, so I guess it ends after this evening.

I'm ordering the Ram micro-mount from Cabelas, with some other stuff.

Another idea is to add an extra ball to the underside of your forward hatch.  You can then attach the head unit to this ball for surf launch and landing.  (or you could just throw it in the hull)

These units are on sale at Fisherman's until March 25th!

I have the mark 4x on my PA installed just aft of my sail mount fwd of the mirage drive with marine goop.  I installed one of the cabelas 8 amphr sealed batteries just fwd of the tackle box in in front of the seat.  No complaints so far.  The ff is mounted on the universal RAM mount.  Love those

I have the mark 4x on my PA installed just aft of my sail mount fwd of the mirage drive with marine goop.  I installed one of the cabelas 8 amphr sealed batteries just fwd of the tackle box in in front of the seat.  No complaints so far.  The ff is mounted on the universal RAM mount.  Love those

Did you have any issues with the transducer shifting to the side? Since it's not flat like traditional transducers I had some issues with the goop, it kept wanting to turn on it's side.

I have the mark 4x on my PA installed just aft of my sail mount fwd of the mirage drive with marine goop.  I installed one of the cabelas 8 amphr sealed batteries just fwd of the tackle box in in front of the seat.  No complaints so far.  The ff is mounted on the universal RAM mount.  Love those

Did you have any issues with the transducer shifting to the side? Since it's not flat like traditional transducers I had some issues with the goop, it kept wanting to turn on it's side.

After you goop down the 'ducer, secure it in place with a couple of long strips of duct tape while it sets overnight.

I have the mark 4x on my PA installed just aft of my sail mount fwd of the mirage drive with marine goop.  I installed one of the cabelas 8 amphr sealed batteries just fwd of the tackle box in in front of the seat.  No complaints so far.  The ff is mounted on the universal RAM mount.  Love those

Did you have any issues with the transducer shifting to the side? Since it's not flat like traditional transducers I had some issues with the goop, it kept wanting to turn on it's side.

After you goop down the 'ducer, secure it in place with a couple of long strips of duct tape while it sets overnight.

I'll have to give that a shot, I've currently installed some plumbers putty I want to try out first.

I used a painters tape like masking tape to keep it in place to prevent getting any residue on the yak or ducer.  It helps if you get a second set if hands to hold it in place, but isn't a necessity.  I also bought flush mounts for the wiring to give it a more professional looked and to make it watertight.  I got the idea from YouTube.  There are quite a few people who have videos that have that similar set up.  Again +1 on the mark 4x.  Lowrance made a Hell of a product for the price.