The Best Through Hull Mounting Options

by Brad Oswalt

As spring begins to roll in, many seasoned and new kayak anglers find themselves with new kayaks or new electronics for the season needing to be rigged. What that really means is its time to get out some drill bits and put holes in that new kayak. The first time anyone does this can be a bit daunting. After all, you just spent $1000, $2000 or more on your new ride and now you need to put a couple of holes in it?!?! Fortunately, a few companies have been making an item for years that has brought peace of mind to this process. Both Hobie and Wilderness Systems have offered a through-hull wiring kit to help contain electronic wires contained inside either the kayak or a removable pod, while keeping water out. For 2020 YakAttack has stepped up to the plate with their own version. I went out and purchased all 3 versions of the surface mount style for this comparison and because I have a new kayak to rig for this season.

Starting off with the Hobie 3 way through hull plug, which is found standard on most Hobie fishing kayaks, we get a lot of options with this one. I have a lot of experience with this having had a few of them on my Pro Angler 14 last year. Coming in at $20.99 the kit includes 1 plug with 12 different inserts covering almost every imaginable transducer and power cable size across the spectrum. What I personally like about this 3-way setup is the ability to use one through-hull to route not only the wires for a fish finder but power supply lines for cameras, phone chargers, etc. You can potentially route 6 separate wires through this one connection keeping everything nice and clean. The kit comes with 3 mounting screws and a molded gasket to provide a watertight seal. The installation requires the drilling of a 1 3/8” hole in the kayak (that’s roughly 35mm for our friends outside the US). You can find this size in a hole saw kit from your local hardware store. Care must be taken to ensure that you are not going to drill into an area with rudder lines or other lines that are internal to the kayak, so use your access hatches to confirm before you drill. With the use of the gasket, no marine “goop” is required to create the watertight seal. You may only get one plug, however with the multitude of inserts and the ability to run 6 wires through it you may only need one.

The Wilderness systems kit was introduced with their line of FlexPod kayaks to keep the inside of the pods waterproof where the battery resides. My first kayak was an ATAK 140 and I utilized these with the flex pod for my fish finder setup and was very pleased. Coming in at $19.99 the kit is a single pass through, so the most cable connections you will get per plug is only 2, however, you do get 2 plugs per kit making this a solid value. This style of plug uses an O-ring and is threaded. The locking ring will thread on from the backside (inside of the kayak or pod) compressing the O-ring to create the watertight seal. If you are accessing a hard to get to area you may want to opt for the other kits because of this. The kit comes with 6 inserts total but lacks any solid plugs like the Hobie or YakAttack. Instead they provide a single plug that fits inside one of the inserts to block it off. For installation, this kit also requires the same 1 3/8” hole saw bit but saves you from the 3 extra screws the Hobie kit has or the 2 extra on the YakAttack. If considering ordering this kit it would be wise to measure the cables you plan to route through it to ensure you will get an insert that is close. The plugs threaded design does not requiring extra screws, just be mindful of where you are installing it as the plug will sit deeper inside the hull. It should be noted that Hobie also offers a similar style through-hull kit with a threaded lock ring. It offers a single pass through as well and is similar in price to the Wilderness kit. We could consider them on equal ground however, you will get additional inserts including solid ones with the Hobie kit.

Finally, we come to the new kid on the block, the YakAttack kit. Now YakAttack is no newcomer to kayak rigging, in fact, they are considered by many to be the gold standard within the industry so for them adding this to their already impressive lineup just made sense. Coming in at $20 even you also get 2 plugs with this kit. You will find 12 total inserts in the kit including 4 blanks. Each plug can have 2 wires max running through it. The kit is secured to the kayak by 2 small screws, and because of its design no additional O-ring or gasket is required, as the plug is similar in design to a thicker rubber molded gasket and is made from nylon. For installation, you will need to drill a 1-inch size hole. This kit uses 1 less hold down screw than the Hobie kit and overall has fewer components. The design of the inserts nests them both inside the hard-plastic plug and the hole in the kayak creating the seal. I would like to see YakAttack offer more inserts with multiple holes per insert like the Hobie 3 way. This can mean fewer holes drilled in the kayak and fewer plugs required for multiple electronics. The inserts could easily fit two holes per side. YakAttack recommends using some goop around the holes to help keep everything watertight (they are the only one of the three reviewed to recommend this). You will also have to cut your own slits in the inserts to get them around the wires (this is not required on the Hobie or Wilderness kits). One last point to note about this kit is that the screws are not self tapping, you will need a 7/64 drill to create a pilot hole for the screws. I highly recommend putting in one screw at a time.

In the end, all 4 options mentioned here are great through-hull wiring kits. Each one has pros and cons as mentioned above. With a few tweaks, I think the YakAttack can be on par with the Hobie 3 way. For me the 3-way plug offers the most with its plethora of inserts and ability to pass through multiple wires resulting in potentially fewer holes in the kayak.