A few bumps and scratches on the face of the transducer from sand will do it no harm. I have sanded off the face of a transducer when switching it between yaks. The actual electronics are well protected inside the hard resin case of the transducer. Many kayaks now have transducer scuppers so that the transducer is protected from contact with beaches etc. With the Lowrance Transducer Scupper fitting the transducer is quite well protected from beach contact owing to the Outback hull design. Our local kayak fishing pro, Stephen Tapp, who is something of a legend and a technically very savvy guy says there is a huge difference in sensitivity between and exposed transducer and a throught the hull set up. Also keep in mind the fact that Hobie use high quality, dense plastics to cope with the stress of the mirage drive. We usually locate our transducers around the mast step, probably the thickest part of the hull. Therefore some form of dedicated transducer scupper would be a very positive improvement on the Outback.
I agree that it would be great to see some improvements on this classic design. I have toyed with the idea of replacing my Outback with a Revo
mainly for the superior open water performance of the Revo and that really annoying hull slap of the OB when heading into a wind blown chop. So when Hobie produces the Outlution I'll be first in the queue.
I'm simply not in the position to run a fleet of kayaks and I do like the simplicitiy of having only one yak.
Hmmm just suggested to my lovely wife that maybe we could trade her beloved Sport on A Revo that I could use for ocean trips
She thought that was a good idea - gosh I love that woman!