Nice rig cuz
Nice rig cuz
"What we do in life, echoes in eternity." - Gladiator
I am now an official member of the plastic boat armada. Picked up a 2013 Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 for a price that was too good to pass up. I have to add some rod holders but aside from that it is perfect. Very comfortable (I've already taken a nap in it in the duck swamp), plenty fast and stable.
Very nice yaks everyone!
2014 Native Slayer Propel 13 Lizard Lick
Wicked Catch Pro Staff
I posted in some other threads while I did a couple of minor mods. I think I am about done tinkering with this boat for now, except for finding boxes that fit well in the crannies At some point in the future I want to get a SOT pedal boat decked out as a fishing machine, but for now I have a cheap recreational kayak and just added a couple of things so I can fish out of it. Anyway, I figured I would summarize here for the possible benefit of other SIK puppies in the future.
The boat:
The KL Industries 10' kayak sold under a number of labels. Mine is the Aruba Sun Dolphin sold by K-Mart for under $200. It's a decent enough low end SIK. If fishing were the only thing I planned to do I would probably look at SOTs. It isn't. Anyway...
I love the Lavika universal skirt. I tested it at the pool and while it is not totally water tight when submerged, it does the job. It has a zipper and the nylon bunches some at the elastic cord that seals it. Those things make it so much more convenient than a whitewater skirt. You can unzip it and leave it on the boat when you get in/out or want to get at stuff in the cockpit. It is much easier to put it on the boat compared to a neoprene skirt. The trade-off for those conveniences is that it allowed a a small amount of water to trickle in when I dipped the side under leaning on a brace or rolling. I was not able to roll this boat with the paddle, but rolled up using the nose of other boats several times before I had enough water to need to empty it. I came close and think I can learn to roll it. It's hard to roll because it's very stable; I stood in it. I won't do that while fishing; it was just a test.
4 cleats added around the cockpit. I may do a trolley at some point, but for most situations having those anchor points to choose between will be fine. I transport the boat under the cover hanging out the back of a shortbed:
That picture is from before adding the cleats and it is tied in using the carry handle. After adding the cleats, I feel much more confident that it is well secured.
I added just one rod holder. I rarely fish with more than two rods and only troll one. This is an established habit, not a limitation I am imposing on myself. Anyway, here it is:
I made a cap for it (bottom of tube is sealed) that has a rod leash running through it so I can store most of the leash inside the tube. So when I pull the cap to put a rod in, the leash is right there.
Anyway, that's it for now...
-Andy
A couple of minor additions to my yak...
Drilled a couple of holes and attached carribeaners; no big deal. But wait - what is that under the deck? Looks like a large diameter pool noodle tied in a single overhand knot and stuffed under the deck. That would be pretty stupid, unless your deck is shaped like this:
and has an indentation that pretty much locks that in there. Turns out that silly bottle holder is as useful below the deck as above, maybe more. You could stuff a beach ball the right diameter past the notch also; I just like the knotted pool noodle because it can't be popped/deflated. And though the photo doesn't show it all that well, it is wedged in there really tight; it is difficult to take it out. I shoved it up there to see if I could figure out a way to position something at the notch (bottom of bottle holder) to keep it in and then had such a hard time getting it back out I realized that it is useful like that. I will test it at the pool and may still put something else up there. All the flotation does is try to keep it level if it swamps so it is easier to dump it while in the water. It has factory installed stern flotation which keeps it from sinking but allows the nose to submerge when it is swamped.
I also drilled a hole on each side of the seat for carribeaners:..
So I can attach tackle boxes or whatever. There are a few inches between the seat and the side if the boat. Still playing with what fits best and provides good tackle storage.
-Andy
that's not a yak it is a Swiss Army Knife that floats.
Darrell
Red X Angler
Finally got around to setting up my crate. Trough holder and net holder were made out of fuel hose and shock cord to be semi rigid. Rod holders are PVC and zip ties. Home made stake out pole from a 4-8ft painter pole and garden hose spike that threaded to the end. I'd still like to make a lid and something to secure the rods in the holders but so far I like it.
I'll get around to posting up the rigging on the yak eventually. It's always dark when I get off the water.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
nice crate, did the dog give it a stamp of approval? is that a Heeler?
Darrell
Red X Angler
I've got a blue/german shepard cross. not noted for their love of the water.
Darrell
Red X Angler