Here's a few pics of the whale pump install. Its a Whale Urchin from West Marine with 3/4" flex hose from the same source. A piece of 3/4" pvc pipe goes through the scupper hole to a 3/4" street elbow from Home Depot. The pump is easy to reach from the seat and pumps quite a bit of water with each stroke, so 3-4 pumps every 10-15 minutes should keep bait nice and healthy.

http://www.pbase.com/baja_traveler/image/147965674.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/baja_traveler/image/147965680.jpg

Mirage Drive Splash Dam
 

When a Hobie is cruising above 4 mph, the power produced by the turbo fins forces an excessive amount of water up through the Mirage drive opening. To minimize this, I cut a piece of 1/4" rubber to fit snugly at the end of the drive opening. 2 screws holds it securely to the drive unit. The last picture shows the amount of water in the kayak with the dam in place and peddling about 4.5 mph.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...pscab60929.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps4449943d.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps5d994106.jpg

I'll have to assume you're not aware of this but hobie already makes that part for the drives

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c....1.45bP6HaAghs

Externally Mounted Transducer
 

When I picked up a Lowrance FF, the shape of the transducer convinced me to try an externally mounted, articulating transducer arm. I used plastic bimini top parts for the pivot points (end caps) and the base (deck hinge). It took a few adjustments to get the correct arm lengths and the proper angle entering the water. The first trials were unsuccessful because at higher speeds, air bubbles would form and cause vertical lines in the display (dropouts).

I'm still not sold on this method because it is more maintenance than a below deck mount. However, it may help give someone ideas for making a portable transducer arm.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps54cdff28.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...pscc128b51.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps4deec27f.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...psc616f0da.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...psbcd40e4b.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps95dbe61f.jpg

You're right, I didn't know it. I haven't been in a Hobie store in quite a while and when I made it, I don't think there was one available. So..........never mind!

Check out Mad Frog Liberaror. basically what you have there.

I like the smaller tubes they used, but I wasn't about to spend $40.00 for one! Mine cost under $10.00. One of the reason for posting is to show some of the newbies alternatives to buying pre-made products. I remember a while back there were some discussions on how to make something like this.

100,000 Views
 

It was another dark and stormy night, not unlike the one about three years ago when I submitted my first contribution to the "Share Your Innovations" thread. After reading the most recent posts in this tread, I noticed that the number of views had just clicked over 100,000. Wow, that seems like a lot to me.

Just for fun, I started at the beginning and reviewed all the posts in this thread. There is a lot of good stuff in there. I counted at least a dozen great ideas that I have borrowed and personally used.

Thanks to all who have contributed over the years and also to BWE for making this milestone possible.

Bob

Hobie Baitank Drain location modification
 

We'll after a series of events I decided to try adding a bait tank modification to my Hobie Bait tank. I purchased a scupper hole mount for my new fish finder so I could get some accurate reads. Then my Hobie bait tank was missing its drain hole. The water would almost fill up the back of my Outback making it a heavier and sloppy ride. So heres what I did. I figured that if I want to switch back I can always cap the hole.

ChuckD. Very interesting. I am not ready to modify the Bait tank just yet, but this is a good idea. Do you notice a drastic improvement on the FF? I am sure the temp reading is helpful.

Stan,
Whats up bro! I have to say the readings are spot on now. It is a slight improvment in quality of finder since my hummingbird, but I believe having the ducer in the water sure is nice. Perfect temps and spot on readings. I had a seal buzzing my yak the other night for about an hour which gave me some time to test the accuracy, it worked great. Found some great structure too, landed me a nice fat bug! Hope all is well man, cant wait till the big trip.

Yakima J Cradle Fix
 

So I was getting tired of having my cradles rotate everytime I hit with my kayak. The Yakima bars are round and no matter how much I tighten them the alwys end up like this.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...0/P1080542.JPG

So I figured there has to be a way to keep them straight so over to Home Depot I went and $8 later here's the finished solution.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...0/P1080545.JPG

I took a couple of 3/4" electrical conduit, cut it to the correct size, drilled a couple of holes in each end to line them up with the J cradles, flattened out the ends a bit and now they don't rotate.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...0/P1080544.JPG

Wet transducer scupper mount.
 

So I'm considering a hobie bait tank, but having the the toro sprinkled head holding my transducer in place no water can get out.
so it was time for a change. I came across a guy that made a custom mount for his here,

http://www.yakangler.com/forum/21-lo...son-kayak-cuda

After looking it over as well as the Lowrance one I decided it cant be that hard to make one that allows water to
flow out if I do decide to get a Hobie bait tank. The Lowrance uses a plastic piece of all thread as well as a "doughnut" to hold the transducer in place which to me seems like a design flaw.
So I got some 1/16 thick aluminum, a 1/4 dia x 1 inch long stainless nut, bolt and lock washers,
a 3/8 by 3 inch long all thread and the nut to go with it. last a 4 square inch 3/16 thick piece of ABS plastic. After all the measuring this is what I came up with.
I plugged the open scupper filled my current bait tank to the brim and let it drain into the well area as the hose was running keeping the tank level for about 20 mins, it didn't flood and looks like this might be a viable option but
without being on the water I'm not 100% sure that it will drain. So some OTW testing will be needed before I commit to the Hobie.

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I wanted so bad to have a wet scupper mount application for the deucer but, because of its unnatural bulge, and having to be constantly concious of not dragging it on whatever surface I launch from or my tailgate I decided against it. This is an alternitive that I found works quite well. DUCT SEAL. Its practically play-dough. Except for the fact it can get wet, not harden, holds its shape, causes no permananet damage, isn't messy, etc... Here is how I applied it. I made a little pool around the transdeucer with it and just splash some water in it to help in the temp reading. Even used a little on the bottom of my battery box to hold it wedged in place. This stuff rocks. A 16oz package cost under 3 bones at lowes. Best part is my FF is still in practically new/unused condition. Its just nice to keep nice stuff nice. Hope this is exactly what somebody was looking for!

And the same boys that drag my rig up on the beach after I'm done fishing, helped install the FF! If you got 'em, put 'em to work!:the_finger:







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The prob I see with the duct seal is that its not strong enough to hold if you put something inside the hatch that can dislodge it, say the wheels off of your cart or a big fish. I also keep a kill bag with ice packs in the hatch which would throw off the temp readings. I have had my transducer thru the scupper since I got the kayak. I transport it in the back of my truck and surf launch and land on a regular basis. You just got to be mindful of it. As you can see its pretty scratched up but it works like the day I got it.

WOW...I really like this.
Let me know how it works out Bus.

I will post up some OTW video asap slated to work the next 16 days straight:doh:

Cool, I'll look for your post.
Sounds like we're on the same schedule...:(

I have had my ducer installed with Duct seal and dropped the Kayak off the roof of my SUV 2 times and it never came loose. I have stored extra paddles, waders, and other junk inside and it's never come loose. I have mine installed using a sponge frame so maybe that helps keep it in place. I do like your install and have my wheels turning about installing that way on mine as well. Thanks for making think man, it's too early in the morning for that.

PA External Bow Storage Bungee
 

PA12 External bow hatch storage. Quick and easy option to stash some stuff during launch or throughout the day!

That's not an innovation.....or is it:rolleyes:

WTF? Can you peddle your wares elsewhere? This is a kayak website. No metal detectors...no cell phones...no Range Rovers... I say anyone with over 2000 posts should be allowed to delete shit posts like this one. "save time by using a gold metal detector"...? Hey Kemberly... :the_finger:

[QUOTE=Deamon; I say anyone with over 2000 posts should be allowed to delete shit posts like this one. "save time by using a gold metal detector"...? Hey Kemberly... :the_finger:[/QUOTE]

F#@kin' A, I agree!

Thanks for the idea, I'll be doing this this weekend.

Chuck, thanks for the tip, good alternative and small squid can run away thru the drain hole? I bet you put a screen..?

I wondered if anyone ever tried running the transducer to a spot on the bottom near a scupper hole, but then used a heat gun to soften the area, and mold inward an indentation, with a glass bottle? This way the transducer would be recessed and not scrape on the sand or ground? Any thoughts?

Two reasons not to do that heat gun trick.
One is it won't work. Memory will push back to original shape,,, only with distortion.
Two, you'll weaken the area.

YES I have done this. I had a busted up kayak that I molded the underside of it for a transducer. I got the idea and then practiced on the busted up kayak. It is tricky but possible. I did a total of 4 good and workable indentations. I did not do them near the scupper holes because if it got Fd up it would be too hard to repair. I used a blow torch and a heat gun. NO, memory does not push it back into shape as stated by Baitman. It takes some time because you definately dont want to rush doing it. I decided not to do it on my Malibu only because I dont think it would make a difference since I use an Eagle Cuda FF. If I had a better FF like the Lowrance 5 then I would have done it. If its something that your really considering contact me. I will not do it for you because I dont want to be responsible for your kayak but I will explain exactly how I did it, and did it correctly.

Mike

Something for the guys who fish at night
 

On a recent vacation to the Caribbean, I saw something that might be of interest to those who fish at night. One of the tourist adventure places took a bunch of clear kayaks and glued some 12V LED Strip lights to the edges of the yaks. They would then take tourists out to check out the night life on the local reefs.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/a...1&d=1363728270

The kayaks could be seen for miles and, according to some people I spoke with who went out on one of these things, the lights worked quite well when it came to illuminating the reefs below.

I did a Google search and discovered that these strip lights are available from dozens of sources in many color temperatures, illumination angles and in both waterproof and regular versions. It would be interesting to see if this idea could be adapted to our kayaks and whether they would prove to be useful out on the open water.

Someone should give this a try.

Bob

I would think that much white LED lighting would mess up your night vision. Sucks for fishing perhaps, but might be good for sightseeing? Cool pic.

Can you say Squid light?:D

Squid light.

I've wanted to do something of this sort for my PA14 and mount some strips of led lights underneath the mounting rails as deck lights, i guess you could mount some on the outside of the hull and make all kinds of light show effects (Boat Parade anyone?)

benefit of this stuff is it's waterproof and if you cut it and solder wires in to patch it i heard all you have to do is epoxy it. http://www.amazon.com/300LEDs-multi-...ef=pd_sbs_lg_4

So who will be the first on the West Coast to give this a try?

You can splice different colors together, (they make red and green for the bow). There are versions that send the light straight out or at a 90 degree angle downwards. There are multiple color temperatures available ranging from the cool, blue/white to warm which is yellowish like a candle flame.

The ones I saw were attached to the hull with something similar to Goop. Since the strips are flexible, almost any adhesive will probably work.

If you really want to get innovative, you could have multiple circuits. One for colored bow and stern lights. Another with a down facing, bait attracting array and a third to just light your way and make your little kayak highly visible at night.

The really cool thing is that since these are LED, they hardly use any juice at all. A full array of lights could run all night, probably multiple nights on a single charge.

If this catches on, I can see the possibility that some kayak manufactures might consider adding recessed mounting grooves, to allow for easy installation, as a feature included in future models.

Bob

So I got into the gopro times.
Trying to figure out how to make a pole, and came up with this.
Got a piece of 1-1/4" PVDF pipe and a cap that I had laying around at work.
Looks like it will work.
Put an LED flash light in the pipe, and you have a light pole at night.
The light glow puts off just enough light to see but not to mess up you night vision.

GoPro Light Saber..... I like it.

Bob, your led lights idea is awesome! I am in the process of putting leds all around my kayak. I am going to use the red and green theme. I am hoping to get a bunch of yaks together this christmas and put together a kayak parade of lights like they do in SD bay. I'm going to put a blow-up santa on my green stick and maybe an elf or two.....:kayak-surfer:. Also thinking of installing under water lights in kayak just like the ones on big boats.

I did this to my PA 12 put the lights under the rails and i also made a night light with blue and white led's for when i go hooping been told you can see me from a very far distance... id put up some pictures but just dont know how and to lazy to learn.... I was able to get the lights from JK electronics in westminster.. If you really want pic's i can send them from my phone..

By far the best electronics supply store this side of Orange County. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff. They recently expanded their store as well. I've been going here for 10-15 years it seems.

I mounted a red LED on the center of my yak for night fishing and that thing is bright. It works pretty well. Wade and CBad Mike have seen it on the water.