hacking up my yak

[bubblehide]

Well, I've been thinking of taking the plunge for a few years now. I've discussed my idea with Jim Day, and he also decided to give it a try. We both went and bought almost everything we need, made a brief start, and put it away to move on to other things. Well, something happened that lit a fire under my hiney, so I'm back at it again. So what the hell am I up to you probably asking; well being a previous owner of a Hobie Outback, I came to appreciate their pedal drive, but simply hated their hull designs, so I decided to make my Current Design, Alutra into a pedal drive. So I started with making a fiberglass mold that the pedal drive sets into. I did however, mold in 14" stainless so I would have a solid mounting of the drives mounting clips. Here are a few pictures.
The glass mold
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...g?t=1297743050

Mold and supplies
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...g?t=1297743050

Stainless pieces
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...g?t=1297743050

Stainless glassed in place
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...g?t=1297743050


Today I cut holes in the yak, so I can glass the fiberglass drive housing into the yak. I'll post those pictures of me cutting up a perfectly good kayak sometime tomorrow.

[wiredantz]

your pictures are so tiny i need a microscope to see whats going on

[bubblehide]

These might be better:

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/P1010182.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/P1010178.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/P1010175.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/P1010183.jpg

[jorluivil]

Fiberglass to plastic? Will this work?

I've only worked with fiberglass once, helped make a hatch cover for a old Bayliner but that was it. I'm curious to see how this will look at the end........good job on the mold!!!

[bubblehide]

Tuna Taxi, no, no plastic at all; My yak is a glass composite yak. I seriously don't see a glass to plastic attempt holding water for long. The part of the glassed mold that will be visible is a carbon kevlar composite. I'll be posting pics later, and as I go. Thus far it's looking good.

[wiredantz]

Much better! I don't know what I am looking at, but I would love to see how this piece would fit when the mold is completed.

[jorluivil]

Much like my marriage of 20years, it makes sense now.

[YakMedic]

Interesting idea, I have thought about trying to do the same to one of my kayaks. I just never got the balls to seriously start hacking. Good luck and keep us updated.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by bubblehide

Well, I've been thinking of taking the plunge for a few years now..... I've discussed my idea with Jim Day....so I decided to make my Current Design, Alutra into a pedal drive.

Since I'm better at posting pictures as well as "novels" let me help Gary out here.

What he's doing (and yes I'm making one as well) is putting a Hobie drive into a Current Designs Altura...

The Altura is a Kevlar composite kayak that's fifteen feet long and about 55 pounds they were marketed as a high end alternative to plastic fishing kayaks and retailed for just under two grand.

These kayaks are very fast, handle well in the surf and they stronger and lighter then anything on the market in their size class because they are made from Kevlar which is something like as strong as steel though lighter weight then fiber glass. Since Kevlar is laid up with the same process and resins as glass it's fully glass compatible, and in fact the production Altura has both glass and Kevlar elements in it's construction.

Here's the stats:

Length :	15' 0" (457.2 cm)		Form :	Swede
Width :	31" (78.74 cm)		Depth :	12" (30.48 cm)
Chine :	Soft		Hull :	Shallow arch
Cockpit size:	55" x 20" (139.7 cm x 50.8 cm)		Cockpit type:	Open
Forward Hatch:	16.5" x 11" (41.91 cm x 27.94 cm)		Day Hatch:	8" dia. (20.32 cm)
Front Hatch Volume:	35 gal. (133 L)		Day Hatch Volume:	25 gal. (95 L)
Max. load*:	450 lb. (202.5 kg)

Current designs usually builds touring kayaks, and the reason they make them out of kevlar is not only are they lighter weight but also stiffer then other materials which makes them faster. The less flex you have in the hull the more paddle energy goes into forward progress. So this design is actually about the fastest paddle driven sit on top fishing kayak ever produced even though it's now been discontinued.




As soon as I saw it I wanted it as I already knew their specs, but also for a while I had been toying around with the idea of putting a Hobie drive into a non-Hobie yak, and the Altura with it's strong specs and composite construction was the perfect opportunity for me to do that without building another kayak up from scratch.

I've long been a fan for the merits and technology of the Hobie drive, but have never been a fan of their actual kayaks. So the idea for me was to take their superior drive system and put it into a superior kayak, that should out perform other yaks even stock Hobies especially in the surf.



Naturally when he brought it by the shop topic turned to what I planned to do with it which got him interested in the idea of putting a Hobie drive in his Altura as well.

We got a hold of a Hobie made some molds purchased our drives retail as replacements and ever since then for me the projects been on the back burner. I always have a ton of projects and this happens a lot for me but Gary is now boldly going it on his own, partially he claims to get me off my ass and building my own

So what he's done is made a glass plug off a mold that will now hold the drive in the new yak.
That looks like the form upside down laminated out of carbon, kevlar and a glass composite.

That looks like a detail of where the drive locks go.

Looks like he's cut out stainless that's going to be tapped for the locks mounting screws....and there he has glassed over those mounts..


So Gary it looks great. I would of probably predrilled the mounting plates and tapped them, then glassed them in place with bolts already in them.

That said you've made great process.

So when are you going to cut the hole in the hull? Your welcome to bring it by when you want to do it.

If I was you I'd find someone with a Revo and measure the distance from the slot to the seat again. It's the old Rastifarian proverb, measure twice cut once...

That applies to boat hulls more then anything.

Good stuff.... Jim

[Lets_Fish]

Gotta say that looks like one hard core project! Always wondered if and when someone would attempt this.

Question for either of you: How are you lining up the "drive" to the keel to keep aligned? Are you fabricating some type of form or chalk lining the drive & keel for alignment? If your off a bit will you go in circles?

[Regor]

Originally Posted by Lets_Fish

Question for either of you: How are you lining up the "drive" to the keel to keep aligned? Are you fabricating some type of form or chalk lining the drive & keel for alignment? If your off a bit will you go in circles?

Already happens with Hobie. Lift up rudder and see where ya go - not a perfect straight line. But then again, can't say I've ever been on a perfectly flat lake/water to test it's trueness

[bubblehide]

Well considering that the Hobie Outback (I purchased brand spankin new) I owned did a 10 foot radius, I figure I can do much better than Hobie, seriously.

Actually I used several methods in lining up my drive; the bottom side of the yak has a shallow arch, so one can simply turn the yak upside down, line up a chalk line with the center of the yak, clearly visible at the front and rear by it's pointy sections. I did the same on the topside, I also measured it in several ways, in addition to using a laser. Since the topside higest points are flat, it's pretty easy to use a square and bring it around the yak, i.e., bottom, top, and sides. Considering that you really need a rudder with a pedal drive, the rudder should easily compensate for any minor maladjustment; yet I'm confident in my alignment.

[mtnbykr2]

that's going to be one heck of a hot rod kayak...will follow this post, I am sure it will turn out bitchin...excellent

[dsafety]

As Yogi Berra might have said, " You don't know what you don't know". I am a happy Revo driver and while the design is not perfect I do not find much to complain about. I am curious as to what Jim and Gary object to about the Hobie hull design.

I can see some advantages to the kevlar hull. The stiffness and smooth skin should enhance both speed and handling as long as the mirage drive is installed in a location that does not fight with the fluid dynamics of the hull. The lighter weight should also be a plus. On the other hand, I can bang my yak into just about anything without causing any damage. Can the same be said about a glass kayak?

So tell us what we don't yet know. What's wrong with Hobie hull designs?

Bob

[bubblehide]

Bob, Hobie has designed their hulls for stability, instead of efficiency and tracking, as such, it's pretty common knowledge that Hobie's don't track for shit, and down right suck in the surf. However, the Revo has to be hands down their best fishing yak hull. But if you don't believe me, just try pedaling it around with the rudder up, and see what happens. The Altura hull, is about as good as one can get to a cross between an efficient touring yak and a yak designed for fishing, unless one goes to the effort of a complete ground up design.

[jorluivil]

Looks like we might be needing some popcorn for this one.

[mtnbykr2]

imo,
He may be pretty hard to keep up with when he is on the "pedals" when this is all completed

[Iceman]

Looks like we might be needing some popcorn for this one.

Just trying to build a better mouse trap, may have been a better way of Bubblehide to respond to reason for the project.

[tony]

Some more Hobie hackers......

http://madmariner.com/blogs/navagear/24999
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/03/...rage/index.htm
http://www.lunadadesign.com/nagare-2...age-drive.html

[bubblehide]

Originally Posted by Iceman

Just trying to build a better mouse trap, may have been a better way of Bubblehide to respond to reason for the project.

yep, your right, I am trying to build a better mouse trap, and I probably should have left it as that; sorry.