Share Your Innovations

[Saba Slayer]

WOW...?
Really...on a Hobie hull...?!?!

[jruiz]

Originally Posted by wiredantz

How fast fast can you move in in still water with no current

I think Frank is jealous.

[Maineguy]

Speed - 4 MPH with the standard prop. I just bought an improved three bladed prop that might increase it a little.

I work on Navy Weapon Systems but this is my first ever attempt at a composite project. I learned everything from the web. Thanks to Burt Rutan for wing structural ideas.

Already own two boats on the east coast that haven't been in the water since 2006, so it was hard to justify another boat. My yard and garage here in SD does not support the size of boat I would want to have.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by jruiz

I think Frank is jealous.

Add sail, an Evolve motor, a Minn Kota trolling motor and fill the hull with pool noodles......................now Frank is jealous.

[HELLSTER INC.]

Did you get SpaceX approval on this?

[wiredantz]

you have 4800 watts of power on that kayak glider... I am officially jealous.... but at 4mph... that trolling motor is holding your kayak back when your fighting against current.. but im not aware of any 12v trolling motor that can push you even faster... the Torqeedo would push you faster but they wont' run on 12v 100 amp batteries. i believe the torqeedo batteries are 29v.


Just Beware: you start going faster... your going to crash into the swells when the wind picks up..


good job... show us a video i would love to see it... AT your level i would add a 2.3hp Honda engine if i need to go even faster...

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by HELLSTER INC.

Did you get SpaceX approval on this?

Almost all of their technical designs are open-source, non-trademarked (I used to work there) so he doesn't need approval.

[Maineguy]

Burt Rutan ran Scaled Composites. I did buy his publication - introduction to Composite Construction even though all of the information can be gleaned from his aircraft construction YouTube videos. I also looked at his long EZ aircraft plans online for ideas on the wings internal structure and more detail on through hole hard points for mounting the trolling motor and wing to kayak strap hardware. The rest was just what I thought would look cool and support a better fishing experience. Torquedo’s were almost 2k last time I checked. I built this for less than that total and almost 1/2 the cost was the Battery and trolling motor. Of course I spend a lot of time on it but like I tell my wife it keeps me off of crack, both kinds. Overall it was an amazing learning experience.

[BigTunaL]

Nothing fancy here, just a simple but effective solution to keep seaweed from entering the small transducer opening.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dirty Curti]

I made a video of my in-hull transducer mount. Please take a look and share your thoughts. Thanks.

In-Hull Transducer Mount

[Entropy]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

I bet Structures Engineer.

I totally admire the quality of the DIY here, but damn at some point you just gotta go buy a boat, no?

Bro.... I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering and I can't build that. It took me over half n hour to install a hobby rod holder base on my kayak LOL .

They don't teach you these stuff in school. It is all math and science. The most hands on, practical people for these kinda of stuff are usually technicians, mechanics, machinists, etc...

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Can you show me how to make a single piece hood top (open on the sides) for my 36 Ford Pickup?

[PapaDave]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

I bet Structures Engineer.

I totally admire the quality of the DIY here, but damn at some point you just gotta go buy a boat, no?

Indeed...

[FullFlavorPike]

Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy

Can you show me how to make a single piece hood top (open on the sides) for my 36 Ford Pickup?

Buy an English wheel and a shot bag and you can have one built in a jiffy.

[Mr. NiceGuy]

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

Buy an English wheel and a shot bag and you can have one built in a jiffy.

I have to stretch my brain beyond it's present capacity to think about that.

Tony Santana has an English Wheel at his Hot Rod Auto Body Shop at Santee High School. I took several semesters there looking for ideas, tools and techniques. Figuring out how to shape metal by hand with things like the English Wheel boggle my brain. I am in awe of people who can freehand materials into precise beautiful shapes.

[KozlovMax]

Interesting) thanks

[DCMosley]

Originally Posted by Dirty Curti

I made a video of my in-hull transducer mount. Please take a look and share your thoughts. Thanks.

In-Hull Transducer Mount

Thanks! Took a note.

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by Dirty Curti

I made a video of my in-hull transducer mount. Please take a look and share your thoughts. Thanks.

In-Hull Transducer Mount

That is a nice implementation of the "wet mount". Several other versions have appeared in this thread over the years. A variant which I have used for the past 5 plus years is the "grease mount". Basically you build a small reservoir and glue it to the inside of the hull.

Fill the bottom 1/2" with high-temp marine grease and push your transducer into the grease until it bottoms out on the hull. Be careful not to trap any air bubbles. Strap the transducer under a little pressure, to the reservoir with a compressible piece of rubber, (EVA, the stuff that flip flop sandals are made of works great).

The main advantage of the grease mount is that you do not have to worry about the reservoir ever going dry. The grease will stay in the reservoir even when stored upside down in a 115 degree garage.

Both of these methods work well for simple sonar transducers which can transmit and receive through the hull without a problem. As I just learned, the more recent transducers have added downscan and even sidescan. Those signals get messed up by the plastic hull.

Many of the newer boats have transducer pockets in the bottom of the hull which allow for mounting modern transducers in an exterior location where they do not have broadcast through any plastic. This is a great innovation IMO but if you have an older boat, (like my 2008 Revo), you will have to get a little creative if you want to get the most out of the current batch of fish finders.

One way to mount your transducer so it has an unobstructed view of the water below is to use a transducer arm that hangs over the edge of your yak. I have just completed my installation using this method and will be writing a post soon. (I have to check things out on the water before I can be confident that my installation is worth talking about, so please be patient.)

Spoiler alert. I usually build most of my mods from ABS or PVC pipe but for this project, it turns out that both Scotty and Ram offer relatively inexpensive transducer arms. I ended up with the Scotty and am quite pleased. More on this later.

Bob

[baileybikes]

Has anyone tried shimming up the aka mounts to get the amas out of the water when not sailing? I have heard of people bending them to get less hydrodynamic loss, but shim blocks under the cross bars to raise the whole mess seems a lot easier and safe.

[dsafety]

When I first began fishing from a kayak in 2008, things were pretty simple. You paddled out, caught bait and trolled. There were plenty of fish in LJ back then so most fishing trips were usually fairly successful. Many of us did not even start out with a fish finder or bait tank. Things began to change quickly as Hobie’s pedal-powered yaks began to transform kayak fishing in a very good way.

Along with the propulsion transformation, the kayaks themselves began to evolve as well. The new designs provided places for bait tanks and fish finders, both game changers.

Back in the day, most fish finders were simple sonar units. Sonar-only transducers have the ability to transmit through plastic so most were mounted inside the kayak hulls. Mounting methods included gluing the transducer to the hull as well as suspending the unit a water or grease reservoir. Each of these options worked pretty well.

Fast forward about 10 years and we began seeing more advanced fish finders hit the market, some costing as much as the kayak to which they are attached. The new technology added down imaging and even side imaging capabilities. These advancements came at a cost, however. Down and side imaging signals do not penetrate plastic very well so if one wants to get the most of this new technology, the new transducers have to be mounted outside the kayak with an unobstructed view of the ocean below.

The good news is that some of the newest kayak designs now have an exterior transducer mounting “pocket” molded into the hull. The bad news is that those of us with older boats now have to come up with a workaround. This post documents my solution.

When I returned to kayak fishing this summer after a couple-year layoff, I discovered that some of my gear no longer worked. The fish finder did not survive my first day on the water a month or so ago so I went shopping for a replacement.

I found a great deal on a Lowrance Hook 2 unit. Lowrance is offering rebates of $50 or $100 on most of their fish finder models right now. The offer expires October 31st 2019. I ended up with their 7X Splitshot model. The Splitshot version offers both sonar and down vision imaging along with GPS tracking. Other models add side vision imaging, and detailed maps. After rebate, my new fish finder set me back a very reasonable $180.

Now to the next challenge, how and where to mount the transducer. My old boat does not have a suitable place to mount the transducer on the outside of the hull. I did a little research and discovered that both Ram and Scotty sell mounting arms that can be attached to tracks or balls which have been mounted to the kayak deck. I chose the Scotty 141 model for its adjustability and track-mount capability.

The Scotty 141 includes their “Gear Head Adaptor” which allows accessories to be easily connected and disconnected from the transducer arm. I used this feature to create a mounting platform for my new fish finder.

As anyone who has ever installed a fish finder on a kayak knows, these things come with very long wires that link the fish finder to the transducer. For internal mounts all that wire usually ends up being stowed somewhere inside the kayak.

Given that my new fish finder rig would be mounted on the rail of my kayak and the fact that I transport and store my kayak upside down, resting on the rails, I needed to find a way to make the entire fish finder and transducer arm completely removable from the kayak so nothing was in the way while being transported or stored. The solution was remarkably simple. I just wrapped all the excess transducer wire around the transducer arm and zip tied everything in place. None of the transducer wiring enters or exits the hull.


Up next was the fish finder mounting platform. I bought Scotty’s Universal Fish Finder adapter which attaches to the Gear Head connected to a narrow track that I mounted to the rail. The universal mount was not large enough to accommodate my 7” fish finder but a trip to Wal-Mart and about $2 provided me with a small plastic cutting board that I trimmed to a suitable size and attached to the top of the Scotty mount.

The final step was to figure out how to get power to my newly installed setup. Again this issue proved have a simple solution. I already had a battery storage area in the stern of my yak with wiring that ran the length of the hull. I was a little uncomfortable as I drilled a one inch hole into the side of my yak but West Marine’s Thru Bulkhead Wire Cap created a nearly waterproof wiring port.

One nice feature of this wire cap is that while the fitting is close to being water tight, the power wire can be easily pushed in or pulled from the hull. This means that when I button things up for transport, most of the power wire can be pushed into the hull so nothing is left to flap around in the wind while driving at freeway speeds.

The maiden voyage with my new fish finder uncovered a few problems. The platform that the device was mounted on extended too far into the cockpit, interfering with my peddling and my 6 year old battery decided that it was time to throw in the towel. Both of these problems were quickly resolved.

The next time out everything worked perfectly. Well almost everything. While the new fish finder displayed plenty of bait balls, the fish in those bait balls refused to attack my sabiki flies. I felt fortunate to catch four small Spanish. In the end, it did not matter because the bigger fish had taken the day off as well. The only fish we heard about that day were a couple of rock fish and small calicos. Maybe next time.

While I would love to upgrade to one of the latest and greatest kayak models that are designed to accommodate the modern fish finders and other things that yakfishers utilize, I will have to make do with what I have for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, I look forward to having a new fish finder that has a screen twice the size of my previous unit along with the addition of down imaging. Now I just have to figure out how to use this great new tool. That should be fun. It might even improve my fishing.