My first attempt at outriggers - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

senojmj · 01-11-2010, 06:44 PM

Decided to make some outriggers for my kayak. Wanted the extra stability for when I take my kids out. My 3 yr old, 6 yr old and I can all fit on my Cobra Marauder XF. They do squirm a little bit and want to keep them dry. After checking other DIY models, this is what I came up with.

outrigger 4.jpg

So I have some questions/concerns.

1. I am pretty sure they are too long, when down they are below the hull. I am not sure I want to cut them down until I take it out on the water to figure where they should be. Lakes are frozen here so that will have to wait, unless someone has another idea.

2. Is it better for the scotty rod holder to be in the top mount or side mount? The third picture down I have one in each spot. Is one stronger than the other? I like the side mount because it has a lower profile. The top mount will be easier to deal with while on the kayak.

3. I also decided to be able to put them in either the bow or stern of the kayak. I have different setups depending on what I am doing and whether my kids are coming. No bait tank when the kids come. Any known advantage one way or another?

It was a fun project to do, and cost me about $60. Luckily, Cabelas was having a sale on rod holders last weekend. Any ideas or comments are welcome!

sterling · 01-11-2010, 08:24 PM

Great idea on keeping the kayak stable so your kids will feel more comfortable. What will you do if you hook a large fish with those in the water. I can just imagine the line wrapping and loosing the fish.

Ed · 01-11-2010, 09:47 PM

Nicely rigged kayak. I like the creative modification, it looks clean. Utah Lake should be open water by March.

senojmj · 01-12-2010, 04:03 AM

Generally when I take my kids, I have my oldest sit up front and drop a line behind us while I troll. That was one of the reasons for having an bow and stern position, with that said losing a fish is a possibility. It is more of a possibility of not catching any fish as my kids like to cast and reel in as fast as they can, but we are working on that

Thanks for the input!

Fiskadoro · 01-12-2010, 01:30 PM

Nice inovation with the larger tubes.

A few comments: They are about twice as long as the need to be. The reason outriggers are long on outrigger canoes is one outrigger works both sides keeping it from rolling one way do to floatation but keeping it from rolling the other way because of it's weight, and a lever effect.

You want the shorter pole as the poles will come out of the water faster do to the angle if the are shorter and you then have less drag. Your fishing essentially a trimaran, so you have flotation on both sides and they can be much shorter with your setup then they could be with a single.

For the same reason it's good to use the scotty in the high position as it improves the angle of the pole in reference to the water and once again reduces drag.

I'd make a few other changes as well.

I would carve out the blunt fat end of the floats so they will slip over the T and then notch them so that you can slide them together tight and butt the two big ends together flush. That will make the float into one clean unit, with no open space between the floats to catch water and increase drag.

I would also take the black main tubes heat them up with a heat gun and put a curve in them. That way they can come out of the top of the float be out of the water and will act more like a traditional ourigger from an outrigger canoe.

Nice stuff. Well thought out, well done.

Jim

MalibuJohnny · 01-12-2010, 02:47 PM

Is this where you got the "IDEA"

http://www.yak-gear.com/outriggers.html

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/dru...yak-outriggers

Here is a cool design and "DYI" instructions

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/quikama.html

senojmj · 01-12-2010, 05:06 PM

That is good to know. I always wondered how outrigger canoes worked and didn't tip on the side without the outrigger. I haven't tried using a heat gun on pvc. Can you just bend it once heated? Any ideas how to get both poles to have the curvature? I think I will have to practice a bit. Thanks for the feedback!

Fiskadoro · 01-12-2010, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by senojmj

That is good to know. I always wondered how outrigger canoes worked and didn't tip on the side without the outrigger. I haven't tried using a heat gun on pvc. Can you just bend it once heated? Any ideas how to get both poles to have the curvature? I think I will have to practice a bit. Thanks for the feedback!

I was thinking that was black ABS, but both will bend.

What you want to do is get it on a clean surface and roll it back and forth while moving the gun up an down the length of it. The idea is to get it all hot evenly and then when it gets flexible make one bend full length one time.

Wear gloves as it's hot.

To make the second one the same: lay the first on down next to the second one right when you get it ready to bend and use it as a pattern, or just cut an exact pattern of the bend out of cardboard, don't use it as a form but more of a guideline.

Jim

senojmj · 01-12-2010, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Day

I was thinking that was black ABS, but both will bend.

What you want to do is get it on a clean surface and roll it back and forth while moving the gun up an down the length of it. The idea is to get it all hot evenly and then when it gets flexible make one bend full length one time.

Wear gloves as it's hot.

To make the second one the same: lay the first on down next to the second one right when you get it ready to bend and use it as a pattern, or just cut an exact pattern of the bend out of cardboard, don't use it as a form but more of a guideline.

Jim

It is ABS, but I thought they would both behave in the same way. I think I got some spare abs that I will practice with. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

YAKGEAR · 02-03-2011, 07:48 PM

I will take your attempt at building your own Outriggers as the sincerest form of flattery. I thought I would help you through a couple of your rough spots. First of all, cut the pvc that is coming out of your floats so that it is even with the end of the bullet nose of your floats. Pick up some 1/2 inch PVC caps and cap off the ends. Water moving into the open ends will create drag. To get a correct feel for the length of the arms you want, put your kayak on the ground instead of on milk crates. Lower your arms so the floats are touching the ground. This will give you the same feel as when they are in the water. You want to use the top of the deck mount and not the side. The top gives you a lot more adjustments. Lastly, the longer the arms stretch out, the more you hinder your turning radius. I recommend you cut your arms to no more than 40 inches. The Outriggers that we sell, have 30 inch arms. That length was decided on after many people used them and I listened to their recommendations. If you have any questions, I am always glade to help. Email me at bbragman@yak-gear.com

Kaijuu · 02-04-2011, 05:30 AM

If you dont feel comfortable trying to heat and bend the ABS, Just use a 45* or 90* elbo. Cut glue. Makes it easy to pair up both sides.

You can experiment with different lengths for main and down tubes before gluing.

Just a thought.

dsafety · 02-04-2011, 06:57 AM

I have some experience with using the various ells that are available for ABS pipes to make curves. You can see the results in the ajustbable rod holder shown in the photos below.

Pieces.jpg

Outboard-close.jpg

If I were building something like this, I would position a 90 degree ell close to the scotty rod holder and build off of that. This would start the curve process and reduce the center of gravity. From there you could use some of the other angle ells to position the pontoons where you want them to be.

Heating the PVC to make it curve is another option but in my experience getting the pipe hot enough to work with, is a bit of an art. It is really easy to overheat the pipe and cause it to start to bubble. I also suspect that PVC which has been heated and cooled a couple of times becomes more brittle than unheated material.

Once you get the design down, consider mounting one pontoon on the stern and the other at the bow. It might look lame but I bet you would get maximum stability out of that setup.

Bob

01-12-2010, 02:47 PM	#6
MalibuJohnny Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lahina (I Wish) Posts: 272	Outriggers Is this where you got the "IDEA" http://www.yak-gear.com/outriggers.html http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/dru...yak-outriggers Here is a cool design and "DYI" instructions http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/quikama.html __________________ Malibu Johnny must catch fish

02-03-2011, 07:48 PM	#10
YAKGEAR Junior Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1	Outriggers I will take your attempt at building your own Outriggers as the sincerest form of flattery. I thought I would help you through a couple of your rough spots. First of all, cut the pvc that is coming out of your floats so that it is even with the end of the bullet nose of your floats. Pick up some 1/2 inch PVC caps and cap off the ends. Water moving into the open ends will create drag. To get a correct feel for the length of the arms you want, put your kayak on the ground instead of on milk crates. Lower your arms so the floats are touching the ground. This will give you the same feel as when they are in the water. You want to use the top of the deck mount and not the side. The top gives you a lot more adjustments. Lastly, the longer the arms stretch out, the more you hinder your turning radius. I recommend you cut your arms to no more than 40 inches. The Outriggers that we sell, have 30 inch arms. That length was decided on after many people used them and I listened to their recommendations. If you have any questions, I am always glade to help. Email me at bbragman@yak-gear.com

02-04-2011, 05:30 AM	#11
Kaijuu "Floater" Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: so cal Posts: 164	An option to heat If you dont feel comfortable trying to heat and bend the ABS, Just use a 45* or 90* elbo. Cut glue. Makes it easy to pair up both sides. You can experiment with different lengths for main and down tubes before gluing. Just a thought.

01-11-2010, 08:24 PM	#2
sterling Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 118	Great idea on keeping the kayak stable so your kids will feel more comfortable. What will you do if you hook a large fish with those in the water. I can just imagine the line wrapping and loosing the fish.

01-11-2010, 09:47 PM	#3
Ed Fringe Head Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Drippin Chicken Water Ranch Posts: 140	Nicely rigged kayak. I like the creative modification, it looks clean. Utah Lake should be open water by March.

01-12-2010, 04:03 AM	#4
senojmj Paddle, Fish, Repeat Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 26	Generally when I take my kids, I have my oldest sit up front and drop a line behind us while I troll. That was one of the reasons for having an bow and stern position, with that said losing a fish is a possibility. It is more of a possibility of not catching any fish as my kids like to cast and reel in as fast as they can, but we are working on that Thanks for the input!

01-12-2010, 01:30 PM	#5
Fiskadoro ....... Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,509	Nice inovation with the larger tubes. A few comments: They are about twice as long as the need to be. The reason outriggers are long on outrigger canoes is one outrigger works both sides keeping it from rolling one way do to floatation but keeping it from rolling the other way because of it's weight, and a lever effect. You want the shorter pole as the poles will come out of the water faster do to the angle if the are shorter and you then have less drag. Your fishing essentially a trimaran, so you have flotation on both sides and they can be much shorter with your setup then they could be with a single. For the same reason it's good to use the scotty in the high position as it improves the angle of the pole in reference to the water and once again reduces drag. I'd make a few other changes as well. I would carve out the blunt fat end of the floats so they will slip over the T and then notch them so that you can slide them together tight and butt the two big ends together flush. That will make the float into one clean unit, with no open space between the floats to catch water and increase drag. I would also take the black main tubes heat them up with a heat gun and put a curve in them. That way they can come out of the top of the float be out of the water and will act more like a traditional ourigger from an outrigger canoe. Nice stuff. Well thought out, well done. Jim

01-12-2010, 05:06 PM	#7
senojmj Paddle, Fish, Repeat Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 26	That is good to know. I always wondered how outrigger canoes worked and didn't tip on the side without the outrigger. I haven't tried using a heat gun on pvc. Can you just bend it once heated? Any ideas how to get both poles to have the curvature? I think I will have to practice a bit. Thanks for the feedback!

02-04-2011, 06:57 AM	#12
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,121	I have some experience with using the various ells that are available for ABS pipes to make curves. You can see the results in the ajustbable rod holder shown in the photos below. Pieces.jpg Outboard-close.jpg If I were building something like this, I would position a 90 degree ell close to the scotty rod holder and build off of that. This would start the curve process and reduce the center of gravity. From there you could use some of the other angle ells to position the pontoons where you want them to be. Heating the PVC to make it curve is another option but in my experience getting the pipe hot enough to work with, is a bit of an art. It is really easy to overheat the pipe and cause it to start to bubble. I also suspect that PVC which has been heated and cooled a couple of times becomes more brittle than unheated material. Once you get the design down, consider mounting one pontoon on the stern and the other at the bow. It might look lame but I bet you would get maximum stability out of that setup. Bob