The Kayak Rabbit Hole

At 66 years old I retired and decided to upgrade the canoe. The Bass boat has been gone for 35 years and the job boat was before that. It’s time to spend more time on the water and it’s just a kayak.

If I’m going to do this and need that foolish boater’s safety course (it will be a requirement next year) I might as well do it now while I have time. And only $50, what a deal! Thanks again NYS.

I Bought a kayak with an Xi3 with GPS, battery, two seats, two paddles, two pfds and a 60ah lithium battery. Yes, I know wish it was a 100ah, but it was all Greek to me.

What? I need to register a kayak?

And don’t forget your whistle!

Due to old age and some sinus and ear problems I didn’t feel comfortable standing, so I Bought a casting bar. It didn’t really help!

I had an accident and flipped the kayak getting into it one of the first times out. It’s going to be a while before I can look back and laugh!

That reminded me I needed a phone tether. I did verify iPhones are actually water resistant as advertised.

But I need to haul it along with my camper. Man.. These “good” roof rack things are not cheap!

Took it out and thought how cool would it be to be able to get some exercise and peddle? A few conversations with other kayakers convinced me. Bought the pivot drive. I have to admit, I do like the reverse when fishing shore lines. It is more convenient than the remote control for the Xi3, although the spot lock is fantastic.

Now the casting bar and the second seat doesn’t work (the peddles take up the tracks) But where there is a will there is a way. I made some spacers and got it mounted again.

Ordered the buddy seat (dealer was good enough to give it to me), but will only work when the Xi3 is down.

Thought now I need a fish finder. Bought a Garmin Striker 4cv (I do like it)

Now I need a mount. Bought a Scotty, and the sounder mount, wait did you forget the battery?

Needed a few rod holders. Why does a $7.99 rod holder become $28 when you add the word “kayak” to the name?

Naturally the battery needs to be in the back away from the motor, so bought the in hull wiring and connectors.

I’ll be camping most of the time without electricity. How’m I supposed to charge these batteries again? It looks like some additional solar about the size of a football field is all I need.

Partially because of the flip and because of my lack of balance I started looking at stabilizers. Didn’t find any I really liked so I made a set. (Which works better than I ever anticipated)

– boat fenders

– pvc pipe and fittings

– pvc primer and glue

– flag pole brackets

– green spray paint

– hitch pins

– one piece of oak to mount it across and spread the load

– track bolts (again, $0.80 bolt at $3.00 because the work kayak is in the name!

Now out on the water I was always concerned about how much battery I had left, so bought some battery meters

Couldn’t find my bait casting rod, I haven’t used it in a while. So bought a new one. Yep, line on my other poles is pretty old, I probably should replace it. Man I don’t remember fishing line being this expensive. Maybe I used to buy the cheaper crap.

Who wants a kayak with a downrigger? Not me so I made one.

• -find an old trolling rod and reel at an antique shop. Wonderful until the real doesn’t work. I will use my old Mitchel spinning reel until something better comes along.
• – order a line counter off Amazon. Didn’t pay attention so now I’m converting meters to feet. My math needs exercise anyhow. They say it helps fight dementia.
• – order 100 pound braided line (see note above about fishing line cost)
• – found some old smaller steel pipe to fill with lead for weights. Lucky I made those stabilizers.

I tried an egg crate for my tackle. Didn’t like it. Took it out and opted for a soft sided tackle bag. Put the battery behind the seat in a battery case. Figured out the only reasonable place for rod storage (unless you never plane to paddle) is behind the seat. Egg crate goes back in with the battery box and several diy rod holders.

Still didn’t like the crate, so it comes back out.

Now this thing is getting heavy. Loading in my truck is doable in my flat driveway while the yak is on the cart, but on a steep ramp, no cart, and other boaters watching, it was time for something different.

Now I need a trailer.

Found a trailer that just needs a few modifications. Come to think of it, I owned a 13′ trailer. Why didn’t I think of that before. Ordered a boat winch. Of course this is just for day trips. I still need to remove most heavy equipment so it can go on the roof.

Still in the thought process

• Safety Light pole
• Lights
• Flag
• Cooler
• Water shoes
• Rain coat
• Goofy looking hat
• Ketch board
• GoPro maybe??