let the pimping begin

[Gozz]

Nice work Cheater
How are you finding paddling this vs the kingy
What sort of cruising speed are you up to now
Oh and how's the new sounder

first thing I noticed was the bow seamed to slap a bit going head on into waves that the kingies dont do at all , the kingies bow dives into the wave
the slaping in not like an outfit though and it doesn't seam to slow you down

The weather ( wind ) on the W/E made it hard to work out normal crusing speed but heading into an 8 - 10 kt head wind the GPS was showing 6 - 6.5 kph and I wasn't working hard
I did notice 8.4 kph at one stage but I'm guessing a 7 kph would be a sustainable speed with out any problem -- it is quite a bit quicker than the kingy and as you know that wasn't slow

The sounder has flatten my battery twice in 2 days but its a 4 year old 8.6 ah and probably past it best ( like me )
so I'll be investing in a 15 or 18 ah
the sounder itself with take a little learning -- I had a problem with the Nav maps I only had a full green screen even though the GPS was working
I droped into the boat shop here in Cranbourne where I bought it
Guess what I had it set on 5 meter so there where no channels near me -- when they turned the screen on in the shop and adjusted it to 500 meters then I could see a map of JJ with my tracks on it
some thing simple but an ajustment I hadn't thought of

Good report cheater.
I have a elite 5 and I get about 5 trips out of it before I recharge on a 7.2amp battery.
Not sure if the hdi use more power then the standard units.

[cheaterparts]

Good report cheater.
I have a elite 5 and I get about 5 trips out of it before I recharge on a 7.2amp battery.
Not sure if the hdi use more power then the standard units.

going by the book the hdi draws 1.1 amp and both days on the water were at least 8 hours -- 8 x 1.1 = 8.8
and the unit switchs it self off probably around 10 volts - more than likely around 5.5 - 6 hours

so and upgrade of battery is a no brainer realy - of cause I will have a nav light that needs some juice as well in low light that draws another 0.8 amp

[laneends]

I turn my sounder off when at anchor, as its not really doing anything and I also do 8+ hour days, and its a pain if you do flatten it. I used to underestimate how long it needs to be on charger to fully charge it, so it was only part charged a lot of the time. I leave it 24 hours on a 3amp car charger rather than just overnight. seems to make a difference

[cheaterparts]

with the limiled space inside the front hatch I decided to go with a couple of 7.2 Ah batteries - they will fit through the 4 inch screw hatch just behind the seat
it seams that O/Kayaks had that in mind

So 2 x 7.2 = 14.4 ah so I'll see how that goes and maybe make provistions for a 3rd battery for long nights with the nav light

I've been making up a trolley to cart the thing down the beach this morning its almost finished

[Gozz]

Cant believe I opened my mouth about how many trips I get from one battery and it stuffed up today.
I charged it after last trip and I took it out today for a fish, I noticed it was on about 11.5v but usually it's 12,8 after a fresh charge.
After about 5hrs I looked at the sounder and it said 6.4v then it switched of a min later.
I'm not a 100% sure it's the battery though cause when I plug the charger in(hobie charger) it goes straight to green light which means charged.
So I'm thinking it might be the charger.
I'll plug the battery into my smart charger and see what happens.

[cheaterparts]

after seeing this I've hacked another hole for a battery hatch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHiOxoIYu7Y



the new screw hatch fits I will fit my new battery mount in the hull before screwing and sealing the hanch into the new hole



this hatch will be much easier to fit batteries than the hatch behind the seat , it also gives me an inspection hatch to inside to hull
where if it ever needed a bailing pump I have access

[Gozz]

What a top idea.
OK should make that a factory fitted inclusion.

Kayak's looking pretty smick mate keep up the good work.

[cheaterparts]

I grabed a couple of star ports and put them on top of the ice box - into one I have changed my nav light to fit



just have to connect up some wiring and the yak will have light