The Yellow Peril

[Rollie]

After having the Outback for a year and got a feel for things I decided it was time to finally do some mods.

Front Hatch
Divider in forward hatch to stop stuff sliding back made from the bottom of a tray that nurseries use for plants. Zip tied to the mast post. The plastic trellis at the bottom was added for two reasons. Firstly the divider didn’t go all the way to either side and some smaller stuff would slip past. Secondly any water that does get in is below it and stuff isn’t sitting in it

Middle Hatch
A basket made from plastic trellis for the middle hatch again to stop stuff sliding about. I can through in small plastic tackle boxes of lures, mobile phone (in dry bag), camera etc and know that I can reach them easily.

Forward Rod Holders
I was going to put some Scottie Rod Holder and was saving some money for them when one of my daughters gave me these rod holders for my birthday last year. She had seen some photos I had of the Scotty Rod Holders and when she saw these in a local tackle shop she thought they were the ones and bought. I didn’t have the heart to tell her they were a cheap imitation and probably won’t last the distance. They sat in the garage for 3 months as I didn’t want to drill holes in the Outback in case I have to replace them at a later date and the Scottie’s don’t fit the same holes. I came up with this idea to please her and it has worked quiet well. A length of PVC and two 90 degree joints are all I needed. I heated each side with a heat gun, inserted them in the built in rod holders and bent them to shape. As long as the drag on the reels is set right there is no strain on the PVC.

Fishfinder
With the money I save not having to buy the rod holders I purchased a Eagle Cuda 300 but I am still adverse to drilling holes in the Outback so after viewing a number of installations on various kayaking forums I came up with this.

The base of the unit is made from a 90mm wide high density foam plug that Bunnings sell for plugging down pipes. The cup holder on the Outback is 80mm wide. I cut two plastic discs out of a sheet of plastic I had laying around to stop the 3 stainless screws from pulling out of the foam.

The transducer arm is made from a flat piece of aluminum. I stuck a piece of thin neoprene to the underside of the arm to protect the hull from any rubbing.

The whole thing fits nice and snug in the left hand cup holder.

At the moment the 12v battery sits in the Hobie dry bag behind the seat but I can also shift it forward and place it in the front hatch if I want.

The Yellow Peril

[maverick]

Nice work Rollie, appreciate the fear of drilling holes into a Yak.

[Kingo]

those trays in the hatches are an awesome idea mate im currently experimenting trying to find what works and what doesnt.... my current setup..doesnt. i think ill be doing what yove done

[bilby]

THats a great idea mate, very clever indead, those rod holders look alright, even if you do break one, its not the end of the world to replace them.
Very neat well thought out yak.
Bilby.

[Babylon]

She sure has come up looking good well done.
I do like the trellis idea i can see that copied. Cheers Jim

[2rsea]

The trellis idea is a brilliant one, I used it in my kingy after seeing someone fit it on "that other forum". Hadn't gotten around to fitting some into the adventure before its maiden voyage & sure enough everything I stuck down the centre hatch p****d off up each end of the boat where I couldn't get it!

[FISHPEDDLER]

Thanks for the trellis idea. I've had the unpleasant experience of losing a fish in the body of the yak and not realising until it stunk to high heaven. I'll definately be copying this idea for mu Outback. Cheers Paul

[azzo]

nice work there Mate