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[Suther]

I have a old, basic white water kayak. Its about 8' long. Plastic of some sort. I want to make it into a fishing vessel. Preferably, It would be useful for drifting as well as trolling lakes.

My idea is to add a plywood platform infront of the cockpit hole to allow me to stand up, or to put a folding camp chair or something similar on it. I imagine it being held in place with a pair of ratchet straps that go under the kayak to secure it...

My two major concerns are placement/length of pontoons, location of rod-holders.

First, the easier part - Rod holders. I want at least two rod holders, because in a lake by myself I can have two rods out. (In the ocean I can have as many as I want, so more than two holders is not a bad thing) Rod holders will stick down into my leg compartment, so they can't interfere with where my legs have to sit in the kayak. One idea I had was two rod holders stacked in a line, one pointed to either side, so I could troll and paddle at the same time.
                                |                |
                               |        O        |
Something like this : |         O         |                            O = holder
                              | |------------| |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |------------| |
                              | |                 | |


The other idea is to offset them. Like this.

                                 |                |
                               |                   |
                              |     O      O      | 
                              | |------------| |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |                 | |
                              | |------------| |
                              | |                 | |

The other question is about pontoons. Has anyone actually MADE pontoons?
I will be making mine out of pool noodles and Tuck Tape most likely... Cut to the right length, taped together. With enough of this stuff I can make a whole raft, not just pontoons for my kayak, so it'll certainly work, the question is how good will it work...

My two major options are short and fat, or long and skinny...

I was thinking short and fat gives me more stability, but long and skinny gives me a more streamline shape, which would be easier to paddle. The downside to long/skinny is keeping the pontoon straight - if they are short but fat then I only need them attached to the kayak infront of the cockpit, but it I make them longer, they will need an additional support behind the cockpit?
 

The final concern is width - the wider out from the kayak, the more stable it will be, but the more difficult it will be to control. Does anyone know what the ideal width would be to allow paddling while still being a controllable craft? Too skinny and I have no room to paddle, but too wide and Im fighting this beast of a craft around me...

[Sandman]

I am not sure why you need the chair, as you are already sitting in the kayak, but I do like to stand in my canoe when I am fly fishing.  I would not think the out riggers would need to be too long, you may want to consider a pair of small kick boards attached to the poles fixed just behind the cockpit (in front of the cockpit would be easier to deal with but would interfere with the rod holders, etc).  You can even have them hinged to rise up out of the water while you paddle (using a rope and pulley system). I am not sure of the platform for the camp chair, but I have see a vertical rig for standing that can have a fold down seat attached, this is located right behind the cockpit so you just stand up in the cockpit and lean back/sit down on the brace.

[troutbreath]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LfWYbyKYe4

[Sandman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LfWYbyKYe4

There you go, I was thinking about those boat bumpers too.

[TheFishingLad]

Stability will be an issue. I've attempted this with my Canadism tire kayak. Totally doable though. I have 1 Berkeley rod holder to the front right (on top) of my kayak, far enough to the front to not interfere with my paddle. 2 wouldn't be an issue, 3 is to much as it's awkward to reach/look behind you to see how it's doing.

You also need to think about how to store your paddle when playing a fish. I used 2 home coat hooks mounted on the left side for easy placement away from my rod. I also have the same hooks to my right, further back to spool my rope and anchor. Again measured and tested to avoid my paddle stroke.

Trolling is awkward as you get pulled to whatever side your rod is at.

I'll find pics tomorrow hopefully when I'm home

[Suther]

Stability will be an issue. I've attempted this with my Canadism tire kayak. Totally doable though. I have 1 Berkeley rod holder to the front right (on top) of my kayak, far enough to the front to not interfere with my paddle. 2 wouldn't be an issue, 3 is to much as it's awkward to reach/look behind you to see how it's doing.

You also need to think about how to store your paddle when playing a fish. I used 2 home coat hooks mounted on the left side for easy placement away from my rod. I also have the same hooks to my right, further back to spool my rope and anchor. Again measured and tested to avoid my paddle stroke.

Trolling is awkward as you get pulled to whatever side your rod is at.

I'll find pics tomorrow hopefully when I'm home

Awesome! Those boat bumpers are not a bad idea, but I question how much stability they would add.

The boat in question is an old, little plastic boat. Its just a plastic hull with a plastic seat bolted to it, and can't be more than 8 feet long. It is not a sit-on-top style, so not a lot of leg room inside it, and the seat would be awkward to stand directly on, that is why I was thinking about some sort of platform. Im really not sure how much space I would have behind the seat to install anything considering the overall length of the boat, so I think anything I make will have to go on the front, and just use the back for tackle storage or something.

Thanks for that link to Youtube, it brought me to this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWwH-dY4QA

Something like that would be close to what I am after. Am going to have to get out the tape measure and see what can fit where now. Too bad its way too damn cold outside to go digging my kayak out from under the deck right now...

[Suther]

This is another interesting build. I could do something like this, but with two cross beams, and put a platform ontop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbuvYCU5W7w

[troutbreath]

I use the pontoons off one of my pontoon boats on my canoe so that I can stand up and flycast in it without worrying about tipping over. I have a motor on the canoe so paddling is not an issue.

[Suther]

Really nice pontoon design here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39GUDlBnRno

Looks really good, and is super-adjustable, which is a real bonus. The flag pole holders and some old crutches make a wonderful combo.

[troutbreath]

That was interesting. Goes to show ya what great idea's are on the net. Everyone should try to post a helpful piece of info.

[scouterjames]

You also need to think about how to store your paddle when playing a fish. I used 2 home coat hooks mounted on the left side for easy placement away from my rod. I also have the same hooks to my right, further back to spool my rope and anchor. Again measured and tested to avoid my paddle stroke.

I just have a leash for my paddle (really, just a length of rope with loops tied on each end.  Loop the rope through itself on the kayak (around the side of my seat) and take the paddles apart, put them through the other loop, and reconnect.

Then when fishing, just let the paddle float beside the boat on whichever side I'm not fishing on.  Also, never lose the paddle LOL - If trolling (I don't find it much of an issue with light tackle), I can just drop the paddle without looking - again on whichever side I want.  I have paddle clips installed (they were under 10 bucks on ebay - something like this http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1-set-Nylon-Folding-Flat-Paddle-Clips-for-Kayaks-or-Canoes-PK-KPAD-1-/221274942867?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338503ad93#ht_3260wt_642 - but use them more for storage purposes than anything (or sometimes in the odd event a floating paddle gets in the way of something I'm doing).

I find that with the right length of leash, I don't even notice it when paddling and when in the water, it floats right next to the cockpit, so reaching it is never an issue.

[scouterjames]

www.wildernesssystems.com/content/wildernesssystems.com/assets/page/budget_kayak_accesories/Pool%20noodle.JPG

There's a good idea for holding your gear that you plan to use and access quick! 

Also, a lot of good info and ideas here - kayakfishingmagazine.net

[scouterjames]

Last post, promise LOL

Just came across this searching something else - not so much do it yourself stuff, but lots of goodies for paddle fishing (and ideas, too!)

http://www.rammount.com/mwg-internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=owFsqqkRL0

[Suther]

Last post, promise LOL

Just came across this searching something else - not so much do it yourself stuff, but lots of goodies for paddle fishing (and ideas, too!)

http://www.rammount.com/mwg-internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=owFsqqkRL0

Link doesn't work =(

Too bad too - I love goodies!

[skaha]

--For some ideas on where to attach check out Scotty as they have commercial pontoon attachment for kayak also check out the freedomhawk kayak site.
--Scotty make a lot of attachments ow for kayak use.