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Favourite Boat Mods / Hacks


Hweebe

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Post your favourite boat mods or hacks that make your time on the water easier.

Could be anything from a $2 hack to expensive aftermarket additions.

Looking for ideas and tweaks In the boat for those windy rainy days and boat maintenance haha haha.

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8 minutes ago, ellicat said:

Velcro. In the past before I had a bait board I used velcro to attach a cutting board to the top of the esky. Also can use it to stop your esky sliding around on the carpet, but on the con side it is harder to slide out of the way.

 

 

 

What about making a small tweak and only velcroing one bottom edge of the esky, should be enough to stop sliding but if you need to move it you only need to angle the velcro edge up and you will still be able to slide the esky around?

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Hey Hweebe

While I'm not a boaty, I'll be interested to hear everyone's response. Some of the ones I have seen so face look great. 

When I am out yakking in the night, my light is a lantern attached on to a piece of circular wood (not sure the name) about 5 centimetres thick and 1.2-5M high. Here are some pics (not on the yak as that is stored away under the house on a shelf, pain to get out) - 

IMG_0143.jpg.ea6bccedd32b306b1adf5e476efb25eb.jpg

IMG_0144.jpg.06ed9d8fd8a211d3893b67f71108f602.jpg

Since I just grabbed some old scrap ply, it is not exact. But you can see the idea. Once you tape it it can also sit vertically. I'm assuming this will be useless to you though, because as a boat owner you'd probably have a light system. 

My next yak hack (adapatablefor a boat too) is very simple, and also quite obvious. A towel to sit on and wipe of mud, water, and other things, like sand, off your legs/body is nice so you don't freeze, and so you don't dirty your boat too much with mud. 

Hope these help, even though they aren't for boaties in particular. 🙂 

Cheers Hamish

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Hi Nog

We have a sounder for ou yak but do it a bit differently (I think 😉). 

We have fashioned a wooden bracket for the sounder mount. This is so we can stare at the sounder. It can be taken on and off, making it a bit easier. Here it is - 

IMG_0147.jpg.37d6639274616b6fdf00a613d9387573.jpg

IMG_0146.jpg.efe17f456a9335b2fa8634f7837bbd07.jpg

IMG_0145.jpg.03cfae25554c73039ad8905127c29e2d.jpg

As you can see, it is basically a wooden "T", with the sounder mount screwed in. The sounder can mount to the sounder mount, and the mount on the bottom is to mount into a rod holder on the yak. We are still working on getting the end thingy (not sure the name) on the sounder which goes into the water put on the kayak. 

Cheers Hamish 🙂 

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Hey mate. Simple one if you are doing any night trips - lights. Many of the lights. When you think you have enough add one more just to be sure. Also replace any old incandescent bulbs with LED’s if possible.

One for me was a safety gear “grab bag”. Stored flares, a torch, v sheet, portable radio etc in a watertight bag that if stuff hit the fan you could grab it and go. Also made inspections by fisheries/coppers simple - one bag had it all. 👍

other than that I think most people have covered off the main bits - smart storage solutions, everything having its place etc etc. 

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Thanks Everyone,

Storage and having a spot for everything seems to be a bit of the theme.

Always seems to happen when you need the pliers / rag / ruler / knife / scissors you can't find one so I'm trying to get into the habit of setting things in a specific place/spot.

Must be because the Deckie (me) is doing a bad job of randomly placing things.

My anchor chain sock is getting a bit ratty (sometimes it doesn't lay right and rubs against the winch drum fraying the sock) so I'll have to replace soon.

15 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Rod holders are very handy

Yes to rod holders - never seem to have enough. I need a couple rod holders to angle some rods out the side for  when i get greedy and try to run 4 lines out the back.

 

 

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On 10/06/2020 at 2:48 PM, ellicat said:

It's called a transducer.

Hey ellicat

Thanks for that, now I can start using the proper term instead of the term 'thingy' 😉 

On 10/06/2020 at 5:32 PM, GregOug said:

I found these storage bags which are great for storing all those lure boxes, handlines and everything else you don’t want lying around the deck. Very tough and you can mark each one with what is inside.

Hi GregOug

Thanks for that, they look like they would be good for the yak! 🙂 

Cheers Hamish

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  • 1 month later...

My stern all around light used to be mounted on a pedestal at the stern of the boat, just above the gunnel height. Had to replace it every few years as I was knocking it off with my questionable netting skills. This year I mounted a stern light on the top of my engine cowl. Now I did have to drill a hole in the cowl, so it isn't for everyone. I used a light similar to this, but changed the 12 volt bulb to 24volt as I felt the 12volt was too bright.  https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Horse-Lights-Navigation-Splashproof/dp/B07FC8V6KJ/ref=sr_1_132?crid=9853J7UYOAVH&dchild=1&keywords=stern+lights+for+boats&qid=1594666205&sprefix=stern+light%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-132

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We do a lot of trolling for salmon here, and a lot of people use cruiser type boats with a cuddy cabin and steering up forward. Two years ago we installed a rear mounted steering control so that he could stand at the rear of the boat and steer his kicker while still being able to see where he is going and watch his downriggers at the same time. His kicker is tied into his main for steering.

steering at rear.jpeg

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5 hours ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hey gungadin

It's pretty cool you're in Canada. The salmon fishing there must be great fun. Just another specie I need to tick off my bucket list... 😉

Cheers Hamish 

 

Yes it is true, salmon fishing can be very enjoyable but not the same as it used to be unfortunately. Hamish. When I was much younger, I would launch the boat at 0400-0530 and be home with  my limit of salmon by 0700, just in time to cook up a lovely cohoe for my wifes breakfast.  Now it is almost all catch and release for most of the season.. Our stocks have been devastated by climate change, loss of herring. drift net fishing, open pen fish farms and poaching among many other things. We have come to the point of no longer allowing fishing  in some areas to protect the food chain for  killer . whales. . What is good though is the return of humpback whales to our area.  

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