Going kayak fishing. Wanting to ‘rig’ my kayak cheaply and functionally. So, what would be a good starter-set of items to target? I’m shooting for a diy bilge pump, adding a 6-in hatch (to store/use bilge pump), a milk-crate setup to carry my stuff, some weedeater string leashes, a seat cushion, maybe a ‘rocket launcher’ for my rods, net, umbrella?, etc while paddling, and an anchor trolley. There are also some bungees to repair, and an anchor to obtain.

This is what I am starting with

a hand-me-down from Jeff when he went to his new kayak:

The seat is from an older kayak, long gone. You can see the 8-inch flat spot for the 6-inch hatch. I think I’ll go with a screw-in lid instead of the hinged lid to keep from bumping into further enhancements down the road:

Missing is the paddle bungee:

Missing is the rear cargo bungee and 2 j-hooks. I am looking to fabricate a rocket-launcher to fit in the existing 2 rear rod holes, then rig-up a crate on pvc to knotch into the 2 scupper holes in the rear. I’ll replace the missing j-hooks, and add bungee to work with the setup.

There have been modifications to the rear hull to repair a hole. We’ll see how long this lasts:

Seat cushion!

With the help of some scissors, I cut a butt-print out of one of those standing pads and inserted it under the seat. Notice there are no scupper holes, so this is sure to become a wet spot. Will see about raising in a future enhancement.

Milk Crate!

After some eye-balled measurements, assembled this small pvc frame and attached to bottom of milkcrate. The pvc lifts the crate high enough to clear the little ‘webs’ in the back, and settles into the rear scupper holes to prevent sliding. Might notch the pvc scupper hole feet if they tend to trap water. Bungees ought to hold this whole setup down just fine:

Rocket Launcher!

Main purpose is for rod/gear storage while navigating around. 1 1/4″ pvc fit into my existing rod holes after a small bit of sanding. Might eventually put a slit or two in the pvc if they end up not holding so well.

The cross piece is not intended to be glued to the inserts, unless you are making this a permanent setup. I might eventually replace the Ts on the ends with 4-ways, to permit adding on either trolling holders or outrigger later. The large 4-way pvc (2″) is to hold my bait casting rod (the one with the trigger hold on the bottom). A 2″ pipe holds the rod very well. The 4-way connector opening is bigger than the inside of a 2″ pipe, so the rod is a little loose in this setup.

Leashes!

Gear used to make a leash (thing sitting on spool of weedeater line).

The process is to wrap the line tightly around something, put it in boild water for about 10 minutes, move it to cold water or the freezer for another 10 minutes, reverse the coil, and create the loops at the ends to attach to biners.

Quick Checkout:

Here is what it looks like dry-fitted with the above changes:

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