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Earlier today I posted about how I had modified the flush mount rod holders on my Native Falcon 11. I used Scotty gimbal mount adapters. They worked well. The kit comes with two rubber washers/spacers. I used one near the bottom of the adapter to keep it from rattling side-to-side. That worked well, but I found that the top of the adapter tended to rattle a bit. This afternoon I slid a second spacer on two-thirds of the way to the top. Testing it in my yard suggests it will improve the fit even more.
2021-04-11-006.jpg
I was not happy with the standard gear track positions in the cockpit area, as they did not run far enough forward to avoid banging the rod holder with my paddle. I decided to add new sections of gear track, something that you can do on most kayak models. This afternoon, I took two 4” pieces of Native gear track that I had in the basement and installed them in front of the existing gear track. Any time I drill holes in the hull, I try to measure and test the position for both rod butt angle and paddling interference several times before actually drilling. These short sections of track required two holes, and stainless steel bolts, rubberized washers, and locking nuts. The front hatch allowed me to get a wrench under the gunwale to tighten the nuts.
2021-04-11-001.jpg 2021-04-11-002.jpg
After bolting the gear tracks in place, I used a pair of Native track slugs in two of the holes on a standard Scotty rod holder base. I then slid the track slugs into the new gear track and tightened the bolts. I now have firmly mounted rod holders on either side in front of me.
2021-04-11-003.jpg 2021-04-11-005.jpg
Those two rod holders and the ones behind my seat allow me to adjust both the side-to-side angle and the vertical angle. Both of these are important for the way I troll with light tackle.
I like the way the four solid rod holders look on the Falcon 11.
2021-04-11-004.jpg 2021-04-11-009.jpg 2021-04-11-010.jpg
2021-04-11-006.jpg
I was not happy with the standard gear track positions in the cockpit area, as they did not run far enough forward to avoid banging the rod holder with my paddle. I decided to add new sections of gear track, something that you can do on most kayak models. This afternoon, I took two 4” pieces of Native gear track that I had in the basement and installed them in front of the existing gear track. Any time I drill holes in the hull, I try to measure and test the position for both rod butt angle and paddling interference several times before actually drilling. These short sections of track required two holes, and stainless steel bolts, rubberized washers, and locking nuts. The front hatch allowed me to get a wrench under the gunwale to tighten the nuts.
2021-04-11-001.jpg 2021-04-11-002.jpg
After bolting the gear tracks in place, I used a pair of Native track slugs in two of the holes on a standard Scotty rod holder base. I then slid the track slugs into the new gear track and tightened the bolts. I now have firmly mounted rod holders on either side in front of me.
2021-04-11-003.jpg 2021-04-11-005.jpg
Those two rod holders and the ones behind my seat allow me to adjust both the side-to-side angle and the vertical angle. Both of these are important for the way I troll with light tackle.
I like the way the four solid rod holders look on the Falcon 11.
2021-04-11-004.jpg 2021-04-11-009.jpg 2021-04-11-010.jpg
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