Ocean kayak rigging questions

[camelbird]

And the search begins, any help is much appreciated


- Which rod holders are you guys using for your mod pods and which fit better, cannon or scottys? Still looking for a local NOVA retailer that sells them

- What size ocean kayak scupper plugs go under the seat, medium or small? The guys at REI didn't know and they didnt have small

- Do any of you guys use Werner Paddles? Worth the cost?

- Any kayak cart recommendations in the 90-100 range? Thinking about seattle sports turbo mite (green one that folds up nicely)


Thanks again!

Justin

[MetroMan]

I use the medium scuppser plugs in my Torque. I'm not sure which one you have, but here is a chart that should get you squared away: http://www.oceankayak.com/uploadedFi...2012%20(2).pdf

Mytmouse upgraded to a Werner Paddle, and he says it the best investment he's made to date. I'll let him chime in on that.

Mytmouse, Foursteps24, and myself all use C-TUG kayak carts. We all got them from eBay, below MSRP. It gets the job done for the most part, and breaks down to fit in the bow hatch pretty easily. There were issues with the valves on the inner tubes failing, resulting in flat tires. But the inner tube is easily replacable with a standard wagon inner tube from Harbor Freight for $3 should it fail. They also have hard replacement wheels, which eliminate the problem all together, and are designed to work better in soft sand.

There are many innovative DIY kayak carts that are made from PVC & pool noodle on here as well.

[camelbird]

I use the medium scuppser plugs in my Torque. I'm not sure which one you have, but here is a chart that should get you squared away: http://www.oceankayak.com/uploadedFi...2012%20(2).pdf

Mytmouse upgraded to a Werner Paddle, and he says it the best investment he's made to date. I'll let him chime in on that.

Mytmouse, Foursteps24, and myself all use C-TUG kayak carts. We all got them from eBay, below MSRP. It gets the job done for the most part, and breaks down to fit in the bow hatch pretty easily. There were issues with the valves on the inner tubes failing, resulting in flat tires. But the inner tube is easily replacable with a standard wagon inner tube from Harbor Freight for $3 should it fail. They also have hard replacement wheels, which eliminate the problem all together, and are designed to work better in soft sand.

There are many innovative DIY kayak carts that are made from PVC & pool noodle on here as well.

Awesome, thanks for the chart! I think I'll drop the extra coin on a decent paddle and get a camano.

And I'll check out the ctugs

I appreciate it

Justin

[yakkinfish18]

I use a scotty rod holder its the smaller one. It doesnt fit as good as the cannon does but i like it better. I would get the extension for it. As for the scuppers for the ok trident 13 is 2 yellows n 4 blue. In the ok brand. Yellow in the front n blue under seat n back

[mytmouse]

Camano is the way to go!!! That's what I got and oh boy is it nice! Worth every penny, and to make it even better you can use Austin Kayak's coupon codes on them!! Well at least you could when I got mine, saved a nice bit of change on it. When I got that paddle it changed my whole view on paddling!!

They actually sell the c-tug carts now with the sand wheels(hard plastic), if you can find one of those for a good price jump on it! The rubber wheels aren't the best in the sand AND you don't have to worry about the inflation of them.

I don't have a rod pod on my yak, but I am partial to Scotty. No real reason why, that's just the brand that I started with. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

MYT

[camelbird]

Yakkinfish - Thanks for the heads up, seems that the same company that owns the mod pod manufacturing also owns cannon.. makes sense

mytmouse - I'm sold, thanks man

[Knot Working]

camelbird -

in case you need any reassurance, werner carbon paddles are awesome. I got one with my tarpon off of craigslist, the seller was leaving kayaking entirely and didn't care much about the paddle. It's a little more high-angle oriented than I would have chosen (camano is probably the better choice for long paddles in relatively calm water) but I can comfortably paddle much much longer than I could with a cheap aluminum/plastic paddle. The difference should pay for itself in fishing time and soreness pretty quickly.

I was able to get a c-tug from Potomac Paddlesports at a discount because it was used. I haven't used it yet except at their shop, but it seems pretty nice. Very sturdy, easy to assemble and break down, and able to fit a variety of kayak or likely canoe hulls. It's the cart they use for carrying sea kayaks and sit-on-tops for classes and such, so they have lots of man-hours logged using them and recommended them highly. A pretty penny brand new, but I'd recommend it too if you can find one on sale. Quality wheels are expensive to purchase for a DIY cart if you haven't squirreled some away from another project.

[Sun]

I also own werner camanos and love them. Before them I used some carlile magic paddles that the previous owner sold to me along with the kayak. They were heavy, and I would be exhausted after a fishing trip. With these camanos, I am not as exhausted or sore. Part of it probably also has to do with improved paddling technique...Werner's site gives some tips on paddling with your core instead of your arm for reducing fatigue. I'm sure there are also some other brands and models that work just as nicely. I bought my paddle from REI with their spring coupon last year - REI is nice because you get a lifetime warranty on anything you buy from them.

For scupper plugs, I went cheapo and got some practice foam golf balls and plugged my OK Prowler 13's scuppers with them. I've lost 1 around the seat since I've put them in, but the others have stayed put for over a year now (After looking at that chart that Metroman linked, it makes sense that one of the ones around the seat have fallen out - they are bigger than the ones by my feet). Anyway, I threaded some rope in the middle to be able to pull them out of the holes to drain if I take on too much water. They work so well that I got another set of foam golf balls for my other kayak.

The whole process of rigging a new kayak is a lot of fun. Enjoy!

[camelbird]

Fantastic, thanks guys, I appreciate the input!

I think its safe to say I'm sold on the camano paddles.

Sun - Innovative use of the golf balls, definitely cool

Thanks again

Justin

[J.A. Veil]

For scupper plugs, I went cheapo and got some practice foam golf balls and plugged my OK Prowler 13's scuppers with them. I've lost 1 around the seat since I've put them in, but the others have stayed put for over a year now (After looking at that chart that Metroman linked, it makes sense that one of the ones around the seat have fallen out - they are bigger than the ones by my feet). !

I bought black rubber stoppers from the hardware aisle in Home Depot (usually in one of the pull-out drawers) to plug the scuppers in my Manta Ray. When I got the Mini-X, I found some white rubber cane tips in the basement that I had bought years ago for some other purpose. They fit the scupper perfectly. I also once used a round styrofoam bobber to block a scupper in my rear well area when I lost a regular plug. Be creative -- there is not much pressure on the plugs -- they need to have enough friction to keep from sliding out.

[retroyellow]

As far as carts go, I personally wouldn't recommend any that require the use of straps. I found it to be such a PITA because it was more cumbersome to use for a number of reasons. The simplicity and ease of use that you get in a cart that plugs in your scuppers is the way to go, IMHO. The Hobie-branded carts are pricey, so I opted to get this one for $80 shipped when ACK provided a 20% off coupon: Seattle Sports Scupper Swift Kayak Cart. Check it out.