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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: DIY Gear Track - Build  (Read 6923 times)

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PetitPoisson

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Victoria, BC
  • Date Registered: Aug 2017
  • Posts: 105
Great job on using a DIY approach.


There really shouldn't be any reason to have the aluminum threaded.

Thanks INSAYN.  Yeah, tapping the Aluminium was a mistake.  I needed to go back and drill out 28 tapped holes  ::).
Hobie Oasis (Le Phoque)
Hobie Adventure Fish (yet to be named)


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
There are some places on some kayaks where the inside of the kayak's gunwale is flat enough, and the thickness of the hull is consistent enough, to use a threaded backer bar. An example is when mounting a section of gear track on the bottom of one of the trays on the gunwale of an Outback, where there is a large flat area inside the gunwale.  However, in many kayaks the inside of the gunwale is curved enough, and the thickness of the hull varies enough, that if you use a threaded backer bar, the bar is likely to end up contacting the hull only in the right front corner and left rear corner, or something similar.  In these situations, I prefer to use stainless steel fender washers and nylock nuts to attach gear tracks and other gear, because each fender washer can lie at a different angle.  I bend the fender washers to fit the curvature of the inside of the gunwale.

But in some kayaks, the inside of the gunwale is so curved that fender washers will lie at a significant angle to their bolts, and nuts will only hit them on one side.  An example is the inside of the gunwale of a Revolution, which is quite narrow and curved.  In these situations, a good solution is to mount gear tracks from the outside with screws, which is quick and easy, and doesn't require a lot of contortion and finangling to thread and tighten nuts inside the gunwale.  I have mounted wide (1.75") Yak Attack gear tracks on the gunwales of my Revolution, and have used them for years with no problems whatsoever.

But the best solution is to pressure kayak manufacturers to mold gear tracks into the gunwales of their kayaks as original equipment.  I'm talking to you, Hobie!  Hobie finally included gear tracks as standard equipment in its Compass kayak.  Now it needs to add them to the Revolution and the Outback.


PetitPoisson

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Victoria, BC
  • Date Registered: Aug 2017
  • Posts: 105
Pmmpete, lots of good information there for others that may have the style of boats you mention.

Hopefully Hobie does start adding tracks to the rest of their line.  There's many uses for them other than just fishing components.   There's still an awful lot of boats out there without tracks (Not just Hobie).  The reason I wanted to post my DIY is so that others can see how I did it (I'm sure there's many ways to accomplish it).  Hopefully it's enough to give someone the courage to try this.  If you've already got a few tools...  I'm only into 4 feet of track for under $40 Canadian and a few hours of my time.

I thought about doing the backing with aluminium bar stock.  I was concerned that it might be too rigid to form to the inside.  I was thinking the general curvature of the kayak would be the issue.  It hadn't even occurred to me that the kayak would be as uneven inside as it is.  Now that I know what I do... I'm really glad I chose to go with the UMHW for the backing.  It seems well suited for this task as it flexible (somewhat) and appears to have made a very good seal along the entire length of the track.

People do need to pay attention.  UMHW is quite hard but it is still plastic...  using a power screw driver to tighten this down would probably strip out the threads.
Hobie Oasis (Le Phoque)
Hobie Adventure Fish (yet to be named)


craig

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Tualatin, OR
  • Date Registered: Jul 2008
  • Posts: 3814
I too have sought a cheaper solution than GearTrac. The GT90 looks suspiciously like sail track.  My choice was -- coincidentally -- sail track made to mount on masts for hoisting and lowering sails. It is designed for high loads and is pre-drilled for rivets or #6 screws.

 $35 for 8 feet. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/rigging/sailtrackbb/index.htm


craig

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Tualatin, OR
  • Date Registered: Jul 2008
  • Posts: 3814
Of course there are no screws supplied so that may be where the extra expense of Geartrac is found. ::)


Shin09

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Portland
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 549
I too have sought a cheaper solution than GearTrac. The GT90 looks suspiciously like sail track.  My choice was -- coincidentally -- sail track made to mount on masts for hoisting and lowering sails. It is designed for high loads and is pre-drilled for rivets or #6 screws.

 $35 for 8 feet. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/rigging/sailtrackbb/index.htm


How did that workout with the curved back?


craig

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Tualatin, OR
  • Date Registered: Jul 2008
  • Posts: 3814
The GT90 and GT175 by Yakattack also have curved backs.  see below


This puts the edges in contact with the hull because most surfaces on the kayak are slightly curved. I have yet to install any.  I have been too busy fishing and doing yard work.  I also may use it on my CNC router table for clamping work pieces. It seems more economical than any t-track I have found.    I also will be using it on the mast for my sailing rig I am building for my cedar strip canoe and kayaks. http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/wooden-sailboat-kits/clc-sailrig-kayak-canoe-sailing-rig.html


PetitPoisson

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Victoria, BC
  • Date Registered: Aug 2017
  • Posts: 105
I too have sought a cheaper solution than GearTrac. The GT90 looks suspiciously like sail track.  My choice was -- coincidentally -- sail track made to mount on masts for hoisting and lowering sails. It is designed for high loads and is pre-drilled for rivets or #6 screws.

 $35 for 8 feet. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/rigging/sailtrackbb/index.htm

Looks like it should work!

2 things you may want to consider before you pop a bunch of little holes in your kayak.

1: YakAttack drills holes every 1-3/4".  I don't know why they do this, but they do.  Manufacturers typically try to get by with as little cost as they possibly can...  That sail track looks to have a slightly farther spacing.  It's easy enough to add a few more mounting holes if you need to.

2: I like the curved base on the sail track better than the track I used from LeeValley.  The contact points for the sail track appear to be pretty narrow.  The YakAttack contact points are at the widest part of the track.

If you do make some DIY gear tracks with the sail track.  Please post your build so others can see and learn from it.  Feel free to hijack this thread so it keeps it all together.
Hobie Oasis (Le Phoque)
Hobie Adventure Fish (yet to be named)


Wilfite

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Fish'n's good, Catch'n's better.
  • Location: Columbia City, OR
  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
  • Posts: 119
Being familiar with product design, I doubt there is any black magic in the 1 3/4" spacing.  Probably it is the default spacing from the track mfg that supplies the track.  There ARE good reasons for various spacings based on the rated load of the rail, area of the mating surface and tear-out specs of the material but usually an OEM just asks the application engineer at the track company what spacing they should use and they go with the recommendation.  It's not worth it usually for an OEM to spend the extra dollars on R&D to determine things like track bolt spacing when they can push off those costs to their supplier. 

I like the curved bottom of the sail-track better because it gives a space for sealant to live.  Most folks torque down flat bottom parts too much and squeeze out too much sealant.  If you get track from non-marine intended sources it usually won't have this curve.

This might be a good application to use Butyl tape as a sealant.  It starts out thick so it can accommodate a certain amount of hull curvature, it is compressive rather than adhesive so seems like it would get around the "doesn't stick to PE" problem.  I'd recommend roughing up the contact area with a bit of sandpaper to give a better mechanical bite. After the part is bolted down, any excess sealant squeezes out and is easily cleaned up without making a mess on the boat.  I've used it lots of time on other boats and plan on using it on my yak when I get to installing inspection ports and flush deck rod holders.  Has anyone else tried it out on a yak?

« Last Edit: November 02, 2017, 01:00:00 PM by Wilfite »
-Tony

Wilderness Systems Thresher 15.5 (Yellow)
Old Town Predator MK, (Lime Green Camo)


 

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