NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Kayak Fishing => Drillin' & Cuttin' => Topic started by: fishman on January 27, 2022, 09:45:46 AM
-
On my Hobie Revo 13, the round hatch area in front of the seat needs a way to contain fly boxes etc. The things I put in there slide all over the place to the front and the back of the kayak. I need to maximize the space for all my things I need to easily access while fishing.
I started thinking about foam blocks shaped to the interior hull front and back to keep things reachable. I wish Hobie had changed that mid hatch to a larger square hatch. Any other ideas from you folks?
-
Three suggestions:
1. Get a big-diameter pool noodle and jam half of it under your seat, which will keep gear from sliding way way back under the rear cargo area. Jam the other half of it generally under your calves, which will keep gear from sliding forward into the front hatch area.
2. Even after you add the pool noodles, an item of gear such as a bilge pump can slide forward or backward and be real hard to reach when you're sitting in your kayak seat. You may have to lie on your stomach on one of the gunwales with your feet in the water in order to grope around and grab the elusive gear. To hold the gear at a point where it's easy to reach when you're sitting in your kayak seat, tie a couple of loops in a length of cord, tie the cord between the front and back scupper tubes, and clip the gear to the loops.
3. Get a dry bag which is small enough in diameter to fit through the hatch. and keep your lunch, suntan lotion, and other items of loose gear in the dry bag. I have a couple of small side-loading dry duffle bags which I use for this purpose. They protect my gear from any water which may be inside my kayak, even though I don't seal them, and I can leave them inside the hull and take gear in and out of them.
-
Thank you, All of these are great ideas. I was initially thinking of some closed cell foam walls closing off the compartment but did not know where to find it. That pool noodle idea makes the most sense for me.
-
Thank you, All of these are great ideas. I was initially thinking of some closed cell foam walls closing off the compartment but did not know where to find it. That pool noodle idea makes the most sense for me.
NRS has minicell foam that you could shape to size. If you have a whitewater kayak store near to where you live, they might carry the same product.
https://www.nrs.com/search/?q=foam
-
Thank you, but I think that foam is super firm and I could not get it through the hatch hole.
Maybe I could do it in pieces and glue it together in the yak.
-
One of my favorite plastic kayak hacks is to use foam as suggested above, and hold it in place with hot-melt glue. If you're not familiar, you can get a cheap hot-melt glue gun in the craft section of most stores. In my experience, it sticks to the foam well by slightly melting it, and sticks to the kayak just well enough to provide a reasonable but removable bond. I haven't had it leave a mark when removing it. Sometimes it doesn't stick well enough, though. In these cases, try prepping the area with rubbing alcohol to remove oils.
-
Thank you for these ideas!
-
I agree with pmmpete on the pool noodles. I have oodles of noodles wedged into my yaks to provide additional deck support, floatation, and as an aid to keep gear from disappearing into the hull (the large diameter ones work the best). Dry bags are great also. I picked up some decorative plastic storage boxes from Target which I can put gear into and slide to the side of the hatch. You might have to cut down their height to fit. I also have a tether on my bilge pump so it does not get lost.
-
Thank You.
-
All my excess transducer cable is coiled up right there so I clip water bottles/bilge pump/dry bag with lunch to that with Scotty Clips. One of these days I'll probably glue some pad eyes under there and run a couple loops of tuna cord to clip junk to. I haven't once used the hobie hatch bucket that is supposed to fit in there.