YakAttack GearTrac GT90 install on Hobie Revolution

I bought the GT90 from Yak Attack, 8", 12", and the associated fullbacks.  The GT90 is the narrow system.  http://www.yakattack.us/Products/Products.html

Purchased:
GT90-08   (8" GearTrac)
GT90-12   (12" GearTrac)
FB-GT90-08   (8" Fullback)
FB-GT90-12   (12" Fullback)

Previously I had installed a horizontal bar system just aft of the mast hole on the Revo.
See: http://www.demonick.com/kayak/HMR/Bar.Mount/HMR.Bar.Mount.html

This worked well but to clear the mirage drive pedals the rod holder and the FF/GPS mount were just a bit too far forward for my 5'8" height. When Yak Attack released their GearTrac GT175 system it was too wide (1.75") for the gunwales on the Revo.  When they released their GT90 system (0.9" wide) I decided to replace the bar.

Running under the gunwales on the Revo are rudder cables. 

The screws supplied by Yak Attack are 3/4" 8x32 hexhead stainless.  Why they decided on hexhead drive rather than phillips I do not know.  Be careful of stripping out the hexdrive.  The Revo could get by with 5/8" long screws which would provide more clearance for the rudder cables.

While the GearTracs are 0.9" wide the FullBacks are only 1/2" wide, aluminum, and not just drilled, but threaded.  This means no washer, no nylock nut, no positive retention, and a potential for stripping.

The 8" fullback has 5 holes and provides 4 square inches of backing down the centerline and extending out only 1/4" from the centerline on each side.  The GT90 GearTrac is 0.9" wide.  That is, the GT90 extends 0.2" beyond the backing.  This reduces their ability to resist side to side torque, and this was of concern to me since I wanted to mount a rod holder for trolling using the 12" trac. 

The 8" fullback has 5 holes and provides 4 square inches of backing.  The 12" fullback has 7 holes and provides 6 square inches of backing.  5, 1" washers provide 3.93 square inches of backing area and 7 such washers provide 5.50 square inches for the 12" trac.  While the washers provide slightly less backing area, because they are essentially as wide as the trac they provide more horizontal backing.  I used washers rather than the Fullbacks.

Be very careful tightening the screws as the tiny hex head drive is prone to stripping.  The full length of the gunwales can be reached through the front hatch.

The installation was trivial. 
- Decide on location.
- Mark and drill one hole for an end screw.
- Secure the trac through the one hole to hold it in place, mark and drill the screw hole on the other end.
- Secure the trac through the other end, then drill all the other holes.
- Remove trac, seal with marine Goop or whatever and secure with the screws, 1" washers, and 11/32" nylock nuts.

I mounted the 8" trac on the left side and purchased a 1-1/2" Screwball (SB15) to mount my Humminbird on the left.  The 12" trac on the right received a "Mighty Mount Track Mount Kit" (MMS) to mount my Scotty deck mount for the rod holder.

See photos.  The paired holes forward of the tracs were for the bar mounts.  They have been plugged with Marine Goop.  At this time the 8" trac is only secured by 4 screws.  This allows me the option of moving the trac 1-1/2" further aft if necessary after a checkout cruise.

Looks great man!  I've been messing around my Revo trying to find a good spot for a rod holder and ran into a similar problem.  The widest flat surface we have for flush mounts is the aft foot slot.  I put a flush mount scotty baitcaster in there and the rod definitely impedes my pedaling.  I have an extention rod on the way and hope I can mount it so the rod is closer to me and actually outside the boat a little...  We'll see! 

Thanks for posting this and I look forward to hearing how you like the tracks.

Adam

 Nice clean looking install.
 Anyplace local you can find the gear trac ?

Nice clean looking install.
 Anyplace local you can find the gear trac ?

Next Adventure sells them; both the narrow tracks and the regular ones.  Lot's of other YakAttack stuff too.

that looks great, am wondering how the checkout cruise went? would you do anything different? or placement?

Not sure how I missed this the first time around, been eyeing those but have yet to pull the trigger.  Anxious to hear your feedback on your chosen mounting location (same general area I've been eyeing) and the perceived security/stability of them under stress.

I have been looking at the track mounts that Scotty sells. Does anyone know if these are the same, different, better, worse etc? It would be nice to have more rod holders sometimes.   

First cruise report.  Spent a couple of days at Rosario ling hunting.  The maximum currents (+- 2.5 kts) around Deception Island were fun and interesting, but not a safety factor.

I'm 5'8" (now) with a commensurate reach and the placement is good.  I can adjust the rod holder to place the rod butt between me and the FF/GPS with enough height with a short 4" Scotty extender to allow unobstructed pedaling. 

I did not do any trolling, but the side torque on the rails given the long lever arm from the rod holder makes me wonder about trolling with this setup.  When salmon season starts I'll do a check out cruise with my downrigger setup.  http://www.demonick.com/kayak/HMR/Downrigger/00.HMR.Downrigger.Mount.html

I do think the use of 1" washers is better than using the YakAttack Fullbacks.  The inside width of the gunwales may allow use of a 1.25" wide aluminum plate backing, but one would need to make one's own.  It would be an easy fabrication from 1/8" plate, just smooth all the edges so it does not cut into the yak's plastic.

The FF/GPS mount I am using with the YakAttack 1.5" Screwball can be seen at: http://www.demonick.com/kayak/FF.GPS/mount.html
The link is to the mount on a T13, but it does show the Ram arm I'm using.

When the Ram arm is cinched down on the Screwball, the arm forms a good lever to loosen or tighten the Screwball in the track slot.  As such, care must be taken to get the orientation of the Ram arm on the Screwball just right so when you rotate the system into final position the Screwball is tight in the track slot.  This is convenient if you need to reposition the FF/GPS on the water.  Just rotate to loosen the Screwball in the slot, slide to the new position, then rotate to tighten.  Once set it was secure in use.  The fact that the Ram mount creates a lever to loosen the Screwball in the track would be an advantage in a self-rescue from the left side.  Just push the FF/GPS forward out of the way.   Mounted on the right side, pushing it forward during a self-rescue would tighten it.   

Overall I like the system.  The Mighty Mount with the Scotty Deck Mount attached is LONG.  It needs 7" of track just to be secure and fixed.  Then the 12" track only allows 5" of adjustment travel, so be sure of your initial track placement, though we are constrained by the structure of the yak itself.  You do not want the installation to interfere with the rudder controls.

Overall I like the system.  The Mighty Mount with the Scotty Deck Mount attached is LONG.  It needs 7" of track just to be secure and fixed.  Then the 12" track only allows 5" of adjustment travel, so be sure of your initial track placement, though we are constrained by the structure of the yak itself.  You do not want the installation to interfere with the rudder controls.

Have you seen Scotty's new gear head track mount? It may not be as bomb-proof as the mighty-mount setup, but it'll only take up about an inch of space.

http://scottyfishingproducts.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-scotty-track-and-gear-head-track.html

Thanks for the update. I'm also using the GT90s in the same location but with the stock hardware. I haven't caught enough any fish yet with the rodholder so it's hard to guess if I should upgrade to fender washers. For now it seems quite sturdy for my uses.

Thanks for the tip on the Scotty gear head.  It certainly takes up less track length than the YakAttack MM.  If you use the Scotty Gear Head be careful on which side of the yak you mount it.  On the right the line pull while trolling will tend to tighten it in the track.  On the left it will tend to loosen.

On the right the line pull while trolling will tend to tighten it in the track.  On the left it will tend to loosen.

I've thought the same. Ram is coming out with a new ratchet adapter for balls and their fixed base that may be a little better. I'm sure it could be Scotty-"compatibalized" pretty easily as well.


http://www.rammount.com/Products/KayakMounts/TrackRailMounts/tabid/4610/Default.aspx#/

I have the Scotty Gear head for my FF in my Outback, mounted on the GT-90.  I have a Lowrance Mark 4 with the scotty base.  Once you get the Gear Head secured all it takes is about a half turn to pop the FF in or out.  This took me bit to figure out.  I works well for me and gives the option of fine adjustments on the track.