Any ideas for sub zero modifications? Kicking around some ideas...

You may want to check with Hobie about the strength of the plastic used in their hulls at those temps.  I'd imagine that at some point, the hull material looses all of it's flex and may be prone to cracking.    

-Spot-

I was going to say this. I think if you rubbed a rock you might be more susceptible to hull damage past some temp.

Any thoughts, suggestions?  What would concern you about a trip in 15 deg weather mechanically speaking? Experiences?  Just too stupid to consider?

Temps here may dip down to 32 tonight and I was thinking "well that's it for my season".  Then I read this thread and have no option but to sack up and get out there! If it's above freezing I'm going for it.  I hate fishing with ice in my guides so 32 is my personal cut off.

I admire your dedication to the sport but the margin of error shrinks at the temps you're talking about.  How cold is too cold?  I'm sure the answer would very greatly from different kayak fishers considering all the possible locations and exposure gear we have available to us. 

Someone in Hawaii may have no desire to fish when it's below 65, for me it's 32.  There is no correct answer just what you feel comfortable with.  If you're thinking about rigging kayak heating units maybe that's the point to stay on shore and hit your favorite ice fishing lake. 

Too cold is when you get in your yak, and by the time you pick up the paddle for the first stroke, your splashes are already frozen on the deck.

Oh wait, that's not too cold, that's typical Wynoochee steelhead weather.

Yah -10 deg is a tad cold.  But I am going to try a solution to see how well it works. 

I'm going to order a Hobie dodger.  I also ordered a waterproof motorcycle seat heating pad (12 volts) .  Its big enough that I can have it under my butt but it also extends towards the pedals.  If I have a dodger over it, I am hoping the residual heat will be enough to keep things thawed.  I'll need to upgrade my battery. 

I plan to use some type of arctic grease or de-icing fluid.  Maybe a hot water bottle in the back. 

Ya gotta keep in mind that below freezing here in Alaska can occur between October and May.  That's just too many months to give up.  It may not work.  We will see!!

Holy cow. I hope my kayak doesn't shatter. It's supposed to be a tad warmer in a homer.
But it's only 90 miles away.
This may just be a long drive.



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Guidesak.blogspot.com
My personal pages...I'm not a guide.

Kayak worked fine. Zero issues. Maybe a 1/8 to 1/4 inch ice build up. But no technical issues. Spectra line sorta sucks. As much as I say I don't use gloves. Will need them for this application. 





10deg at start. 15deg now. Blowing 15knts at peak. Swells got too short and big but easily fish able. 3 hours. A few pollock. No kings!  Still stoked to get out!!!


AlaskaKayakFisher.com
Guidesak.blogspot.com
My personal pages...I'm not a guide.

Kayak worked fine. Zero issues. Maybe a 1/8 to 1/4 inch ice build up. But no technical issues. Spectra line sorta sucks. As much as I say I don't use gloves. Will need them for this application. 





10deg at start. 15deg now. Blowing 15knts at peak. Swells got too short and big but easily fish able. 3 hours. A few pollock. No kings!  Still stoked to get out!!!


AlaskaKayakFisher.com
Guidesak.blogspot.com
My personal pages...I'm not a guide.

It's official.  You've earned tenure on your man card and there's now no way for you to loose it.  Congratulations!   

-Spot-

You sir, are a bad ass.

You probably don't need it but I was thinking you could carry a can of this stuff and spray it on the mirage drive and rudder lines if it started to ice up. It shoots 6-8 feet pretty well.

Lol.  Thanks Spot!  But I think that honor would be reserved for a day like that where you can land a nice fat king!  Noah, I actually had a can of the exact same stuff on me but I didn't use it...except to unfreeze m back window of the truck!  Good thing I had it.

So a few things I noticed.

I ice fish in 10 below without gloves.  But not in a kayak.  Your hands just get too wet dealing with fish, the spray, and the ice build up on your rod.  Even latex gloves would have helped.  I had a pair of semi water proof gloves and my hands were toasty warm...until the gloves got wet.  Toes were a little nippy but both issues were fixable.  I shed a layer because I couldn't fit into my fiancees drysuit.  But I stayed comfortably warm no problem.  So that was a huge relief.  Minor modifications and I am good to go.

The outback performed flawlessly.  Pedals got a little slippery but the drive had no other issues.  The rudder lines didn't freeze either.  I had greased them prior and carried a can of the deicer but didn't use it.

Rubber turns into steel when cold.  My drysuits was in the SUV but where it was cold.  Even though I could zip up the suit when it was off, I could not for the life of me zip it when it was cold and I had it on.  I tried for 10 minutes.  I almost gave up.   Lesson: Keep your drysuit warm.  Neoprene cuffs will get super brittle as well. 

Spectra line sucks in the cold.  It worked out ok today but it was only because it was so cold out, that it would freeze before hitting the spool, so the spool stayed relatively dry.

Finally as I was cruising into shore, i grab the rudder line to unlock it.  Give it a yank and pull the "up rudder" line...nothing.  Huh?  Yank it a few more times...still nothing.  I bail out of the kayak early into frigid water since I have no sonar (broke the battery terminal).  I look at the "rudder down" line and it had frozen solidly into the locking cleat.  Had to chip it out to get it free.  That would have sucked to catch a swell come crashing in and then not be able to unlock your rudder. 

So I caught a few pollock and no kings.  As the wind picked up and the tide turned, the swells got moderately large and sharp.  It was to the point that as I was trolling with the swells, the surge of riding down the swells would keep tripping my deep six planer.  I would say I was fishing in small whitecaps about half of the time.  As I started to load my kayak, the wind shifts to the Northeast and the area I was fishing becomes almost flat calm.  Hmmm...No, discretion is probably the better part of valor today.  I'm just pretty happy that I now know that if I pick my days, I can use my kayak 12 months out of the year and have a legitimate shot at catching fish!  Too cool!