Small Boat Accessories

[Scott Stankus]

I recently bought a used canoe (25+ year old 14.5' Old Town Discovery) from a neighbor. And, while I haven't even put it in the water yet, I'm naturally thinking about how I can customize/accessorize it. I quite familiar with the adage about fly lines getting caught on anything and everything, so I'll probably keep things to a minimum. 

That said, I was wondering what thoughts and experiences others have had with outfitting small boats (kayaks, canoes and the like). Are there things that you feel are worth having? Are there others that are nice to have? Things you thought would be handy that really just get in the way?

Primarily, I'm wondering about a rod rack and or rod mounts. How do you store rods when not in use? Either spare rods that aren't being fished or your primary rod while you're paddling. Along those lines, when you're fishing, what do you do with your paddle?

What about an anchor? I got one with it, but I wasn't thinking I'd install any sort of mounting system for it - just lower it and tie it off by hand when needed? Any reason to get fancier than that?

Another thing I was thinking about was installing a cord around the underside of the gunnel on the inside of the boat in order have a place to clip stuff in to secure it in the event of a catastrophe. 

In the "maybe nice to have" category would be a depth/fish finder. Are there entry-level models that work well? I think it would be helpful to at least get a sense of depth and bottom topography, but I have no experience with them. I'm would assume the models that cost several hundred dollars or more do a good job, but what about the less expensive ones? 

Any thoughts and/or feedback would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

--Scott

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[Casey Peltier]

when i fixed up a small sit-in kayak for fishing, i put on a scotty rod holder for when I was paddling. anchor was a 5-lb plastic covered dumbell with a plastic rope which floats if I drop it. Everything else I did was meant to minimize the catastrophe of overturning: tie down spots for gear bag, a rod leash that I just learned to live with, and a first class PFD. I hired an expert to teach me how to get back in after capsizing--best class I've ever taken!

C

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From: ssta...@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2016 14:57:42 -0400
Subject: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Small Boat Accessories
To: tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com

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[Scott Stankus]

Thanks, Casey!

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[Misha Gill]

For an anchor, I would think it would be best to just copy what the guys at Fletcher's have done with their boats and use rocks. That way if you need to cut the line, NBD. I lost my anchor two springs ago and haven't worried about it since. If I need one in the future, I'll just stop and get a handy rock. 

Rod mount for a fly rod is a great idea, for sure. 

[bryan....@gmail.com]

Like Misha I also use rocks. However I put several rocks in a nylon mesh bag. Works well and I can vary the amount that I use. 

Bryan

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 7, 2016, at 5:52 PM, Misha Gill <mish...@gmail.com> wrote:

For an anchor, I would think it would be best to just copy what the guys at Fletcher's have done with their boats and use rocks. That way if you need to cut the line, NBD. I lost my anchor two springs ago and haven't worried about it since. If I need one in the future, I'll just stop and get a handy rock. 

Rod mount for a fly rod is a great idea, for sure. 

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[namfos]

I'm going slow on hanging stuff on my 'yak. Get a dry bag at least for stuff you don't want to or can't get wet. For an anchor I picked up a paver, your basic man-made rock, being tossed from a home improvement job down the street after I installed an anchor trolley over Memorial Day weekend. As for tying off the anchor, I need to find a better cleat or place for it; I keep banging it with my arm or snagging fly line on it.  

My kayak has two surface mounted rod holders (they go through the cross piece behind the seat) that don't work for fly rods. I usually stick my landing net in one of them but I do have 2 Scotty rod holders, 1 fly, 1 spin. Down side to them is if you are in close cover, like I was last week on the middle Patuxent, rods will become entangled with overhanging branches, etc. I've already busted 2 rods over the years, don't really feel like repeating it. 

Mark

[Casey Peltier]

Mark,

my Scotty rod holders can be adjusted so the rod doesn't point upwards. Of 

course then they stick out behind...

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[namfos]

Mine too, yet as you mention, Casey, they stick out behind, or forward, plus the Scotty's kind of tall when mounted on the gunwhale. I may figure out some sort of bungee cord means of attachment.

Mark

[Misha Gill]

Mesh bag is a brilliant idea Bryan! I'm going to adopt your method post haste.

[Matthew Longley]

My ratio of plotting to doing is about 10:1 when it comes to tricking out my canoe. I've been thinking about putting in an anchor mount, but right now I just have a rock tied up with a rope (original fletcher's rock TM) that I slip through the back handle (Old Town Discovery 158). Just did a multi-day float trip with a fellow TPFRer in northern Maine and what I really could have used was a better bin system - we did alright but kinda had stuff crammed in everywhere. Great investment though - cheap plastic cup holders. No one likes spilled beer in a boat.

For rods that weren't in use, we just tucked the reels in the bow with the tips hanging back along the gunnel, not ideal but worked. I also bought a clip-on Downeast Rod Holder (from LLBean, made in Lewiston Maine!) and put it in the stern and it worked really well. Where the water was calm enough I even trolled a bit while paddling the canoe, and caught fish.

If you come up with anything brilliant, post it on here so I can copy it and tell everyone it was my idea

[Scott Stankus]

Thanks for all the feedback. The boat came with a small anchor, so I'll probably use that on flat water, but I'll definitely use a rock (or bag of rocks) when I'm on rivers and streams. I'll check out the Scotty rod holders - I think I'm going to want a place to secure my rod while paddling. 

Is anyone using electronics (depth/fish finders) on their canoes or kayaks?

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"There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary, and those who don't"

[TurbineBlade]

Just spent a week in a canoe up at the boundary waters. Also fish one locally all the time.

Tips:

Web seats. Everything else sucks.

Learn to stand and cast off bow.

Learn double half hitch and clove hitch for anchor or stringers.

Truckers hitch for cartopping.

Use bow and stern lines.

That's it really.

[TurbineBlade]

Anchor to seat, thwart etc depending upon wind. Very simple.

Wood paddles are nice, but not necessary.

Let me know what you find out about fish finders. Thought about them at times.

Good score! You'll never wear it out.

[TurbineBlade]

Never took class about safety or capsizing. I'll just wait until catastrophe nears and play it fast and loose, and as uninformed as possible.

Also I refuse to learn a j stroke.

[Jeff Cook]

Here's an unusual fish finder, cast it out to the hole and it floats, reports back to your smartphone...

https://www.thegrommet.com/deeper?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fathers-day-2016&utm_medium=cpc#sub

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[Casey Peltier]

only reason i learned to capsize and get back in my kayak is that i have zip upper-body strength and would have had to swim to shore to get back in. that cuts into fishing time like you wouldn't believe...

> On Jun 11, 2016, at 1:31 PM, TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Never took class about safety or capsizing. I'll just wait until catastrophe nears and play it fast and loose, and as uninformed as possible.
>
> Also I refuse to learn a j stroke.
>

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[TurbineBlade]

Oh, just being totally stupid casey. ;) clearly that's useful to know for anyone on the water.

Another one is "don't drink while on the water"!

[Rob Snowhite]

How was the fishing up there? Don't want to hijack but I've wanted to go there for years.

Sent from my iPhone

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[Scott Stankus]

I used to think that thing was a joke - recently I've seen some people using it in YouTube videos (attached to the side of the boat), and I'm impressed. I think I want one!

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[TurbineBlade]

Jt does look neat! Most of us can read visible structure well but deeper stuff can be a crapshoot.

Boundary waters fishing is a lot of fun. Like everything, it was a bit different than we expected. I so a report later. Hate this phone.

[Rex Moore]

I bought a Humminbird Fishin' Buddy and literally hold it over the side when I want to take a reading:

http://www.humminbird.com/Products/Fishin--Buddy-MAX-DI/  (maybe not this exact model)

I want to mount it to my kayak, but the C-clamp thingie is too small. I need to figure out how to mount this before I wind up dropping it into the water!

On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 4:32 PM TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Jt does look neat! Most of us can read visible structure well but deeper stuff can be a crapshoot.

Boundary waters fishing is a lot of fun. Like everything,  it was a bit different than we expected.  I so a report later. Hate this phone.

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[namfos]

REx, check out this: https://youtu.be/AMwUvyX9TPE

Mark

[Rex Moore]

Thanks, Mark. Problem is, I don't have a mounting plate or anything on the kayak, it's just a one-piece molded thing that's too large for the C-clamp. So I need to install something on there, so that the C-clamp can mount on it.

On Sun, Jun 12, 2016 at 11:33 AM namfos <mark....@gmail.com> wrote:

REx, check out this: https://youtu.be/AMwUvyX9TPE

Mark

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[namfos]

Rex, look up "kayak mounts and mounting systems" - and peruse the results some are fairly small and quite unobtrusive. IF you live near a West Marine, you can fondle some there.

Mark