Solidworks has cheap non-commercial licenses for hobbyists and students.


Nice work on the 3D printed live well! The ender pro is pretty awesome!

There are plenty of youtube videos showing you how to get a version of solidworks working. Of course you shouldn't use these methods for legal businesses....

SOLO SKIFF Unloading and Loading System I Designed
 

FINALLY! After a few months since I told some people I know that I would film how I use the system I designed to unload and load my Solo Skiff, I did that today. I had to film it at home since conditions have kept me from being able to launch at La Jolla and film the process. It was a little harder at home because my driveway has this stupid slant that the construction company that built the house and poured the driveway thought that it needed much more slope than I think should have been needed, even with the extra rain and snow we get up in the mountains. I do believe that I covered most of what was important and if there is any additional information or more specific question, just post what those concerns are. I did forget to mention that all the Scotty bases and all the eyelets and hooks are installed using tri-fold aluminum 3/16" pop rivets. Those work great and I have always used them on my kayaks also. They allow you to mount things were there might not be a way to use pass through stainless steel bolts. The short Hobie H Rails and the swivel seat base are mounted with 1/4" through stainless steel bolts, large washers and nylock nuts. The Yakattack Mighty Mount XL gear track bases are of different lengths and all come with stainless steel screws that just screw into the polypropylene hull of the Solo Skiff. The triple rod holders on the rear are Blacktip triple nylon rod holders and I made a bracket that supports the upper section and are mounted to the Yakattack Mighty Mount XL bases using stainless steel carriage bolts that I ground two sides of the head slightly so they would slide in the gear tracks and also not rotate. They are easily removable by just loosening the nylock nuts and sliding the bolts out of the tracks, if I decide I don't want them on. The use of the ramp system is alot easier on the sand. Using it on boat ramps is also easy when you don't have to deal with boat wakes, no different then when using a boat trailer. Hope this helps all you guys that have one or are waiting for a Solo Skiff' Tight Lines.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cjzPTPyMIQI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A little over 11 years ago, I wrote the first post in the Share Your Innovations thread. It was a rainy day, just like today and I was just beginning to discover how rewarding it can be to modify my kayak so it works better.

Before responding to Mark's fabulous post on his Solo Skiff mods, I checked out the stats that this thread has accumulated over the years. 802 replies and 569,608 views. Wow! To everyone who has participated in this thread, thank you for all the wonderful advice.

Back to Mark's video. It deserves another WOW! Very impressive stuff. Everything that Mark shows us in this video is well conceived, well designed and very innovative. IMO, it is one of the best posts that has appeared in this thread. Well done Mark.

While watching the video, I thought of one additional small mod that might be worth considering. It occurred to me that as often as Mark launches and retrieves his Solo, one spot on the hull may be getting extra exposure to wear and tear. Every time the hull is winched onto his truck, a small spot on the bottom of the hull is constantly being abraded away by the beach sand.

What if you created some kind of a pad, wheel or roller that could be strapped to the bow to protect this part of the hull from abrasion? Just a thought.

See you on the water my friend.

Bob

Thank You for the kind words Bob. Yes I do monitor the lower edge of the bow were the hull makes contact with the sand and have not had any real wear at that point but it is something I do keep an eye on. I know it can certainly be an issue. My friend Mikey (sd fish and sips) had that very problem and ended up plastic welding that area on his Solo Skiff and adding a piece of PVC to reinforce that area. In his case though, I think most of that wear was due to how often he launches from concrete boat ramps and not from loading but due to having a habit of landing on the ramp while still on the Solo Skiff and then walking off the bow once it had slid onto the ramp. He posted a uTube video on making that repair recently on his uTube channel SD FISH AND SIPS. I noticed years ago how extremely rough the concrete surface on the ramps is (for improved traction for car/truck tires). So I never drag or let my kayak or Solo Skiff slide or that surface. When loading my Solo Skiff onto my truck bed and extender on a boat ramp the bow is still in the water and floating so it never makes contact with the concrete. When I land on the ramp I stop and get out in 1' of water and lift the Solo or Kayak and pull it up far enough so that boat wakes don't move it around. It is absolutely something guys should be aware off, just like owning a fiberglass boat, you would never want the bow/keel area to contact the concrete. Thank You Bob for having started the Share Your Innovations Thread it is certainly the most viewed thread on BWE. Hope the weather improves so we can see each other on the water soon. Tight Lines!

Mark, in regards to the potential wear point on the bottom of the hull, I have been researching methods of prevention as I have a fiberglass kayak on order. Some of the nor cal guys use helicopter blade tape since their sand and beaches are a little more rocky than ours. Its not cheap but it seems to do the trick for keeping the fiberglass from getting beat up if it incidentally drags across concrete/rock/etc. Its 14 mils thick which is a little less than 1/64", or about the thickness of 3 sheets of printer paper.

https://www.amazon.com/ISC-Racers-Ta.../dp/B004FKND3W

This is what i've used
https://www.keeleazy.com/

Mark,
I watched Alan Batista's video on using Kydex to make a keelguard for my Solo. Pretty simple to do and it protects the Solo well. I used Kydex to protect my Topwater as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9wYd5o1BIU

-Quang

DIY Fish finder Sun Shade
 

I bought the container at Dollar Tree (probably find it at a 99cent store in SoCal). The plastic cuts like butter with a hand grinder(less vibration than using a reciprocation saw). Long straight cuts were done with a circular saw using a masonry blade. A belt sander laid upsidedown on the ground with the trigger locked "on", can be used for smoothing out any rough edges in the plastic. Circular holes were done with a drill. The finished design was sprayed with either paint or Plasti Dip for UV protection and glare reduction. The one on the left goes to a Dragonfly 7 and attaches with velcro. The Element 7 is screwed in on all 4 corners.

Thanks Quang , That looks like a good product and easy to work with.

Fish Finder PVC Cactus Mount
 

Everytime I had to use the Hobie Latrine(mirage drive opening), I was getting annoyed by my fishfinder shade rubbing up against my side. So I decided to make a PVC mod to be able to swivel it outboard to give me more space as needed.
https://i.postimg.cc/Njcdk22C/FFMount.jpg

It reminds me a little of a cactus. The base is made out of cutting boards, the stainless steel was a piece from the transom mount that came with my fishfinder. In the finalized version, I swapped out the ball mount for a socket as with an arm connected it was going to be too high.

https://i.postimg.cc/kX8jSvGt/FFMountin-Use.jpg

By loosening the wing nut on the top, I can swivel the arm out when needed.
It is stable and serves its function well.

What an amazing thread. I haven't fabricated anything for my kayak, yet. It will happen soon and I'll make sure to share it here!

Outrigger Rod holder
 

I wanted the spread between my trolling rods to be farther apart so I used 1-1/2" and 3/4" PVC with Scotty rod components #229 and 444 to make the solution.

https://i.postimg.cc/02rnfq9N/DSCF1866e.jpg

I used a heat gun to coax the 1-1/2" PVC pipe to fit in the slightly smaller diameter Hobie rod holder. A stainless steel bolt in the Trackmount is wing nutted tight to secure the support that prevents the holder from rotating aft.

https://i.postimg.cc/5yWHFL9v/DSCF1867e2.jpg

If the drag is set tight, the leverage of the extension sometimes turns the kayak when a fish strikes.

https://i.postimg.cc/yxCKTTZ1/DSCF1862e.jpg

Needed more organization in the hatch

Nice tackle storage rack. That does not look like BerleyPro, Where did you buy the materials to build it?

Thanks, It's 3d printed. I think the berleypro is kydex, and is open from the back, it requires a continuous face of the kayak to serve as a back to the "bin".
. I was considering having a buddy mold it for me out of kydex but there is no good way to join the seams other than rivets and I wanted a 1 piece enclosed bin that was a little "cleaner". Additionally the berley pro would have required me to screw into my nice pretty fiberglass deck and I wasn't interested in doing that.

I can print any variation of these to fit different tools, and containers. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Down Rigger 3.0
 

This version fits both the PA and Outback and was made for quick installation/removal without drilling any holes in the kayak.
https://i.postimg.cc/DZ6htW3R/DR1.jpg

The beauty of the Cannon downrigger is that it can be lowered and raised with one hand incrementally. Periodically while the fish is running, my left-hand reaches back and cranks up the weight -- 2ft/crank to have it up and clear before the fish starts circling under the kayak.

https://i.postimg.cc/cJd5PF14/Dr2.jpg

The DR serves double duty as a descending device for our of-season barotrama fish.

https://i.postimg.cc/vHLKXRMS/Dr3.jpg

The base is made out of cutting boards, PVC pipe, and stainless steel hardware.

https://i.postimg.cc/PJ8jNSwn/Dr4.jpg

looks impressive!

Pro Angler with 2.5hp Outboard
 

Kayakers started doing this modification about 7 years ago in SE Florida. As of now the only fracture that I have heard of was when somebody hit a piling on a pier.

I bought the Alma and was going to do the mod myself, but then this one came up for sale for less than it was going to cost me to complete what I had started.

HIIIIII:)
 

Better safe than sorry, nice job.

"Tinkerer reborn"
 

ah yes, the endless saga of DIY fixes, innovations, endless possibilities. I will be doing several soon since I will be back on the water soon. In the past, I have done seat mods, fish grippers, leashes, hook removers, Making everything watertight, motor mounts,carts/dollys,PVC pipe and fittings are my friends. Oh and not to forget the formidable bungie!

tandem loader?
 

Not really new or innovation, but for easy loading from rear of a sedan I use an inverted kayak cart (from Walmart) on the trunk in tandem with the suction cup channel loader from Malone on the rear window. This keeps the boat from making direct contact with the car while loading, providing two fulcrums if you will. Lash them together to prevent sliding.