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2021 Fishing Kayak Build

Discussion in 'Fishing' started by mech_engineer09, May 20, 2021.

  1. May 20, 2021 at 6:32 AM
    #1
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    Hey everyone,

    Just thought I would post a full build of my 2016 Jackson Coosa HD. I've posted a couple pictures here and there, but never really went into detail about everything I've done to it. Got it in early 2017 and like having a tundra, you find mods over time that you have to add to it to make it easier to use and more useful. If anyone wants to share their builds or has any questions, go for it. My mods are as follows:

    • A few extra yakattack gear tracks
    • yakattack cup holder
    • yakattack eye bolts to strap seat down during transit ( i put my rods, paddle and push off pole under seat during transporting and just ratchet strap the seat using the eyebolts) has worked great and allowed me to put everything in the yak and just slide it out of the bed with everything ready to go.
    • yattack push off pole clips to secure push off pole when out in the water so its not rolling around in the yak
    • ram mount for phone on center console
    • Garmin echomap 9" with clear vu imaging
    • bending branches angler pro carbon fiber camo paddle
    • nocqua batter pack with usb charger and thruhull kit
    • anchor wizard
    • anchor trolley with a few additional pulleys to keep everything easy to use
    • boonedox hd landing gear
    • toyomafia stickers :curls:
    • yakattack blackpak with some useful modifications
    • red trd skid plate letters from tufskinz (I had a free extra one they sent me)
    • yakima longarm for transporting
    So getting everything added has been a multi year process and I feel like I finally have it exactly the way I want.

    Started off with adding the fishfinder. I wanted everything to be super clean because being in a kayak you dont want wires hanging around and stuff all over the place, because you end up frustrated the whole time instead of enjoying fishing. So I found the nocqua battery pack I bought the bigger capacity version and it makes everything really clean as you can see in pictures. I have all the wiring done under the center console so the only wires coming out are for the power and sonar of the fishfinder. I added a usb charging port so I can charge my phone out on the water. It seemed like a much better solution that using a typical battery because I can just unscrew two wires, pull it out and charge in on the wall and takes up practically no space and weighs next to nothing.

    After going out a couple times I realized I desperately needed an anchor, but I wanted some maneuverability with it so I added the anchor wizard and trolley system along with a few extra pulleys to keep the paracord going where I wanted it and a place to lock it. I then added the enormous cup holder because it's easy to forget to drink water when you're out on a giant lake of it lol gotta stay hydrated.

    Then I got tired of putting everything in my truck, pulling it out at the lake/creek/river and putting it in the kayak just to take it back out and put it in the truck when leaving again. So i purchased some more gear tracks and added eyebolts. when I'm getting everything ready, I set my poles (the most I ever take is 4), my push off pole and paddle under the seat and ratchet the seat down using the eyebolts and keeps everything in place during transport so now I just slide the yak out of the truck and I'm ready to go.

    You also need a good PFD so i got the nrs chinook which has some nice pockets to keep pliers etc in and is light and not bulky so doesn't hinder me when casting.

    Of course I had to put some toyota flair on it so I had an extra TRD skid plate letter set from tufskinz that they had sent me to test out to see which set would work on the tundra. Threw on a couple toyomafia stickers and I'm not able to paddle 2 mph faster. Crazy.

    Probably the most useful thing I've added to date though has been the boonedox hd landing gear. I finally bit the bullet and installed it this winter because I knew it was gonna be a pain in the ass installing, but with my boss (who I kayak fished with all of the time) moving to north carolina, I was all out of kayak fishing buddies and he would always help me with carrying when we would go fishing. This thing is HEAVY when loaded up with gear and extremely difficult to carry and I surely am not going to drag it for any amount of distance on the ground.
    Some people have complained that the boonedox landing gear cracked their hull, but that is because they are only installing the stainless backing plate on the inside of the hull, so you are getting a high amount of stress in that area because it's a narrow plate. I added UHMW stiffeners on both the inside an outside of the kayak to greatly reduce the amount of stress on the hull and has worked flawlessly all year so far. It has been a life and backsaver and made taking my kayak out by myself so much easier.

    Finally I got serious about tackle management this year. I used to just have a couple random plano boxes in different sizes I would throw lures in and carry a couple bags of soft plastics. Everything was unorganized and it drove me up a wall. I upgraded to all the new plano edge series boxes. Organized all of my tackle by jigs, crankbaits, topwater, etc and put them all in the various types of edge boxes they make for specific baits in the 3700 size. Kayak fishing is all about efficiency and organization and this helped immensely.

    Final thing was getting the yakattack blackpak to hold my rods and tackle while out on the water. Stock this thing is alright, but making a few mods to it makes it so much better. I added some hinges to keep it sturdy when opening and closing. cut a 0.25" section off of each side by the orange gear tracs I added (because whatever genius designed this box made it so the top side pieces would intefere with putting 3700 size boxes in there). So now I can fit 5 3700 series boxes in with ease 1 of which is a deep box and another for the crankbaits is slightly thicker. You could probably fit 6 or 7 regular depth 3700s in there. And I keep my edge terminal tackle box under the seat while on the water.

    I wanted to be able to take a good amount of soft plastics out with me and I purchased the plano edge soft plastics case and when it came in, I was like oh shit this thing is way too big to put on my kayak so I had to figure something out. As you can see in the picture with the lid open. I drilled 4 holes in the bottom of the box and 4 in the lid of the blackpak and added rivets with some marine goop. this has worked out great and along with adding the hinges to the box, I'm able to access everything behind me with ease. I also purchased the edge series spinner baits box and still trying to figure out something to do with it (i have something in my mind I'll test soon hopefully).

    I purchased the yakima longarm soon after getting the tundra so I could safetly transport the kayak without having having over 6 feet hanging off of the tailgate (kayak is 12'6" long). When I get to the water, I unload the yak, unscrew the hitch bolt and throw it in the bed under the locked diamondback so no worry for people with sticky ass fingers.


    Overall I'm really happy with the journey this kayak has taken with me since 2017 with my honda civic and overly complicated and time consuming roof rack system. Kinda like a truck, you find things over time that make using it more enjoyable and easier to use. It's been a process but I feel like it's finally just the way I like it.

    In the future, my plans are to build a 2 tier kayak stand with casters (already have one put together in Inventor) and purchase a hobie pa angler 14 (hopefully get it in early 2022 and get it ready for fishing that year. This kayak is great for river fishing and small to medium lakes, and I will 100% still use it for that after getting the hobie, but it will be amazing to have the hobie for the large lakes around me where I want to go several miles without getting tired or spending more time paddling than fishing. There's also some good places I wanna take the hobie on lake erie and its just a much bigger yak that I would feel comfortable doing that with.

    Let me know if you have questions on how I did anything or just post your yaks!

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    jpod, mtndds98, Newm and 3 others like this.
  2. May 20, 2021 at 7:00 AM
    #2
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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    Awesome!!! Let me know your thoughts on that Echo Map, right now I'm looking @ the Striker 7 SV. I just don't need all the extra maps and chartplotting capabilities.
    I am anxiously awaiting my 2021 Hobie PA14 360. It's supposed to be here by end of month. I am fishing out of a Ocean Malibu pedal drive, and it's been nice. I put a few mods on it, and it will be for family and friends when they visit.

    If your mostly fishing out of your Kayak you definitely need a propulsion Kayak whether it's a Hobie or not. So much better and minimal paddling.
    If your looking @ the PA 14, I would start looking for a used jet ski trailer of some sort. That 14 will be 5'+ out the bed of your truck. I got super lucky and scored a triton trailer. I will be modding that up to carry both kayaks.

    Congrats on the Hobie when you get it. I test drove the 12' PA 360, and it is awesome, and for a chunky guy like me, I stood up in it with no problem.

    Tight Lines :thumbsup:
     
  3. May 20, 2021 at 7:07 AM
    #3
    Safar85

    Safar85 New Member

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    More than a few.....
    Man, that is one badass kayak. Makes my basic 2 man look like a toy.
     
    mech_engineer09[OP] likes this.
  4. May 20, 2021 at 7:08 AM
    #4
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    I've been using the echomap basically since I got the kayak and it's been great for 4 years now. If I were to get another one for the hobie, it will definitely have the sidescan imaging and they make that protection plate for the hobies that completely covers the transducer so you dont have to worry about damaging it. I love the garmin units. I know everyone uses lowrance and humminbird, but I've never had a single problem with the garmin unit and the clearvu imaging is pretty insane. I can only imagine how much better they are now especially with the sidescanning.

    I honestly don't mind the paddling for creeks/rivers and small lakes but yeah for anything larger I dont want to spend half the day paddling. They make a motor that will directly mount to my kayak called the torqueedo, but it's like 1800 for the small one and 2700 for the larger one. That's over half the price of the hobie so I'll just be getting that lol.

    The only thing I really wish hobie would do is make an area on both sides where you can slide the boonedox landing gear wheels and arms on. These fishing kayaks are massive and heavy and awkward, and they surely have to realize that people want a way to wheel them to the water without having to drill holes to install the landing gear or use their crappy scupper hole wheel setups. I feel like they could just make a heavily reinforced area on the side where you can put the wheel without having to worry about stress fractures.

    Congrats on the hobie. I'm jealous lol. I saw a guy on erie last year riding one and immediately got kayak envy lol. They're so freaking nice. I haven't test driven one, but I know that that's the one I want. The pedal drive on them is just in a league of its own. Yeah the Coosa is really stable, can stand up no problem on it, definitely a must for a fishing kayak.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2021
  5. May 20, 2021 at 7:36 AM
    #5
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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    Hobie makes a heavy duty wheel cart, it's a lot better than their first wheels. Yeah the Hobies are the way to go, they allow you to get in shallow water vs other kayaks.
    I decided on the Garmin also, some of the marine dealerships here recommend them for there easy interface. They are real user friendly.
     
  6. May 20, 2021 at 7:43 AM
    #6
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    Yeah I've looked at the HD carts, but even with the heavy duty cart it just seems like a massive PITA. how are you supposed to get that into the scupper holes when you're getting it out of the water. That's why I like the boonedox. I can put them in before I even get out of the water. They do make a boonedox kit specifically for the hobies, if you search on youtube Burly fishing I think is the channel does a great install video on a pa 360.

    I just think garmin makes really high quality products. I have a fenix 6x sapphire watch and I've been using their watches for years and a couple dog behavior collars and back in the day before smart phones, my grandfather had their gps for the car. My gf's honda pilot has garmin gps as the navigation system and it's much easier and better to use than some of the other ones I've seen that come with vehicles.
     
  7. May 20, 2021 at 7:53 AM
    #7
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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    Oh ok I see what your talking about. Wow they are pricey, but definitely a back saver. It would be a deal breaker for me as I am not drilling anything on my hobie:eek2:
     
  8. May 20, 2021 at 8:01 AM
    #8
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    100% worth it though. It's a really well made product and install on the hobie doesn't seem too bad. The install instructions they send with it are kind crappy, but that video I referenced on youtube is great and I'll be going by that when I install one on mine. I need to get this kayak cart built sometime this year though because my garage doesn't have enough room to put them side by side, but we are looking for a new house soon and my goal is to get some property and a second detached garage, but this is kinda what I made in Inventor, just need to add some pvc on top and bottom for holding kayaks up. Then having casters, I can just move it around and drop the boonedox wheels right on the cart as I'm sliding it off to go onto truck.

    kayak stand.jpg
     
  9. May 20, 2021 at 8:03 AM
    #9
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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    There is a YouTube video for a storage cart similar to the one you showed. I think the guy said he had around $100 into it. It was nice and would hold 2 kayaks. I will shoot you the link if you want it
     
  10. May 20, 2021 at 8:06 AM
    #10
    rons23

    rons23 Get The Led Out!!!

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  11. May 20, 2021 at 8:06 AM
    #11
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    yeah I watched a couple videos on them, but this is basically the the same layout as burly fishing does, just a little more beefy, because you know engineers like to overdesign stuff when they're making it for themselves :rofl:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2gb8TiUrLsEnqzD6mfFw_g

    Check that dude out. He has a pa 360 too so you can get some good ideas from him. He has an f'ing sweet setup.
     
    rons23[QUOTED] likes this.
  12. May 20, 2021 at 8:06 AM
    #12
    mech_engineer09

    mech_engineer09 [OP] Tundra Enthusiast

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    Yep that guy lol. He makes some pretty good videos and he's good about actually explaining how he does stuff.
     
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