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Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 10:01
by laneends
Seasherpa wrote:
peatop wrote:Been watching some youtube vids of late and one from Rokkit Kit, from February mods to his new carbon fiber stealth, which made me think of this post in regards to the discussion on mounting the transducer, Ron (i think thats his name) has done a very nice job mounting his under the yak and running the wires through the yak, not quite what i had in mind but definitely looks good :up:

https://youtu.be/xpAzoKj14zY
I'm not sure I'd be as game as Rod to put a hole in the bottom of a ski worth almost $5,000, it puts a lot of faith in the abilities of sikaflex. Very tidy end result, but it would make me super paranoid in surf launches or any time the boat was getting hammered.
Bugger up resale value i can imagine too. After the issues i had with Hobie putting a thru hull mounting in the bottom of the revo 16 tankwell I wouldn't go near a boat with a penetration below water line. They have even removed the below water level sump plug now.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 13:03
by Reeling
Thanks Pete.

I had seen this and, like Eoin and Keith, would be nervous about putting a hole straight through the hull below the waterline - even if it was caked in sikaflex.

It would be interesting to know if Rod would have come up with the same solution if he purchased the the ski himself or if he was worried about resale value, like the Average Joe.

The main issue with this method, is that any water leak would be into the main compartment of the ski which you cannot see or get access to to bilge. There is only a drain plug at the bow of the ski for off water draining.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 13:22
by peatop
Seasherpa wrote:
peatop wrote:Been watching some youtube vids of late and one from Rokkit Kit, from February mods to his new carbon fiber stealth, which made me think of this post in regards to the discussion on mounting the transducer, Ron (i think thats his name) has done a very nice job mounting his under the yak and running the wires through the yak, not quite what i had in mind but definitely looks good :up:

https://youtu.be/xpAzoKj14zY
I'm not sure I'd be as game as Rod to put a hole in the bottom of a ski worth almost $5,000, it puts a lot of faith in the abilities of sikaflex. Very tidy end result, but it would make me super paranoid in surf launches or any time the boat was getting hammered.
I earlier suggested a mod for Naths glass yak but carbon fiber is very new to me and not sure whether it can be repaired/modified as easy as fiberglass, using sikaflex has been used to hold vehicles together for many years, however in saying that i would have still used screws and sikaflex as the sealer.
laneends wrote:
Seasherpa wrote:
peatop wrote:Been watching some youtube vids of late and one from Rokkit Kit, from February mods to his new carbon fiber stealth, which made me think of this post in regards to the discussion on mounting the transducer, Ron (i think thats his name) has done a very nice job mounting his under the yak and running the wires through the yak, not quite what i had in mind but definitely looks good :up:

https://youtu.be/xpAzoKj14zY
I'm not sure I'd be as game as Rod to put a hole in the bottom of a ski worth almost $5,000, it puts a lot of faith in the abilities of sikaflex. Very tidy end result, but it would make me super paranoid in surf launches or any time the boat was getting hammered.
Bugger up resale value i can imagine too. After the issues i had with Hobie putting a thru hull mounting in the bottom of the revo 16 tankwell I wouldn't go near a boat with a penetration below water line. They have even removed the below water level sump plug now.
Im not worried about resale values when setting up a vessel to suit my requirements, however as Rod said he gave it some serious thought before going ahead with it, as i said im not up to date on carbon fiber but i wouldn't hesitate drilling/cutting a hole in the bottom of a glass yak to mount a transducer or anything esle that would make my experience on the water more enjoyable.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 13:59
by 4liters
Reeling wrote:Thanks Pete.

I had seen this and, like Eoin and Keith, would be nervous about putting a hole straight through the hull below the waterline - even if it was caked in sikaflex.

It would be interesting to know if Rod would have come up with the same solution if he purchased the the ski himself or if he was worried about resale value, like the Average Joe.

The main issue with this method, is that any water leak would be into the main compartment of the ski which you cannot see or get access to to bilge. There is only a drain plug at the bow of the ski for off water draining.
I was wondering the same thing. It’s one thing to drill a hole in a yak when you’re sponsored and supported by the manufacturer, where presumably any issues would be resolved at the sponsor’s expense.

Doing the same thing when you’ve just dropped $5k of your own money on a yak and the manufacturer has the right to tell you to GaGF if there’s any leakage... bit of a different situation and I can see why Eoin has gone to a bit of effort to design mods for glass skis that avoid drilling new holes and/or utilise existing holes.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 17:05
by laneends
Hanging to see what new little tricks are going to see the xplora a must have over a stealth.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 18:54
by 4liters
Same

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 20:50
by spider25160
I have spent large portions of my life sailing the seas in ocean racing yachts and prawn trawlers and big game boats and small sailing dinghies and small power boats and Kayaks Many of these vessels rely on thru hull fittings for many of their operations and believe it or not even in Million plus dollar boats the fitting gunked up with sikaflex is the basis of all thru hull connections....I have no fear in drilling holes in boats above or below the waterline when treated properly they can all be water tight.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 02 Jul 2019, 22:55
by laneends
Small leaks in big boats is no biggy, in fact some water in the bilge is normal, but a small leak in the hull of a sit on top kayak, especially one that has no access for bailing and you dont know until you have lost all stability. Just dont have those margins for error.

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 03 Jul 2019, 09:17
by Reeling
laneends wrote:Small leaks in big boats is no biggy, in fact some water in the bilge is normal, but a small leak in the hull of a sit on top kayak, especially one that has no access for bailing and you dont know until you have lost all stability. Just dont have those margins for error.
Yes, my reservation also Keith. I know that the Stealth has a fair amount of boyancy foam inside that makes it still bouyant if flooded and that I always have PLB and/or EPIRB and radio with me, but I'm not sure I would want to take that risk.

I did actually think last night about whether you could fit a scupper tube into the fish hatch - well above the waterline and then you could run the transducer cable from there. Obviously have it all glassed in and gel coated........

or better still, swap to an Xplora

Re: A stranger in the night

Posted: 03 Jul 2019, 09:41
by laneends
Not that anyone's putting any pressure or expectations on Eoin, we wouldn't do that would we? :evilgrin: