Hometown: Pearl River, LA
NuCanoe Owner Since: April 2013
Model: Frontier 12 Desert Sand
Contact: prkayak@gmail.com
Dealer Sponsor: Pack & Paddle
About Me
Gulf War Veteran. Truck Driver by trade. I am an idea man. I see things differently than most. I see something, design it in my head, put it to paper or the computer. I build it, tweak it and/or rebuild it until I get it done MY WAY. I love fishing from a kayak. The Frontier gives me options I never had with other kayaks. I will work to explore all options and then settle for what works best for me. I would rather build something than buy it. That attitude got me named in a Popular Mechanics article about kayak fishing. (That's my only claim to fame.....So far!)
Why I Chose NuCanoe
After owning several kayaks before, I decided this time to research a new one fully. My research led me to NuCanoe. I joined the NuCanoe forum in October 2012, I did not purchase my Frontier until April 2013.
What I Like Best
I like the freedom of movement. I can sit, stand or even take a short walk, about 3 steps, and not worry about getting wet.
Fishing & Rigging
I love fishing. I also love rigging my kayak in different ways just to see how it will or will not benefit the way I can fish or get to my favorite fishing spot.
My Favorite NuCanoe Story
I enjoy rigging my Frontier to fit the way I will be fishing a certain area. My NuCanoe Frontier gives me an unlimited amount of options.
Where to Find Me
Team NuCanoe Blog Posts
Fishing 8-24-13
I went fishing today hoping to spend the entire day, "On da
water." Well…mother nature had other plans.
I got up at 4:45 am, I went outside and the sky was clear. I
could see the moon and stars and thought it was going to be
a really good day. I arrived at the launch at 5:30 am. It was
drizzling rain and the wind had picked up to about 15 mph.
So I waited to see if this bit of rain would blow over. While I
was waiting 2 other kayakers showed up. I knew one of the
guys so I decided to go ahead and launch in hopes that the
rain would not stay long. Once we arrived at our fishing
destination the rain had stopped. On my second cast, of a
Gold Spoon, I hooked up with the first Redfish of the day.
After about two hours the rain moved in again, then stopped
long enough for me to check the radar. There was a break in
the weather, but that window would not last long. The radar
showed that once the rain returned, it would be not letting up
for a long time. The other two kayakers decided to call it a
day and headed back to the launch. I also was headed to
the launch but unlike them I decided to make a few casts
here and there along the way. Good thing too, because that's
where I found my second Redfish.
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Plastic Welding
Once I removed the bow mount this left me with holes in my Frontier which had to be repaired. I chose to Plastic Weld the holes shut.
This is the bow area to be repaired:
This is the repair just after filling:
This is a close up:
Repair finished:
Close up finished:
Plastic welding is the best way to seal all small holes in these plastic kayaks.
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DIY Seat Base
Just as others, I have had an issue with the NuCanoe Frontier's seat base. To rectify this problem I looked into many different solutions. As my finances are not the greatest at this point in time, I looked to find an economical solution to building a new seat base.
In designing my seat base I took into consideration that I like sitting sideways with my feet in the water. With this in mind I wanted to make my seat low, but still have room enough to turn around on the swivel.
The materials needed for my design are as follows:
2 @ 1" x 1" x 36" Aluminum square tube
8 @ 1/4" x 1.5" Bolt and nut
1 @ Quick Release for swivel
1) Cut the 12" off of each square tube. This will give you 2 @ 24" and 2 @ 12".
2) Drill a 1/4" hole through the 24"square tube 1" from the ends.
3) Place the 24"pieces side by side, and on the top side of these pieces enlarge the holes to 1/2".
4) Drill a 1/4" hole through the 12" square tube 1/2" from the ends.
5) In the 24" pieces, measure and mark the pieces at 8.5" and 15.5".
6) Drill a 1/4" hole at these marks.
7) Bolt the pieces together to match the photo below.
8) On the 12" pieces, center and mark the Quick Release.
9) Drill a 1/4" hole on those marks and bolt on the quick release.
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Fish Coffin
I have had my NuCanoe
Frontier for a while now and I have decided it is time to design a new place to
put my catch while fishing. I have been using a 52 qt. igloo cooler on the bow,
but it sits way too high for my needs and it catches too much wind when
paddling. Since I don't use the entire
space of the igloo, I would be designing a fish box which takes about the same
space on the deck as the igloo.
I started by looking at the
deck space I had available for this project. I wanted to design something with
a lower profile that would still have space to hold my normal catch.
I traced the deck space on
the bow and cut my cooler material to fit that space. My new cooler is only
half as high as the igloo. I made the lid so that it could be hinged on the
front. It is secured with a bungee and a hook.
The design is a mock up. For
this project I used ½” foam board.
The dimensions are length 25”, width 19.50”,
height 7.5”. If it works as planned then I will be covering it with epoxy resin
fiberglass and a paint color to match my kayak.
This is my design mock up:
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Kayak Radio
I have been thinking of a way to rig a radio in my NuCanoe Frontier kayak. I have seen another post using a motorcycle radio and speakers and I thought I would give that set up a try. But of course, I had to put my own twist on the whole idea.
I started with the motorcycle radio and speakers. I found this unit online for $13.
This is the finished project.
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U.S. Coast Guard Regs
I found this article to be very helpful. Please check with your local authorities for additional information.
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Kayak Security
I found this article quite helpful. Please read this article and get at least 2 sticker per kayak.
http://www.canoekayak.com/touring-kayak/message-from-the-coast-guard-put-a-sticker-on-it/
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Kayak Repair Tip
Kayak Repair Tip
Not everyone likes the same thing, everyone rigs their kayaks in different ways to suit there own needs. But we all drill holes at some point. My tip for everyone is... SAVE THE PIECES! Even a small hole creates little pieces of plastic. If you need to drill a hole drill it slowly. This will create a small corkscrew piece of plastic. Keep all of these pieces together in a container of some sort. This way if you ever want to fill a hole you can Plastic Weld the hole with the original color plastic.
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Safety Ladder
I saw one of these online, but figured with all the stuff I have laying around, I could build one myself. (It took about 10 minutes.)
I started with a piece of 3/4" PVC electric conduit about 12" in length. I covered it with a piece of foam pad I had left over from an old broken paddle. I then cut a piece of 1/2" aluminum electric conduit about 13" in length to fit inside the PVC for added strength. About 1" from each end, I drilled a hole through the Foam, PVC and Aluminum. Through this hole I threaded a piece of 3/8" cord. I taped the ends of the cord with electrical tape. This compressed the tape making it easier to thread through the hole. I fed the cord through the hole and out the end of pipe, there I tied a knot on the end of the cord. After pulling the knot as tight as possible, with the tape still in place, I pushed the knot back into the Aluminum pipe. Make sure to pull the knot as close as possible to the Foam. I then glued a 3/4" PVC cap on each end of the PVC pipe and rolled the foam over the edges.
On the middle section of the cord, at the loop, I used one crimp to secure the loop and covered it with a piece of 1/2" diameter shrink tubing. On the loop I added a locking carabiner.
This is the finished project. It is 24" long and is dual purpose. As it can be attached anywhere making it ideal to use if I need to drag my Frontier places a cart would have difficulty. Such as thick grass.
This is the Safety Ladder in it's stored position. The caribiner is attached to the side carry handle and the ladder is secured to the deck via hook and loop fasteners.
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Why
kayak fishing is better than wade fishing
I live in southeastern Louisiana. I lot of people here go fishing and a lot of people wade out into the water when they go fishing. The following pictures are some really good reasons to fish from a kayak instead of wading. All of these hazards are found in my fishing areas.
This last one is my favorite. I know this guy. He posted this first picture on a kayak club webpage, showing us the fish he had caught while wade fishing at night. Both of these are the same picture. I just added light to the second one and re-posted the picture to show him what he obviously did not see in the water with him. I don't think he has been wade fishing at night since.
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Stand Up Paddle
I have been thinking about buying a Stand Up Paddle, but they are so expensive. With this in mind, this is what I came up with:
I already carry this:
I removed the paddle blade of a $20 canoe paddle.
After drilling one hole to match the spring pin, they fit together.
I now have a Stand Up Paddle.
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Track Lock
I found that when I am
transporting my NuCanoe that the bolts will work their way loose from the
Freedom Track and fall off of the end of the track. This mainly happens because I have forgotten
to remove the bolts after removing the seat base or other accessories.
I have come up with a
solution to this. I made a small two plate device that locks off the end of the
track so that nothing can accidentally slide off.
For this project I used the
following:
4 - 1/2" x 2"
Aluminum bar
2 - #10 x 1/2" screws
First, drill a hole in 2 of
the pieces(A) so that the screw slides into the hole.
Next, drill a hole in the center of 2 of the pieces(B) and using a Tap
thread the hole to accept the #10 screw.
Connect pieces A & B using a #10 screw.
Place the connected pieces on the end of the Track and tighten the screw
to lock the track.
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Hand Gaff
I built this when I was planning a trip offshore hoping to that my catch would not fit into my landing net.
I started with a piece of 3/4" PVC electric conduit about 18" in length. I added a piece of 1" strap about 14" long.
I folded the strap under itself and screwed it to the PVC in two places.
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PVC Cart
I decided to build a PVC
cart to help haul my NuCanoe from my vehicle to my launch site.
I started with the
following:
10' - 3/4" PVC
2 - cross connectors
2 - T connectors
1 - 18" x 5/8"
threaded rod
4 - 5/8" washers
2 - 5/8" nuts
1 - tube thread lock
1 - 6' foam pipe insulation
8 - zip ties
2 - Harbor Freight 8"
Wheels
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RAM Tube...Modified
I have been contemplating
doing this since I got this thing. It just wasn't made good enough for my
spinning rods so I modified it!
I cut one of the loops to
make a hook. Then I added a bungee tarp
strap to the other loop.
Now I can put my rod in
place and secure it.
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Screwball
I recently bought a RAM
Tube rod holder and a Screwball base which totaled around $35. The RAM Tube
came with a 2.5" ball on a round base, which I fully expected and it was
only $3 more than it would have been without the base. Well my order arrived
today…the RAM Tube and round base were in the box…NO SCREWBALL! I contacted my
dealer. "The screwball is back ordered, it will be arriving at a later
date." So what to do?
I started with this:
I drilled a hole and ended up with this:
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Trolling Motor Control
Step 1: Remove the tiller from
the top of the Troll Motor. Clip all wires except the battery wires about
1" from the switch. Disconnect the
Red/Black wires from the switch. Then
removed the switch from the troll motor tiller and fit it into the Plastic
Outdoor Electric Box. I drilled a hole in the cover to fit the control knob. I
used the 4 electric connectors to connect the long trailer wires to the switch
I kept the Red/Black battery wires connected to the switch. I then cover the
box and attached the knob. Stretch the 6
wires out from the box and beginning at the box, tape the wires together
stopping with 2' of the Red/Black wires remaining.
This completed step 1 and left me with a completed control box. (Be sure
to keep a record of the colors of the wires and where they were connected. I
also left the wires coming from the control box long so I could use it from
anywhere on the deck.) . Mark the control box cover with the corresponding
speeds. (I used a straight line for OFF and put divots on the box for the
forward and reverse speeds.)
Step 2: Take the remaining
portion of the motor with the 4 wires exiting the top of the shaft. Feed the wires through the 1/2" PVC
conduit working it into the shaft. Decide where you will be drilling through
the shaft for the 3/8" bolt to attach the motor control arm. Drill through
the shaft from opposite sides as not to damage the wiring. Once this hole is
drilled remove the 1/2" conduit and feed the bolt through the shaft with a
fender washer on each side add a threaded coupler to the bolt to keep it in
place for now. Glue the 1/2" conduit to the PVC 90 degree box with the
access opening at the top of the box. Cut the 1/2" conduit so that it fits
on top of the shaft and into the shaft above the bolt, making sure to feed the
4 wires through the conduit. Line the PVC box up so that it points forward and
put a small screw through the hole that should already be in the shaft near the
top. (That is where the tiller was attached.)
On the other opening to the PVC box feed the 4 wires from the short end
of the trailer wire. Connect the wires together remembering the color codes
from step 1. Close the top to the PVC box. Once you plug the trailer plug
together, you should now be able to connect the Red/Black wire to the battery
and use the control box knob to control the speeds of the trolling motor.
Step 3: Cut the 1/2" aluminum conduit to about 14". Using a
hammer drive a 3/8" threaded connector into each end of the conduit. Once
this is done, screw one end of the conduit onto the bolt that was put through
the motor shaft. Next cut a piece of 3/4" PVC conduit to 14.5".(use
the end of the PVC conduit opposite of the flare.) Slide this piece over the
1/2" aluminum conduit and screw a 3/8" eyebolt into the opposite end
of the aluminum conduit. Leave about 1/4" of the eyebolt threads out of
the threaded connector. (This allows the eyebolt to rotate.) This piece is now
your Motor Control Arm.
Step 4: Cut a 2" piece of 1/2" aluminum conduit and again
using a hammer drive a 3/8" threaded connector into one end. Screw the
other 3/8" eyebolt into the threaded connector. Cut a 3" piece of
3/4" PVC; slide it over the 2" piece of aluminum conduit. Use a rivet
the two pieces together.
Step 5: Using the 5/8" bolt attach the two eyebolts together. Make
sure to put a 5/8" fender washer on each end and between the eyebolts.
Make sure it is not too tight. These pieces need to move freely. (I used
lock-tite to keep the nut on the bolt.) This piece is now the universal joint.
Step 6: Using the long piece of 3/4" PVC conduit, fit the flare end
over the 3" piece of 3/4" PVC conduit near the Universal joint. It
should not fit tight. If it does sand the 3" piece down a bit. Fit the
flare over the 3" piece and drill a hole all the way through the flare and
pipe. Attach the wire lock pin here. This is now you’re quick connect.
Step 7: Attach the 3/4" end cap to the 3/4" PVC conduit
opposite the flare. This 3/4" PVC piece is your steering control arm. (I
padded mine and left it long so that I could steer while standing.)
Step 8: After testing this project I changed the position of the Control
Box. I bought a new box that would fit in line with my Steering Control Arm. I
cut through the Control Arm about 1’ from the end.
At the Universal Joint, I drilled a hole large enough for the wires to
run through the Steering Control Arm. I then attached the new box and refit the
switch and using the same cover closed the box. Attach the remaining portion of
the Steering Arm to the opposite end of the box.
Route the wires from the top of the motor along the shaft and Motor
Control Arm and secure them with zip ties. Leave about 6” of wire free to the
plug. (This gives enough room to connect the plugs and steer.)
For this project I used the following items:
Trolling Motor
Battery
Battery Box
15' - 4 strand trailer/vehicle wire
Plastic Outdoor Electric Box w/ cover
1 - Control knob
4 - 1/4" electric connectors
1' - 1/2" grey PVC conduit
2' - 1/2" grey PVC conduit 90 degree box
2' - 1/2" aluminum conduit
10' - 3/4" grey PVC conduit
3 - 3/8" threaded connectors
1 - 3/8" bolt
2- 3/8" fender washers
2 - 3/8" eye bolts
1 - 5/8" bolt
3 - 5/8" fender washers
1 - Wire lock pin
1 - 3/4" PVC cap
My apologies if I left anything off of this list.
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More Coming Soon!
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