Giles' Kayak…...
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So, I love fishing.
Covid has meant that going to some of the remote and far-off places that I like to fish has been impossible, So I have ordered a kayak, a Hobie Outback, so that I am not restricted to fishing from the shore.
It is due here in a couple of weeks. Covid has severely screwed up production, and Brexit has severely screwed up European distribution, so in the UK at the moment, finding a new one is like finding rocking-horse shit, and the secondhand market has gone ballistic.
I wheedled my way into the UK importers' good-books, and they managed to get what I wanted into a container from the US which is due here in a week or two. It's not my first choice colour, but beggars can't be choosers.
I have stuff to do before it arrives, and probably quite a lot between taking delivery and putting it on the water so I'll try and document it here.
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Todays job is creating a waterproof battery box and connectors for the Navigation/Fish Finder.
I bought a Lithium/Phosphate battery. It's rated at 10Ah, is tiny, and only weighs about 700gms…It's going to be installed in a locknlock waterproof food container....And stopped from rattling around, by some cut-down gardeners knee-pad foam....
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hahaha gonna be some mad traffic off the gosport/ Portsmouth coast
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now this is pretty cool!!! I always figured NOT catching fish was part of the experience (Always has been for me) but a fish finder will change the game for sure!
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I have a Canadian Style Canoe, actually it is an Old Town from Maine, US.
I don’t fish but it’s a very pleasant way to spend a summers evening paddle somewhere peaceful with a picnic and a few beers. -
The closest I ever get to drinking whilst I am fishing is on the way back to shore (yes, there are no jetties where I fish on the east coast
) in Madagascar. It's become a tradition…But steaming due west at the end of a long day (we do 11 hour fishing days in Mada) and watching the sun go down behind the highlands of Ankarna, without a beer to celebrate, would be just darn rude.....
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No, which is why I have mounted the battery in a locknlock with a plug on the lid (yet to be fitted), that way I can easily take the locknlock out of the forward hatch compartment, which is likely where I will stow it, and take it home for a charge with this…
The battery is 10Ah, so I should get 20 hours out of one charge no probs. And being Lithium Phosphate, it should be good for 3,000 charges.
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I don’t know what your experience is with kayaking, but you may want to take a few trips out and get use to it before you load it up.
When I first started sea kayaking, I practiced a lot of exits and getting back in my boat in fairly shallow water. It helped me learn tipping points and counter balancing techniques. I also found getting back into the boat more challenging than I assumed it would be. My first accidental flip over went reasonably well, because I had practiced beforehand.
I know your boat is a sit on which is different, but stability exercises could be helpful (especially when fishing).
