Anybody know of a good way to make outriggers fo cheap? Would attaching pvc pipes to your kayak work well? I am asking this because it is alot easier to catch big fish standing.
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
I’ll follow this conversation too because I’ve been wondering the same. I’ve looked online and not found much in the way of convincing homemade outriggers. I did pick up (from the roadside) a fairly substantial boogie board that I thought would make great outrigger material split in halves (thirds? quarters?). I figure the float material would need to be a buoyant and light as possible with an upturned leading edge to skim the water easily. Might be impt for it to be adjustable height wise. The cross pole could possibly be simply pvc lashed to the top of the yak. I don’t imagine it would take too much length or that the pvc pole would be under all that much pressure just to stabilize the boat.
Sound like I’m on the right track?
I have caught my biggest fish, all of them, sitting down. The only reason I stand in a yak is to sight fish… wiht that said, I have paddled a yak with home made outriggers… PITA… I was still sketchy about standing up and they constantly kept rolling and making paddling a pain… If ya want to stand up in a kayak I say buy a stand up kayak… the whole outrigger thing is a great idea but unless you have some sort of folding apparatus, which is going to be much bulkier and weigh more, I wish you all the luck in the world…
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
Buy surfboard foam and glass it yourself. You can use an electric knife to carve the foam and laying fiberglass isn’t brain surgery. The trick as nikonjedi said would be to have some kind of folding apparatus that does not add a ton of weight. Keep us posted if you do it.
I hate outriggers. I’ve never used any that were worth a (**() and I’ve paddled yaks with homemade versions and pretty darn expensive aftermarket parts.
I’m with nikonjedi on this one; If you want to stand and fish buy a boat that does it well. There are some really good ones out there.
Who’s Ready for a Sleigh Ride? www.KayakFishSC.com
If you are set on outriggers, check out the Hobie sidekick Ama kit. I think it runs around $150. It uses white water raft style inflatable material and a multi position arm that can position the outriggers either up and out of the way, neutral for the occasional side to side lean, and positive floatation for standing. Breaks down quick for storage, and requires minimal mounting. You just need a flat, level area behind the seat on both sides. Not dirt cheap, but very reasonable and works well.
On the other hand, if you are thinking about standing, go get a Ride, Ultimate, or other boat that you can stand in.
(BTW, $10 bucks says another boat brand gets shamelessly plugged here before to long!)
DD
Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard and Be Happy!
See, that’s the problem. I don’t even know if I really care that much about standing to fish from a kayak so I’m not going to buy another kayak or even spend $150 on outriggers that I might not use.
I figure the way to use them would be to paddle to the flats you want to fish and then set up the outriggers. So of course they’d need to break down or fold for traveling mode. It probably would be a pain in the ass and I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone using them around here.
I may never find time to try to make something anyway, but if I do it definitely won’t be in the heart of fall fishing season!
quote:
Originally posted by LocalHeroI don’t even know if I really care that much about standing to fish from a kayak
If you fish for reds in the during flood tides in the grass, or winter around low tide, you are missing out if you aren’t standing. I have had fish right in front of my, and sitting down I had no idea they were there until I saw the mud puff from them spooking. Stand up, and you can see them a long way off on a Sunny day!
Other advantages: Standing up when Nature Calls, standing up to get bearings and look around, throwing a cast net, throwing a fly rod, having a boat stable enough to reach gear in the front hatch or reach back to the rudder to untangle a line, etc, etc, etc.
DD
Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard and Be Happy!
Look into self rescue paddle floats used by sea kayakers, they are inflatable and attach to end of paddle and then one secures paddle to kayak, normally only one is used on one side during re-entry in open water. One could rig up something like this using ones spare paddle or something, it at least makes for more a stationary platform.
Russ B. Formerly known here as “Top2Bottom1”
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
Thanks for all your input, and I value everything said!
Many of you say they are not worth it, but I would still like to try them.
I found a link on how to build a version made out of flotation, PVC, and ram mounts. The ram mounts look as if he can fold them back, making it much easier to paddle around.
They look pretty easy to construct, and it looks as if they could be built in a day or two. I will try them, and I wish not to buy any store bought outriggers as I am under a budget.
http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/drupal/content/diy-kayak-outriggers
“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that have got away that thrill me the most, the ones that keep fresh in my memory. So I say it is good to lose fish. If we didn’t, much of the thrill of angling would be gone.” Ray Bergman
Just for DD… Freedom Hawk, and Heritage 
good luck with the outriggers RM… PVC is a kayakers best friend but remember it gets heavy quick and ram mounts ain;t exactly cheap
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
SC Chapter Coordinator- Heroes on the Water
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- SCKayakfishing.com
Tarpon 160os
River, my thought is that in flat water (I always think of using these standing while fishing for tailing reds) the ORs would not need much if any adjustment as your boat is likely to always ride about the same in the water. Before you spend a bunch of time/money on hi-tech ORs, I’d try something like this:
http://www.castlecraft.com/stabilizers.htm
Just a straight bar across the yak with two floats at the ends. Biggest concern would be how to fasten to the yak when in use. Probably ok to just strap them to a couple of deck mounted loops but something stronger might be necessary. I think the first trial ver could be put together for $10 worth of pvc and a throwaway/yardsale boogie board such as I found. Make the float ends detachable and the pole would store in a paddle holder with the float assembly in a hatch or just stacked on the back of the yak.
i was looking into this a few months back and found a guy that had made some himself and it looked like a decent idea. instead of having the outriggers fold up, the floats were attached to pvc pipe (like every one of them are) that pushed out away from the kayak. i think the pvc pipe was only 18-24" and wasnt’t too bulky when pushed in and not in use. i don’t remember what kind of locking mechanism was in place to keep them extended (i guess anything that secures it to the boat well and tightens on the pvc would work), but now that i think about it, i suppose they would have to lower down to the water as well. i’ve been trying to find the page i saw it on before, but it appears to have disappeared. nonetheless, i think i’ll be giving it a shot soon. worst that could happen is you fall out of your kayak and scare all the fish away…or drown or something.