Tag Archives: Kayak Modifications

Pelican Potomac Fishing Kayak

Just like the rest of you, I am a budget kayak fishermen, who fell in love with the Pelican Potomac Fishing Kayak.  However, after the first trip, I quickly realized that I was going to have to take a hacksaw to it.  Not good at all.  This episode doesn’t have any videos, but future modifications will!  Until then though, check out what happened!

I started out, by not liking the hatch on the back of it.  I knew that I needed to access behind the seat, and also keep a fishing crate on board.  So I started drawing lines with the sharpie.  Once I had all of the lines connected, squared off, and where I wanted them, I started drilling.  I drilled some pilot holes in order to get my hacksaw started.  You can see in the picture below, some of the sharpie marks are still visible.

I tried to follow the lines of the kayak, to make sure everything fit right.  Once I was finished, I had a burred up mess of plastic.  I emptied the shavings from the kayak, and grabbed the air conditioning pipe insulation.  This stuff fit perfect.  Use some duct tape to secure it underneath, and use a lot.  You don’t want this coming off.

On to the front of the boat now.  I had to literally climb half way in through the hatch to get anything that made its way to the end.  This is impossible when you are on the water, obviously.  So, being me, I chopped up the front as well, using the same procedure as I used on the back half of the boat.  These 2 modifications increased my storage space and accessibility by 10 fold.  It looks like it was meant to be there too!

There you have it, volume 1 of Pelican Potomac Fishing Kayak Rigging.  Stay tuned for more posts, as we increase the comfort and fishability of this budget fishing kayak!

Kayak Fishing Anchor Trolley

If you have ever taken your fishing kayak out on a windy day, you know that you need an anchor trolley, especially on a sit in fishing kayak.  This is a cheap modification that will allow you to place your boat wherever you want to, regardless of wind or current.  I apologize I can’t provide a step by step with pictures this time around, but future kayaks and posts will have step by steps in it!

First up, the parts list.  You want to make sure you get the rubber washers for sure.  These keep water out of the boat, and you are drilling holes that could be below the water line.

– 2 Stainless Steel Pulleys or Blocks (Home Depot)

– 2 feet of bungee (sacrificed from the kayak)

– 22 feet of nylon anchor rope

– 2 plastic eyelets or pvc brackets

– 4 stainless steel bolts, washers, and nuts

– 8 rubber washers

– 1 stainless steel caribeaner

First, put the eyelets or pvc brakets onto the kayak where you want them mounted.  Mark the holes with a sharpie, and double check to make sure it is where you want it.  Once you have gotten it dialed in, drill the holes.  Use a bit the same size as the bolt, so you have to force it into the hole.  This helps it seal.

Now, mount the eyelets or pvc brackets to the kayak, using the nuts and bolts.  Put the bolts into the holes in the eyelet.  After this, put a metal washer on, and then a rubber washer.  The rubber washer should be against the kayak, with the metal washer against the eyelet.  Once you have this complete, put the bolts through the holes in the kayak.  Reach in, and put another rubber washer, metal washer, and then the nut.  Tighten it down.  Repeat this for the other end of the kayak.

Now, take the bungee, and cut it in half.  Tie one end to each eyelet, making sure to adjust tension on the bungee while you are tightening it down.  This will help it keep from coming undone.  You should now have 2 pieces of bungee dangling from the side of your kayak, secured to the eyelets.

Now take your stainless steel blocks, or pulleys, and tie another tight knot, securing the bungee to the block.  Make sure to adjust tension as you are tightening, you don’t want this to come loose.  It should start looking like an anchor trolley by now.  Grab your anchor rope, and loop it through both blocks, forming a complete circle with it.

Once you have the anchor rope threaded through the blocks, grab your caribeaner.  Now, all I can recommend is learning how to tie a real knot.  Make sure your caribeaner is attached to both ends of the anchor rope, so you should have a complete circle now, with the caribeaner being between the pulleys.

Go and find a decent anchor, some more anchor rope, a float, and another caribeaner.  Make sure when you attached the actual anchor caribeaner, that you can release it quickly.  Put the float on the end of the anchor rope, so that if you have to release it, you can find it later.  Fish will get tangled up in it if you stay anchored while fighting a fish.

You can also use a stakeout pole through the caribeaner while you are beached to secure the boat in place, and keep the wind from taking it away from you.  So there you have it.  Like I said, future tutorials will be more indepth.  This is just to get you started.

Until next time, I hope you learned something from how to rig an anchor trolley on a sit in fishing kayak, provided by Kayak Fishing Edge