Completed by our incredible rigging tech, Ted Douglas, this gorgeous Old Town Sportsman AutoPilot 136 in Steel Camo for rigging customer Adam is headed to its final home in Kansas City, MO!
To say this rig is bright would be the understatement of the year! Heading up the bow of this beauty is a set of 7 inch, red and green, Yak Lights Flex Light Series Waterproof Ultra Low Profile Kayak LED Strips for navigational lighting. This is important as in many states, motorized kayaks need navigational lighting just like a normal vessel.
For ease when fishing at night, Adam also elected to have 4 of the 1.75 inch, white, Yak Lights Flex Light Series Waterproof Ultra Low Profile Kayak LED Strips installed underneath the rudder control foot pedals and the seat to efficiently illuminate the cockpit area without blinding you at night.
To control all of this lighting, a Yak Lights Four-Channel Wireless Transmitter with Two Key Fobs was installed giving Adam full remote control via a simple key fob.
No fishing kayak is complete without a fish finder, and Adam didn’t hold back! Mounted on a YakAttack Helix Series Fish Finder Mount is a Humminbird Helix 9 MSI/MDI GPS G4N, a 9 inch unit with Mega Side and Down imaging as well as networking capabilities should Adam choose to add a second fishfinder for mega live in the future. A tricky part of mounting a fishfinder like this is mounting both the Mega SI/DI transducer along with the Humminbird MEGA 360 Fortrex transducer. Mounting the Mega SI/DI transducer proved simple enough, by using a Hydra Concepts Universal Kayak Transducer Mount, Ted was able to mount the transducer in the stock transducer mounting location under the kayak while keeping it protected yet low enough to prevent inference. The Mega 360 Fortex transducer proved a bit trickier for Ted and involved some creative engineering. Using another YakAttack Helix Series Fish Finder Mount, a YakAttack LockNLoad 90 Degree Adapter, and two 1-⅛ inch light pole mounts, Ted was able to create an incredible custom mount that attaches to the tracks built into the side of the Autopilot.
Ted chose to go with the Fortrex, which is typically mounted on the side of a Minn Kota trolling motors on boats, because the shaft on the Fortrex is the perfect size for a kayak while the similar spec’d Ultrex would have required the shaft to be cut down which would have voided the warranty.
In order to make sure Adam wasn’t left stranded, this rig was equipped with some serious power. Powering the trolling motor is an Amped Outdoors 100AH LiFePO4 Battery which, with intermittent use at 5 speed, should last around 11 hours and let Adam travel around 28 miles on a single charge. (If you want to see how that is calculated, check out our battery buying guide here). To make sure Adam got every last hour of runtime out of his motor, he elected to also run an Amped Outdoors 30AH LiFePO4 Battery solely for the accessories.
It’s no secret a rig like this would be a bear to lug around manually. Luckily, Ted thought ahead and equipped this beast with a Boonedox Groovy Landing Gear Track Kit mounted atop an upgraded set of Hydra Concepts Premium Aluminum Replacement Tracks. This combo not only makes installing the Boonedox Groovy Landing Gear Track Kit an absolute breeze, it also helps protect the hull of the kayak by dispersing the weight of the kayak across a larger surface area. To see this in action, check out our review here.
For the sake of keeping the rest of this rig rundown short, the last few items we’ll cover rapid fire
Since 1999, Black Hall Outfitters has been southern New England’s premier kayak fishing and paddle sports destination. From kayak accessories, lighting, and transport, to bait, tackle, and marine gear, BHO has everything you need to make the most of your on-water adventures. For more information, stop by either of our two locations in Westbrook or Old Lyme, Connecticut or visit us online at blackhalloutfitters.com
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