Do it yourself outriggers

[citypaddler37]

Hey there everybody...

I'm hoping to go after some fall muskies in my 'yak in some of our city lakes, and was wondering if anybody's seen any good DIY outrigger plans for a sit-in kayak. I'm okay with risking a swim in the summer, but once those water temps start to drop I get nervous. Hypothermia isn't really my thing...

[HuskerBen]

I've seen some designs involving pool noodles and PVC. A length of 3/4" PVC will fit perfectly through the pool noodle, giving it some rigidity, as well as an attachment point for the the arms.

I can't remember where it was that I saw it... Maybe I can find the link. But it was all attached to a milk crate which was strapped down to the kayak. The arms swung up and off the water for travel, which I thought was cool. They locked up and down using a cotter pin. If I can find the link, I'll post it.

[Grant]

I've seen Blue Kayak's rig from last year, I believe it involved a couple of jugs and some wood planks- Jerry, can you chime in?

(although maybe you should patent your rig first )

[Blue Kayak]

Mine is really simple and looks rough, but it works well. On the back of my kayak I screwed in a 2 X 4, and it is just slightly longer than the kayak's width. To the 2 X 4 I screwed on a 1 1/2 inside diameter PVC pipe. An eight foot, 1 X 2 just fits inside the PVC pipe.

I made a permanent "T" at one end of the 1 X 2. The other end of the 1 X 2 has a "T" that I can bolt on after slipping the 1 X 2 into the PVC pipe.

To keep the 1 X 2 from rotating around I use a shim wrapped with that thin rubber mat material used to protect kitchen cabinets. A homemade clamp on each side (next to the shims) holds the shims in place.

For flotation I used two, one gallon vinegar jugs on each side. They are duct taped together, and also taped to the "T"s at each end of the 1 X 2. The duct tape has held up well for a couple of seasons. One jug per side is probably plenty, but I decided to use two.

Grant took a video of the King of the Cats 2007 gathering with a short bit of my kayak and outrigger. Here is a link to the FM post:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1102990/2

Go to the bottom of the second page and look for Grant's posting of the video. My kayak is about 1/3 of way into the video.