Been a while since I’ve darkened the door to Paddling.net but I need help/advice/suggestions and this is the place to ask!
I have two Eddyline Caribbean 14’s. Of course a Caribbean owner might know best but I need to connect these two kayaks side-by-side, 1-2 feet distant.
Why? For increased stability in a ‘parked’ position, for wildlife photography.
The Caribbean 14 has tracks on both sides and I’m thinking something may pop into these tracks that would allow a carbon fiber pole to run through both tracks, across the 1-2 feet of water and then through both tracks on the second boat.
Same on the rear with the pole extending from behind the cockpit from one kayak to the other.
Thoughts?
Surely I’m not the first to want to do this. A googling showed various impromptu 'catamaran’s fashioned from PVC and wood for sailing purposes.
We want to paddle to the photo site, then connect the boats and drop anchor.
Thanks for any ideas/clues.
Would rivnuts…
… be out of the question? Then wing nuts with a threaded shaft, like seen on woodworking jigs, to attach a cross-beam or platform? If big enough, those should be easy enough to manipulate while on the water.
Just wild-guessing here.
Check with Eddyline
My first thought is that almost any kind of rigid lash up might cause undue stress on the area of the boats where the connection is made. This would be particularly the case if waves are encountered. A somewhat flexible connection system might pose a lesser stress on the boats , but would that allow the kind of stability factor you seek?
why not just make
an outrigger for each?
Scubber hole use?
I wonder if you would get enough stability by using a place where you have two scubber holes. Route a bungee cord as a loop along the bottom and top. This would work best if you have them front to back.
Now when you are at location, put your paddle through the “paddle keeper” on each boat. Pull through enough that you get side to side stability. Hopefully the bungee is tight enough that it wouldn’t get in the way.
Alternatively, have a disk that wouldn’t pull through the scubber and tie the paddle down with one hole.
Great ideas so far-thanks!
I’m studying Ram mounts and seeing possibilities there…and yes this will be for quiet water set ups.
Attachment points
As someone pointed out, you are essentially creating attachment points in the hull in places where the hull may not be strong enough to withstand the stresses. Some of these suggestions may work fine, but be aware that the hull(s) may not fare well as conditions change.
What I’ve done in the past (when diving from a 17’ Sea Lion) is to put a paddle float on both ends of the spare paddle and strap it to the boat just behind the cockpit.
With this simple rig, I can stand in the boat, so it definitely provides the necessary stability. The strap is the same that I use to strap the boat to the car and provides sufficient friction to not slip once it is attached.
Re-entry is easy enough, should that be necessary and I can scramble onto the back deck from the side of the boat, put my feet in the cockpit, flip over onto my butt and slide into the boat.
Rick
flexing connection
I’d be a little concerned about a rigid connection, too. Perhaps one way to get around potential problems with that would be to use PVC pipe for the bridging connection but have each one made up of two equal lengths with sturdy rope (like the yellow non-stretch polypro) run through them so that the bridge can flex in the middle where the sections meet. Or use foam pool noodles to connect the boats. Speaking of which, if you want to make sponsons, you can get very large diameter pool noodles. I’ve found them 8" in diameter.
At any rate, I would not be inclined to use carbon fiber rods for connection but rather something less strong, like PVC pipe. I’d want the bridging connection to be apt to break before my boat did if there was an abrupt event.
this^
and it wouldn't have to be a complex thing to create, either. You have that back open hatch with the bungee across it, you could do this by using a spare paddle with some foam noodle attached to the blade as a paddle float, laid across that sideways so the one end is in the water and the opposite is under the bungees. Or you could slide the foam down the paddle shaft towards the blade when the paddle is broken down in 2 halves, add a bit of duct tape, then put it back together to make your "temporary" outrigger. If you have any old styrofoam laying around, you can do this with that, too.
Then align the kayaks side by side, but facing opposite directions, with some sort of breakaway tie from one center handle to other center handle. You want something that will be able to be released quickly and easily, again, can be real "low-tech" like a short piece of rope with some velcro or a bungee with carabiners. Put a pool floatie toy like an inflatable ring between them if you need to keep the kayaks from banging up against each other.
I wouldn't put the two eddys together in a rigid matter. They are already pretty stable for photography.
edit to add-
the "tracks" you are seeing on your kayak are for the installation of an optional storage hatch cover. don't use that for this. use the handles in the middle. you can probably get most of what you need with a piece of string, a quick release clip, and a pool ring float or little kiddie raft, sandwiched between the two kayaks as a bumper :) Don't forget to have a knife or surgical scissors on your pfd.