Looking for a paddle keeper kit, similar to what WS has on the side of their Tsunami’s. I have an OT Cayuga, am perfectly willing to drill some holes. Anything out there?
If you shop around…
you can find the nylon “hooks” with an eyelet. Keep asking at the kayak and canoe shops.
Drill two holes for the bungee cord, and a third in the middle for the hook. This hole should be between the two for the bungee, and an inch or so higher on the hull.
Knot the bungee inside the hull at each end. Park paddle on hull, pull bungee over, and place in nylon hook.
Simple and cheap, kinda like me.
If you could use a picture to understand this better, e-mail me.
OT put one on the Castine, I’m surprised they didn’t do it on the Cayuga.
T
suggestion…
Hi…take a look at the paddle holders from NativeWatercraft for their boats.
you can find them on EBay
search “paddle keeper” … 2/$15
Old Town website
had some at one time, but have not visited it lately.
I’ve had two OT Castine and neither have had these, so it must have been earlier models than 2002.
We have them on our Loon 111’s and they work great!
ZRE
ZRE has em too
Newer Cayugas have them
I have a Cayuga as well, and was kind of dissapointed in the lack of paddle keeping as i was upgrading from a loon. I have recently seen some of the newer cayugas that have paddle keepers though, and they’ve actually improved them a little. The old style was a hook and bungee as mentioned earlier, but the newer ones are a flattened disk with a small flange underneath instead of a hook, it’s a lower profile and harder to smack your knuckles on when paddling. Try going to an old town dealer, see if they can hook you up with one.
I Gotta Say it
Get a Greenland paddle and just tuck it under the bungies.
If OT puts them on boats
a quick call to them will likely have them in the mail to you at very little cost. The one time I dealt with them it was ordering front foot pegs for a tandem Loon. They put them in the mail along with extra hardware for a total charge between $13 and $14. No fuss, no hassle. Hopefully they’re still that helpful.
Keepers
Not a fan of paddle keepers because I either break them or skin my knuckles with them.
And not a fan of a leash for a paddle because in current and rapids, the leash can turn dangerous.
The bungie & hook
is the best way i’ve found.
I popped down to the local store that sells kayaks and looked voer every kayak with this system to see what looked workable and how they were done.
The bungie can be run through two holes and tied off (the silivcon the holes) or you can mount two pad-eyes to the hull over rubber washers (to prevent leaking) and tie the bungie to those pad-eyes.
The advantage tothe pad-eyes is a) no leaks and b) easier to replace the bungie when it gets old.