I’ve seen photos of outrigger type floats on kayaks.
Anyone know where I can find some?
Huki makes something they all Gull wings, but I don;t know if they only fit Huki boats or would fit other brands
https://www.huki.com/index.php?page=Gull_Wing
Thanks but for almost $2K, I think I’ll risk falling in. In 3 months.
Do you mean something like this?
Yak Gear Outriggers - sporting goods - by owner - sale (craigslist.org)
Yes. I’m beginning to think about making my own.
A couple of chunks of Minicell , a PVC spanner, and the hard part will be attaching it to the boat.
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what kind of boat do you have?
Why not just trade the ski in for an OC-1?
You might, also, be able to find an ama and aka from a crashed OC-1 and turn your ski into one.
My boat is a Stellar S14S.
Should be easy using the rigging across the back deck. Supplement the port and starboard side with a length of static deck line and you can use the deck rigging to slide the iako through and tie off to.
Once you’re happy with it then we need to put a SeaDog Commander Sail on that rig and you’re ready for Tahiti!
There are quite a few outrigger kits or just floats for sale on ebay. Just search for “kayak outrigger”. Some are pretty cheap and of course I can’t tell you if they’re any good.
Thanks
String, I bet you’ll find the S14S adequately stable at 24.6" beam. Just because its a ski doesnt make it a tippy beast.
That said, if you look on the Rivermiles forum, a guy has made multiple OC1’s out of old super tippy ski hulls because they had no value and were plentiful. He shaped foam and covered it in fiberglass. I forget what he used for poles. I think they were aluminum painter’s poles or something similar. If you ask on rivermiles he had a thread that showed how he made them.
The easier and option is the floats mentioned, but those are rarely hydrodynamic looking.
But if you could handle a Tsunami then you will likely be fine in the S14S.
A 24" ski will be very stable due to your low seating position and relatively healthy beam.
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The issue isn’t the boat; it’s me.
I am 6’5" and top heavy. My COG is higher than most.
That and another issue make this a challenge for me.
I’m serious about the training wheels comment. I think a little more balanced seat time will be useful.
If seated balance is the problem, there’s another way to improve it: Ride a road bike. And not just once in a blue moon while socializing.
Ride it to develop smooth technique and confident handling. Those skills will help your paddling, not to mention CV health. The high COG and tallness are also factors in cycling balance.
If you are comfortable riding a skinny-tired bike, then ride it on rollers. When I was riding MTB almost daily, a few times in summer I would ride rollers on the road bike to fine-tune my balance. Without fail, then riding the MTB on technical singletrack the next day was noticeably easier.
Cross-training is a good thing.
That ski is what Stellar itself calls a recreational SOT, so you’re correct that “it’s not the boat.” I do hope you can make it enjoyable. Good luck.
It almost sounds like the Peter Principle is trying to raise its ugly head
I’m trying to paddle beyond my ability? Quite possibly.
What I’m trying to do is keep up with younger paddlers.
And I like cool boats.
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And the S14S is a really cool boat!
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