Casting bar

[GreyNurse]

Hi Raiders,

As you know, many kayak makers extoll their products' virtue of stability as one of the main features. This boast is usually accompanied somewhere thereabouts with a picture of an angler standing up casting or playing "the big one". Indeed, width, the greater of which offers said stability, can often be the deciding factor of a yak purchase.

But glossy pics and width at the hips is one thing. Actually performing the simple act of standing from an 'L" position is harder than it looks...... for me, ay least. I've never had fantastic balance (hated gym), I have a fear of precipices ( crawl on my belly to look over the high rock ledge) and ladders are definitely not on my Xmas card list. factor in that I'm not getting any younger and that I have had my share of back surgery. So it's not really surprising when I discovered I was worse than a newborn foal when it came to trying to stand up in my Noa copy. I've done it once, When I had the bow beached on sand. And then I had to have a painter to grab on to and hoist myself up.

I've been doing some research and have come across a few yaks that feature what they call a casting bar, or brace. I call it a bloody good thing! I'm thinking a new pimping project! I could make one from ally tubing. Might need a yakattack type rail system to mount the "bloody good thing" so it's position adjustable. OR use the scuppers and make a PVC Pro Angler type H-bar system.

Has anyone completed such a project? If so, could they post pics, measurements and estimated cost of parts? Can they be purchased here in Oz, perhaps? C'mon, help an old fella out here. Standing certainly has it's advantages from being able to cast further and cast a full 360 degrees, to playing that fish that requires a bit more leverage, to just being able to get some circulation back in the butt. Oh, OK girls, I fess up. A guys gotta pee sometime. And we are built for a standing ovation. It's a guy thing, I know.

[arpie]

Hi Nursie

Google 'Hobie H Bar' - they have made a collapsible bar to assist you in standing up in yaks - and also to lean on whilst fishing standing up (I think it was originally aimed at Fly Fishos, as there is much more movement associated with casting from a yak whilst standing up ......)

I have great difficulty trying to stand from what is essentially 'ground level' without a reasonable 'push up' area ...... and you just don't have that luxury in most yaks. The Hobie PA 12 & 14 are different - as you are virtually in a chair & can use the arms to push yourself up - and the yak is VERY stable, so unless in turbulent water (when you wouldn't be standing anyway!) most folk would find it easy to stand up.

I have heard of non hobie yaks having the H Bar fitted. It lays down when you don't want to use it & then just set it up when you need it! Most who have bought one for a PA tend not to use it after a while, as the yaks ARE so stable, so some do come on the market 2nd hand, occasionally.

Good luck

Roberta

Freedom kayaks have a Stand Up Bar on theirs ...... others find that if you have 2 'outrigger/stabilizers' on the yak, that you can generally stand up easier on a yak - for whatever reason!!

Edited January 20, 2014 by Roberta

[GreyNurse]

Thanks Roberta,

Unfortunately, the H-Bar's not going to fit on my yak because there not enough flat area on the gunwales. Not only that, but a second hand one I saw on gumtree was going for $160! But I've come up with a plan to use the scuppers just forward of the cockpit hatch as the receptacle for a stand up bar made from 1" PVC. No drilling should be required, and I should be able to come up with a paddle/rod rest, as well as extra rod and tackle holders, to save bending down all the time to change lures, line, etc.

I'm surprised that no one has made one to date, or at least posted a blog of some kind.When I've completed the job, I'll post pics and a list of parts and materials required to make it and an estimated cost.

BTW, nice reply to bennoz whose buying his first yak. You've got the advice nailed. You should paste a copy of it into Notepad and save it as a template. That way, you need only make minor changes to suit the first timer's post instead of typing it all out.

[Linc]

I saw a yak that had a collapsible lean bar built in a while ago, that was rather impressive, though Roberta is right, the PAs are the way to go if you plan on a lot of standing in the yak, I used to get up and down in a little bit of chop with no issues and felt more stable standing in that than I often do in my tinny these days with the kids running around in it!

[arpie]

Thanks, Nursie - I have seen a couple of 'do it yourself' lean bars & tried to find the sites last night - but couldn't!

Your idea of using the forward Scuppers should work - as would any forward rod holders if they were molded into the yak. Using other bits of bent pipe fittings, you could still keep rod holders too, off at an angle?

Look forward to seeing the pics

Roberta

[LungFai]

Something like this?

Probably can make one out of a collapsible camping table leg.

[GreyNurse]

Hi LungFai,

I checked out the Freedoms as well. Once again, the problem is in the attachment of the bar to the yak. You can see on the Freedom that the ends of the upright bars appear to drop into a recess on the gunwale. The 45 Degree bar has a moulded recess for it, as well, by the looks of it. I thought of finding something like a female spline fitting that I could fit to the inner wall of the yak, with the corresponding male fitting on the end of the bar. But that also means bending the ends of the bar at right angles. Not good, as that would be a structural weak spot and likely to snap or tear after a time. I destroyed an aluminium crutch last night and played around with bending it, and stressing it. It didn't last long, but that was probably more likely due to the many holes pre-drilled for adjusting then height of the thing.

Roberta, the use of the forward rod holders has merit, but on my yak, they are inserts and they angle forward and away from me. damn, I was getting excited about that one.

So I'm going to stick with PVC. The nice thing about PVC, aside from all the customising you can do with it, is that you can re-enforce it with some old cricket stumps or tubular steel or ally. The scuppers are pretty well the perfect recess, although the bar assembly might get in the way of your legs, but you don't have to erect it until you've done peddling, paddling or motoring.

Stand up, stand up, stand up if your 3-0 up!

[Bartos09]

Hi grey nurse,

Why don't you build a frame that has your bar to lean on at the top, and transfers the load to outriggers below it. That way you are killing 2 birds with 1 stone. I'm guessing if you need a bar to get up, you might flip your yak once you're standing, especially if you get caught of guard by a bit of chop.

I built outriggers out of pvc pipe. It's just a frame that sits across the top of my kayak, with feet each side submerged in the water. I hold it down with ratchet straps. That way I can pack it up easily and throw it in the boot of my car, or flip it over on the yak to reduce drag if I want to paddle a long distance. Pvc pipe is quite strong, cheap and easy to work with. There are also things you can consider like;

1) Glue pipe inside pipe, to increase the wall thickness.

And/or

2) fill with expanding foam and cap the ends off. Both of these things dramatically increase the bending capacity. That way you can make your frame out of small diameter pipe.

I hope that made sense. I don't know how to attach a photo on my phone. I think once you see mine, it would be clearer. It wouldn't take much to add a bar onto my outrigger frame.

The big plus to this approach is that I don't need to attach it by drilling fixings. A ratchet strap is all I need. I modified mine twice until I got the result I wanted. You don't want to drill holes in your yak and then realise you neglected something in your design.

Good luck

Nev

[GreyNurse]

Hi Nev,

If you look in the "members' yaks" section, you'll see that I have made outriggers, but when I tested them, I found that they are not buoyant enough at this stage. However, I don't think I'll need them. They yak is plenty stable. It's just me. Getting up to stand is the part I've found near impossible without feeling like I'm going to go overboard. It's more of a confidence thing, I think. I don't think I'll need to do too much re-enforcing of the PVC, as I don't plan putting my full hefty 60kg on it. But that's subject to dry dock testing.

Once I have the bar completed, I'm going to caulk it so it floats. That way, if the deck becomes too cluttered, I can throw it in the drink (attached to a leash, of course) while I'm sitting.

For now, it's back to work measuring it all up.

Edited January 21, 2014 by GreyNurse

[LungFai]

So you don't really need a "Lean Bar" just support to stand?

Wouldn't raised handles do a better job than a bar?

*edit* Just took a look at your yak, you have a cupholder that you can use for a T bar made of PVC plumbing pipes that can be leashed and thrown into the drink once you are up and standing.

Will cost you about 20 bucks all up to make if you use DWV pipes bought from your hardware store.

Edited January 21, 2014 by LungFai

[GreyNurse]

No, a lean bar gives me much more than just a an aid to the act of standing up. There's so much more to it. Like incorporating a paddle rest, rod holders, a tackle tray, you name it, it can be fitted to the frame of the casting bar, within reason. Apart from that, the cup holder has vanished beneath the Lowrance FF. (stupid thing really. A cup's impractical and the thing was too small for a decent bottle). Also it was too shallow to expect any decent rigidity for a single upright pipe.

I've already designed and costed a PVC casting bar. The basic frame is coming in at around $30. Stay tuned for further updates.

[LungFai]

heh a useless cupholder.....i thought they only made them in Cheap Cars