Storage: Do's and Don'ts

Thought I'd share my experience with storing my first-gen angler. Love this kayak and I've caught many a fish with it. Wish I hadn't been so stupid and if I can save one person from making the same mistake, I'll put up with all the well deserved comments about what an idiot I was.

So space was limited in our previous house and I had the brilliant idea of rigging up some pulleys to lift my kayak up to the garage ceiling and secure it there with some 2x4 supports.



Worked well while we were there. See how safe and sound my wife's car is underneath?

We ended up moving last year and the kayak was stored out in the work shop. No problem during the winter but when it came time to put the snowmobile away I brought the rigging back out to put the kayak up to the ceiling again. Except I forgot about those 2x4 supports. Just hauled it up to the ceiling and tied off the ropes. Then one day go out to the shop and find the nose of the kayak resting on the snowmobile.



Crap. Go look at the front. Double crap.



Yah, so those handles aren't meant to support the weight of the kayak for extended periods of time. And I know that this wasn't a Hobie approved method of storing the kayak but I still shed a tear at the sight of those gaping holes at the front of my mighty fishing vessel.

Well, I'm not going to just recycle this investment so I tried to find a way to make it work. Roughed up the plastic and put some fibreglass to it. The results were... not pretty. But it did keep the water out.



It didn't take long to figure out that I still needed some way of man-handling the front end of this thing. So I added an even uglier feature to the front end.



And I still needed it to get out of the way in the shop. So I built a shelf out of those 2x4's I should have supported the the kayak with in the first place.



And that's my story. Hopefully people can at least get a chuckle out of my wrong headedness.

Thanks for sharing! It definitely drives home that proper storage is key to keeping the PA from getting damaged. I was just curious regarding the front handle and hull pieces. Did it break off fairly cleanly? It looks like it from the pictures. While your fiberglass route does make it waterproof and allow you to put the new makeshift handle on, I might have gone the route of re-attaching the original handle and hull pieces, filling in any holes and re-enforcing it from the inside. Worst case you could have put a metal plate under the front by or through the Hobie badge and just attached your makeshift cord/handle there. That way the nose area could have maintained it's original look without having to worry about stressing the re-attached front end pieces.

I know what it's like to have a bonehead moment with a PA. I left my cart hanging below my 2012 PA when I went to leave the ramp last year. Was lazy that day and backed the truck up to the chain (hooked to 2 concrete posts. Private ramp.) I had a key to the lock on the end of the chain, but since the tailgate of the truck cleared the chain, I was using that method. Forgetting that the cart was under the PA, I pulled forward to leave and stopped immediately when the tension and noise happened. The cart hanging under the PA caught the chain. It pulled one side of the cart shaft through the re-enforced scupper and bent the other cart shaft 45 degrees.

Yes we all can do things we regret if we don't pay attention. Lesson learned. I always remove the chain now. Luckily I carry insurance on the kayaks. But I was sick to my stomach for a week and I'm sure you hated to see that happen to your PA.

Have a great weekend!

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

Yah, should have put a picture of the handle in there. It wasn't a very clean break with some tearing at the plastic and it initiated right around the insert for the handles so gluing wasn't an option and welding around that insert wasn't going to be a happy adventure. I thought about fabricating a crisp aluminum nose cone and riveting with a liberal application of silicone but getting all the angles around those curves was going to be challenging too. In the end I went for ugly and functional. Ah well, the fish don't seem to mind. Happy paddling!

Wow! Your hull picture made me go outside and give my 1st gen PA a hug!
Worst I ever came to damaging my PA was backing down a steep unimproved ramp too fast and darn near running over my PA with the trailer.