I was recently able to join the pedal drive crowd by picking up an 06 Outback. The boat was in good structural shape, but needed all the soft parts redone. I replaced the bungees, seals, and the seat needed replacing also.
When I started researching seats, I found where a lot of people were installing Jackson Elite seats on Outbacks. I picked up the seat at Black Creek Outfitters and started deciding how to mount it. I found a lot of great solutions, including Ferg's on Jakayakfishing. I really wanted minimize the amount I raised the center of gravity, so I landed on using a piece of aluminum bar stock (1/4"x1-1/2"). This solution caused an interference problem with the bottom of the seat back when I tried to fold the seat forward for travel. In order to overcome this and allow the seat to be removed. I used stainless steel 1/4" clevis pins to attach the seat to the bar. I put stainless and nylon washers in to reduce wear and noise. In the front, I used some heavy tie wraps to attach it to the fitting. The seat that I bought was also missing one of the straps that attached the seat back to the front of the seat. This was a blessing in disguise, because it made me look at the old straps off my Hobie seat. I decided to use those straps and attach them to the hull fitting. This should reduce the stress pulling back on the seat itself and help anchor the seat to the boat. I used a loop of Amsteel to eliminate any binding or interference between the clips and the seat. I also wrapped the feet in neoprene and attached the web strap to the hatch screw.
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20151109_163545 My main concern with the boat, of course, was the problem some of the boats from that era had with drive well hull cracks. I checked for any sign of problems before I bought it and found none. I also knew that because it was a late 2006 boat, it had the reinforcement molded into the front of the drivewell. I reached out to this forum asking whether I should do some preventive reinforcing and I got some great advice from RoadRunner and MMiller. I also saw a lot of good mods, especially the pvc mod to the cam posts by BlackCreek. I found some ScotchWeld DP8010 and first did the cam posts. Although not pretty, they should be solid now, especially since I found some of the longer cam bolts and installed them. Even though the drivewell was reinforced from the factory, I wanted to see if I could add some insurance there. Building on BlackCreek's pvc idea, I took a 1-1/4" pvc elbow, cut it in 2 pieces which fit the area well. I used an entire tube of 8010 to fill both sides of the pvc and used tape to help the epoxy stay in place till it set. I also filled the hole between the factory reinforcement and the well with 8010. I did my best to thorough prep the areas by sanding (I actually sanded more after the pic was taken) and wiping with alcohol, so it should adhere well. Who knows whether I actually accomplished much as far as strengthening the hull, but It makes me more confident, especially with the turbo fins.
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20151109_124709 After all is said and done, I am happy with the way the mods turned out. The raised seat is very comfortable, but id does raise the center of gravity. The 06 and older outbacks were a little weaker in primary stability anyway, but it is not bad for me. The secondary stability is good and of course, I can pull this seat and put in a stock seat if I was ever going offshore or whatever.
I really appreciate all the ideas and support people have shared online. I hope someone is able to use something they see here to improve their kayak and maybe make it last a little longer.
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