When [Andrea] was looking for a freestyle kayak, he bought the cheap version of a high-end kayak. The hull is exactly the same as the high-end model, but to differentiate between product lines, Pyranha chose to use less expensive fittings. [Andrea] decided to bring his new kayak up to spec (Italian, here’s a Google translation) by fixing the problems in the cheaper model by bringing it up to more professional standards.
When [Andrea] got a hold of his kayak, the back rest was held on by a piece of nylon webbing secured with a plastic clamp. This was bound to fail after just a few outings, so he fixed this with a few steel nuts and bolts. The eyelets used to tie ropes to the kayak were terrible, so with a little bit of nylon webbing and a pair of buckles these were replaced.
Now, [Andrea] has a very nice kayak indeed, for less than the price of the more expensive version. Good job, [Andrea].
As a fellow paddler, its nice to see a kayak hack! I would have probably submitted some but I’ve lived far away from any good whitewater for a couple of years. 🙁
I’m impressed, if not shocked, to see a hack here that has absolutely no electronics whatsoever Good job!
Haven’t a clue about kayaks, but sure looks good to me.
And “kayak hack” is surprisingly fun to say.
site appears down…
hi, finally the site is back.
But I’ll move the article in a better place ASAP,
thamks to all for your kind comments
Nice hack. This is what this site is really for. It is why I started visiting it when I only needed to look at one article a day (ya know, because there was only 1 hack per day…).
Site’s down again.
I had to laugh when I saw this, because I went Kayaking for the first time on Tuesday.
I’m tempted to try my hand at building my own kayak…
Grrr… as soon as I’ll back home I’ll move the article somewhere else.
jwsmithc4, nice to know you started to kayak, but before modding a kayak wait to be confident in what you’re doing.
If the outfitting breaks when you are in serious waters, it’s not fun.
For instance I’ve tried my mod at the pool using it outside.
GOOD
killing your children and everyone else’s children for the sake of the (“almighty”) dollar. BAD
in other words the cheaper one uses JUST as much crude oil,
but lasts 10x LESS
(sells 10x the units cuz ppl wont fix the stupid attachment spots)