Looking Out

Well it's day, who knows how many days since the Corona virus took over our collective attention. Things have moved pretty fast, the world is in a most unusual state, fret and concern are likely for all of us today, no matter how hard we try to stay focused on positive thoughts, there will be at least a moment where reality says hello, and some type of worry will cross our minds. The trick is to not let worries set in.

This morning I woke up with it, angst. Things are changing, how will we keep up? Who knows? But we will, we always do, there's no other real choice but to press on and adapt as a society, as families, as individuals.

As I look out the window it occurs to me that the snow which has fallen overnight isn't any different than it was last week, or last month. It drifts into the same places I've seen it drift since we arrived here in Montana last summer. The crocus and lilies, responding to the warm spells we've experienced are peeking through the morning's snow. Neither the snow nor the spring plants are aware of what's going on in the human world. The birds, squirrels and rabbits are oblivious too, they care nothing for economies, possessions nor do they fret about death, they're just alive.

Gary, a friend who worked nearby, used to visit me every morning for a few years when I had a taxidermy business in Fort Worth. We would sit and drink coffee before the rest of the crew showed up and he would head to his job. He was a pleasant, older man, ready and about to retire at the time. Most mornings were filled with laughter and story telling. One morning Gary showed up uncharacteristically grumpy, unexcited about the project he was faced with for the day. The finches I kept in my office were being exceptionally chatty that morning, they got that way as soon as the light came on and the cage cover was lifted.

Gary kept staring at the finches, his facial expression alternating between joy and anger. Finally after only about 10 minutes, a third of our normal morning time he stood up, look at me, looked back at the cage full of excited little birds and said "those damn things sure are happy this morning" gave a long pause fighting back what I imagine were a few choice words.

As he headed for the exit he turned and said "It's because they don't have to go to damn work."

The next day Gary showed up and apologized for letting, what he called work worry, get the best of him. "No problem" was my reply. I was thinking I wish I possessed his self-control.

He went on to explain his philosophy of getting through tough days. It involved looking beyond immediate worries to focus on the long-term, big picture, and that in the end we all meet the same final fate on earth. The jest of his philosophy is that as long you're still alive, you haven't met your end. Then he paraphrased, or more correctly butchered this quote.

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." a quote often attributed to John Lennon. Not sure if he did say that, it sounds like him, but we can't ask because he's no longer with us. It's a good quote that sprung up a few years ago in a movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

I lost touch with Gary about 20 years ago. I was busy going to damn work everyday, just trying to survive in a world moving too fast. I didn't think much of it at the time though that morning is firmly etched in my mind.

Now, looking out the window at the morning snow, I wonder if Gary is still going to damn work everyday.

Lifetime Tamarack Seat Modification

Okay I admit it, I own and fish from an inexpensive kayak. Would I enjoy having a more expensive model with more room to store more stuff? Maybe but I would probably just pile more crap on there to get my fly line tangled in. Besides if it ain't broke don't fix it and the Lifetime Tamarack Angler is definitely not broken.

An original factory Tamarack 100 Angler

I have been on a few other brands of kayaks and freely admit that some do have features that make them a little appealing but not nearly enough for me to trade the Tamarack. One of the main reasons it's stability. The Tamarack is extremely stable for a 10 foot kayak. It can be turned over but luckily, so far at least, I haven't flipped mine, though I can't say the same for my brother the first time he borrowed it. In all honesty I may have made him a bit overconfident by touting how stable it is.

Another reason is this thing is as tough as nails! The high density polyethylene (HDPE) it's molded from is, so far bullet-proof and the material makes it possible for me to do repairs with a soldering iron, propane torch and a spare piece of plastic. Not that I've needed to do any actual repairs but I have patched some self-inflicted screw holes as I fumble my way toward kayak fishing perfection.

You may ask, is it the perfect personal fishing vessel? The short answer is no but it's pretty close, especially with a few simple modifications.  The most important modification is the seat, all the other mods are just basically adding stuff to get my fly line tangled in....didn't I just say that?

The original seat on the Tamarack has a couple flaws, okay it's just one flaw but for two reasons. First it's too low making it uncomfortable for being seated and paddling for more than a couple hours at a time. Stay down there too long and the old man leg cramps and back aches set in. Second, because it's too low you sit in water that comes in through the scuppers the whole time your in it. That's not too bad in the summer but for cool and cold weather outings it requires waders which can be disastrous if the kayak were to flip. Safety first!!!

Cascade Stadium Seat

Shortly after acquiring the Tamarack I did a quick internet search to see what others might have done to correct the issue. What I found was the addition of a Cascade Mountain Tech Stadium Seat. The man that posted it had his just strapped in with a bungee using the original seat back to keep it from flipping backwards when doing things like setting the hook on a fish. I tried this for a while but still found the seat to be too low and given I weigh in at 235 lbs my butt still got wet occasionally.

After a couple backwoods modifications I'm too embarrassed to show you I finally broke down and made the modification I thought of the first time I dropped the Cascade seat into the molded seat well. Now I sit 6 inches higher than the original height, stay completely dry and can't perceive any loss of stability.

Original seat back and pad removed.

Here's a quick run down of how I did it.

First I removed the original seat by popping the latch that holds the seat back in place and removed the straps from the seat back anchors next to the lift handles on the sides. I eventually removed the seat back bracket completely and welded the holes closed- one of those times when the HDPE is awesome.

Next I pulled the seat bottom cushion lose from the plastic fasteners in the seat well. Just get in there and pull, it will pop right off the plastic fasteners.

To seal the fastener holes so water doesn't flood the inside of the hull I cleaned around them and placed a piece of Gorilla tape over each of the fasteners after pressing them firmly back into the holes. As you'll see later on, I eventually welded these fastener holes shut because I can't foresee using them in the future. I like the seat raised so much better than sitting in the molded seat well. I was completely surprised at how well the Gorilla tape sealed the fastener holes.

Here is where you'll have to forgive me in that I did the modification without taking complete step by step photos but I believe if you're handy enough to tackle this you should be able to extrapolate the fine details.

The whole operation is going to require some materials that in my case cost me $45 at my local Lowe's home improvement store. The total cost was a few dollars more because I had the nylon straps and buckles already from a previous project.

Here is what you'll need, hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. Let me know if I have please!
1- 4 foot long 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum square tube
1- 3 foot long 1" x 1/8" aluminum flat bar
4- 12 x 2" panhead metal screws
10- 10 x 1" panhead metal screws
2- set of plastic buckles for 1" nylon strap
2- fender washers
6 feet of 1" nylon strap
Gorilla tape
Gorilla Clear Glue

Cut the components for the seat platform. Here's what you will need;
2 pieces 1" x 1/8" x 14" aluminum flat bar
2 pieces 3/4" x 3/4" x 22 3/8" aluminum square tubing

Once the pieces are cut make sure that

I had previously added a paddle keeper clip and cord on the right hand side of the kayak. The J clip is located where the dimple is molded into the hull near the lift handle. This and the factory installed paddle keeper clip on the left side were my measuring points. With the 14" aluminum bar nestled into the recess along the gunwale and behind the paddle keeper J-clip slide it as far forward as possible.

Next drill 3 pilot (1/8") holes through the aluminum bar and the gunwale recess to locate the #10 x 1" panhead screws in the next step. Make sure the forward hole is located between the J-clip and the deeper recess where the seat retainer strap was located.The center hole is easy to see in the photo above. The rear hole is difficult to see, it's located 3/4" from the end of the strap. Remove the aluminum strap and drill open the 3 pilot holes in the strap ONLY to 3/16".

Repeat this step on the other side of the kayak.

Place each aluminum strap back in position and start the forward and aft #10 x 1" panhead screws into the pilot holes in the gunwale. Do not tighten them completely at this time, they will be removed in a following step.

With both aluminum straps in place along the gunwale mark the position for the aluminum 3/4" x 3/4" aluminum square tubing.