Good for you Greg! I know you've gotten lots of ideas to rig it for fishing, start ordering some of those items and you'll be styling in short order!
Rich still hasn't received the hull components though they've cleared customs. He said that it will be tight to get my boat by the time I go on holiday (and I need a holiday bad!) but has offered to ship me His boat to use at no charge due to the delay. I've been able to add accessories to the order too. He said he'll keep me informed on when the boat will arrive. He also said he's working on a design for side gear bags with at least splashproof storage that won't interfere with the seat or oars. Yeah!
Postponed my Holiday a month to 1st of May. Still not shipped and understand no Caviness oars or LVMs I ordered expected in stock until "next week".
Sorry Brian, Looks like your customer expectations will not be met. Try to have a great holiday regardless! I remain hopeful for my delivery in the first week of May. What I really don't want to experience is forum member Michaels Nelson's "NFO experience" in slow motion. rant: There was a time when I led a team that manufactured tangible products, custom ordered. We provided customer notifiication regarding pick up availability upon completion (almost always prior to the original ECD). When we received calls requesting updated order status, we always provided an updated ECD that allowed us to call the customer ahead of time, exceeding their expectations. This made for a pleasant exchange during pick up. Sorry, I just don't see any upside to overly optimistic projections and missed commitments. They have a devastating effect on customer satisfaction.
BSI called and WM with standard oars, no LVM, was dropped off to ship yesterday . Wednesday delivery is expected; halfway through my holiday so I can probably take a short trip to Eastern Washington. Caviness oars will (I hope cross-)ship Thursday, likely arrival the following Monday. LVMs are backordered until mid-month. How long it takes to inflate a Kodiak with a a K200? K40?
Glad to hear you're getting your boat. Re: inflation time, I use the foot pump and it takes me 8-10 min to inflate my Kodiak.
Brian, Rule makes basically the same pump for 1/2 price. Mine has lasted 2 years so quality isn't an issue. Just Google ' Rule ID 20' Here's a link for one:http://www.hodgesmarine.com/Rule-Id20-12v-Inflator-Deflator-p/rulid20.htm
My Water Master Kodiak raft arrived yesterday afternoon. Caviness oars with longer slender blades are expected to cross - ship in another week with the LVM. I spent the evening aquainting myself with it in the garage. The new Royal Blue color is nice. The high back seat upgrade apparently eliminates the seat back storage pouch. My Allen Vest Pack would be uncomfortable to sit with in the seat with so I wore just the vest and slung the pack over the seat back. That lessens the amount of gear I need to move around and would likely forget or misplace. There are two buckles on the seat back that I will rig with straps and quick release buckles that will simply clip into the vest buckles on the Allen Pack. Took it out to a local small put & take lake with a no combustion motor restriction for a maiden voyage and was also able to finally christen the new Echo 2 - 9' 5 weight rod and Allen Alpha 5/6 reel. All in all a good day! View attachment 31206 View attachment 31214 View attachment 31215
Glad to see you got your new WM wet. I really like the new blue color option you have. How did your rod holder work out. I've been just laying my rod pointing straight back (towards my feet) and resting the reel over the seatback strap to keep it from launching during a quick hit. As for gear storage I am using a vest with a small gear bag and a six pack cooler. I have been trying to reduce the amount of stuff that just gets a ride all day long and never sees the light of day. Less is better in my opinion on my WM. Mike
Great news Brian! Glad you're on the water. Doesn't sound like you have any real squawks to report. Rich from BSI left a message for me today, stating that my Kodiak Package was sent out yesterday. It should be arriving Monday afternoon. I took the day off yesterday and also went to a local lake. Covered a bit of water trolling a dark olive, black hackled woolley bugger. The fish were very receptive, perhaps due to the improvement in weather. Caught one 16" trout and C& R several around 10". Kept three for the fry pan. The 16incher had its gut just loaded with dozens of snails. I was in my old floored raft, and in reference to what Mike was speaking to above about just laying the rod back, and waiting for hits... One would think the hook-up rate would improve quite a bit when you are finning and have a hand on the rod. I probably only hooked up 50% of the time when using oars with the rod just laying down. Although it was a put and take lake, I still fish barbless, and could imagine some fish just shake the hook before you can begin to apply tension. Always looking for reasons to justify a new purchase you know!
I totally agree with you. The few times that I lay down the rod is to re-rig the #2 rod, grab a snack or open a cool one from the cooler. I have used rod holders in the past and there is a slight delay in getting the rod out of the sleeve they use. With the rod laying you can just grab the grip and tilt the rod up to keep some tension on the strike. I will say that 98% of the time my flyrod is in my hand if I'm finning or at anchor for a better hook rate. Mike
Thanks Mike. Awesome news Greggor, Yeah! I only use the rod rack when I am not using the rod and the line is secured out of the water. I have to lean forward pretty far to get to the rods in the holders and since I can maneuver quite well without oars, I haven't seen the need to use them while trolling.
My Water Master arrived this afternoon as scheduled. Everything I ordered was included. No surprises. The quality looks great upon first inspection. I inflated the boat to 3 PSI (I was amazed how hard that actually feels). I then gave her a light coat of 303 Protectant. The pressure has not changed in either chamber over the last four hours. All is good! I had to wait a little longer than expected, but what the heck, the weather is just now really starting to shape-up. View attachment 31261
Nice looking boat. I've never used one but might check them out in Chris' gear program. I've seen some folks fishing them and they look nimble, stable and comfortable. Hope you enjoy her, when are you two going on your first date?
Thanks Mumbles! We hope to get acquinted at a local lake on Thursday. I don't expect to do a lot of serious fishing on the first date. Still, I might make a report if we happen to make some great music together! :thumb:
Glad to hear you got your boat Greg! Did you get to take it out today? I'm still waiting for the Caviness oar upgrades (2 + spare), spare oarlock, LVM, and a new splash-proof PVC gear bag that mounts with the mesh bag.
