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Yeti Cooler on a Clacka'

10K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  Old406Kid 
#1 ·
I just replace the front seat box on my clacka' with a yeti cooler...not exactly an optimal instal' but it should keep the beer cold for 3 or 4 days. It would be nice if a cooler manufacture provide dedicated hard mounts molded into the base; for 60 cents worth of plastic and threaded inserts you could sell a cooler with a bit more capability/flexibility.

 
#5 ·
I have a similar set up in my Hyde drift boat. Mine, however, was a factory installed option, where the cooler is mounted on an aluminum plate that is fastened to the floor.

If and when I get another drift boat I doubt that I would want to have a similar set up. While it is nice to have that Yetti cooler in the boat, it is a bit more work to remove the cooler every time I want to clean it out after using it, and the cam straps and those rubber latches on the cooler are just a few more things to periodically catch a person's fly line (my best fishing friend loves throwing streamers and his fly line is forever catching on those Yetti rubber lid latches).

Oh, and I just had my 12 year old grandson with me for the past month. Since he is just beginning to fly fish, and loves it, I always put him in the front seat, sitting on top of the Yetti cooler. That way each time he was fishing with me so I could help him with his fishing more easily than if he was in the rear seat. With most of the food, drinks and snacks in the cooler, I could never keep him out of it!
 
#10 ·
I didn't go with those corner mounts because they stick up too much (probably only use the cooler for overnight trips) but i'm sure they'd work. I plan on putting the box seat back in the boat for day trips; I put tire tread on the bottom of the box to raise it over the low profile cooler mounts. Totally hear ya on changing the CG but the boat was originally designed to have 2 box mounted seats in the front so I figure one guy plus a cooler is close to equal to 2 guys (I moved the oarsman seat aft but i'm sure i'll have to adjust at some point).....besides, the cooler is really meant as a place for fastactionfreddie to store his entire collection of gifted buffs; buffs don't weight very much. ;)
 

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#11 · (Edited)
My favorite thing about your fancy Yeti set-up is that MY ass is going to be sitting on it ... next week in fact ... in the Idaho sun ... with Yeti-chilled-to-perfection-beer inches from hand. OPB ... i'm moving up in the world and i'm so excite.
Smile Property Facial expression Plant Sunglasses


if you see 2 guys wearing buffs that match their Yeti cooler - that's us. if one has a fish on - that's me.
 
#16 ·
well ... i'd take retired over a yeti and a clacka. and i don't even have a yeti and a clacka ... my friend does ...

just make sure you don't have any (more) kids at your age and status ... that's my advice to you. it will divert time and financial resources away from your hobbies.

but then again, your friend is the psychadelic grammarist ... that's more fun than a yeti and a clacka.
 
#18 ·
A serious thing to consider when you do something like this, is that it will change the center of gravity in the boat. For flat-bottomed, hard-chined drifters it probably won't make any difference, but other craft, your boat's bottom shape will determine if it's a wise idea or not.
So, yes, fully loaded it DID change the cg ... it mainly made the boat handle like a barge, hard to move and control. Besides handling like a barge, what does a forward cg do? does moving weight aft of the aft seat help? it moves the cg, but does so by moving weight far forward and far aft, vs. located nearer to the cg.
 
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