I received a pair of YakGear outriggers for my yak on my 60th birthday. They were very easy to assemble and mount to the yak. It only took about 15 minutes. I did have to drill 8 holes in the yak to install the two scotty mounts. But considering the safety benefits.... The tradeoff made it definitely worth while. Also I now have 2 more mounting locations for any Scotty mount yak accessory if I choose to remove the toons, so I say plus plus. Once you have the Scotty mounts in place, everything else just snaps or screws together. No tools required. They can be adjusted many ways and changes can be made bank side very quickly. I would not attempt to adjust the toons while under way other than the cool way you can raise and lower the toons if done carefully on the fly if you need to tie off to a tree, get through a tight spot, or pull up flush to a dock. It's a "just twist the knob to loosen, raise the toon, and twist the knob to tighten. They can be adjusted so they barely skim the water so there is very little drag when paddling. I am going through some medical issues at the moment, so I have not had the opportunity to try them out on the water.... Yet!!! I'm looking at multiple surgeries in the near future. Once done I should be free to yak my heart out LOL!!! Crossing fingers....



Here it is in Star Wars mode like an X wing fighter in non combat mission mode.



Here it is in Star Trek mode with nacelles extended and ready for warp speed.



The toons are made of a similar plastic as the yak and although they look like the inflatable toons on the Scotty brand kit. These look like they will never fail and don't require a patch kit. Each pontoon has a spot on top for an additional scotty mount which would work great for a GoPro camera mount. and would keep the camera out of the way for fishing videos as well as a whole new perspective for your YouTube viewers. That is if you are into making fishing videos.



The arms are made from very sturdy 8 sided aluminum tubing. Much better quality than most similar bars I have seen. The arms are infinitely adjustable so they can be raised up and down to any position you like.



I also received a Lowrance Hook2 4X fish finder, battery, and scupper mount for the transducer from another family member for the same birthday. But that's a different story. I'll share that when I'm feeing good enough to perform the install. Although that one looks pretty easy also.

Im curious, don't they get in the way of your paddle swing?

I have not had them on the water yet but I dry paddled in my driveway and they do not seem to be in the way.. As I said, they are very easily adjustable and can be set in just about any position. I can tilt them back also They would not be as wide but can move about 1 1/2 feet front or back from the center line. So I doubt that will be an issue and I'll still gain some stability, which I need. I mounted them further forward than most folks would so that I can raise them on the fly. Any further back and it would be unstable to do so but The pictures make it look more close than it actually is. I'll try and capture some pictures tomorrow with me in the seat paddle in hand and from the side to show what I mean if you want.

Warning..... I'm not very photogenic LOL!!!.

Nicely done. Nice rig.

Thank you.

Thats very cool

I like it.

I'm going to take her out to a near by pond this weekend to test the toons and my new Lowrance Hook2 4x finder as well.. I made a few adjustments to the toons. I swung them back about a foot or so. This brings them closer to the yak and gives it more of a jon boat stance by only adding about 45 inches to the 30 inch kayak width at 45 degrees rather than a catamaran like feel at 90 degrees by adding about 60 inches to the width. It not only gives it a sleeker look, but makes me think it will turn better than when extended to the max. Since I am still waiting on my surgeries and with this Central Texas heat, I won't be on the water for very long. but I'll be out there long enough to give her a solid test run. I am so looking forward to when I will be able to do things like a normal person again. Fish yaking is #1 on my list and 10# or better catfish will be my first quarry.
.

I like it 👍 looking forward to hearing how the test run goes.

I made adjustments to the toons and here are the results..



The toons are about a foot further back than they were. But even in the previous position I actually had to try to hit them when dry paddling and I have a long paddle.

I don't know if you can make it out but I mounted my orange safety flag on my left toon. This takes it out of the way for casting, especially with fly rods (I'm right handed). It's a Railblazza flag and a scotty mini star style mount. Took about 15 seconds to mount it and less to pull it off for transport or storage. The toons have screw mounts that work with all single screw scotty style bases. Very easy, good quality, and great price. Ok YakGear….. Where is my advertising swag bag? LOL!!!! JK folks, I'm just a happy customer.

Doc1986,

Thanks,

My screen says your also in Copperas Cove. I live on the Kempner side of town and have recently started fishing in Clear Creek Pond on Fort Hood just East of the 190 bypass across from HEB. Heck if you want to see how it works, that's where the test will happen this Saturday. Do you yak? I am new to yaking myself but not to boats so this is my first foray into the paddle world. I'm also intrigued by the nickname you chose. I used to go by Doc1982 in another forum. The Doc part was from what my Marines called me (I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman) I was assigned to the Marines as a field medic in 1982.

It's actually raining!!!!! Lol. That is correct. I'm off of AVE B and Big Divide so on the North Side of town and I know that pond well. I may come out there gives me an excuse to work out the 4x4 on my project truck if the rain keeps up (Tank trails are the best when there soupy). I had a yak for a few years but life happened and it had to go but I am back in the market. My usual haunt was Stillhouse, I would launch under the bridge on Stillhouse Hollow road (FM 2484) and paddle up into the Lampasas River to fish. Thank you for your service! I was Doc (Army Combat Medic) from 2007 to 2014 and my two younger squids...I mean brothers were and are FMF Corpsman (one got out after 6yrs and the other is still active with 8yrs under is belt).

Squids eh? LOL When my Marines would call me a squid I'd reply with Yep I'm a squid. And squids [censored] on lower forms of Marine life LOL!!!! I was the oddball in my family since Dad and my older brother were both in the Army. I did 10 years and then came back home.... Aaaack here.... (yep born on the Hood) And did another 20 years as a Department of the Army civilian here prior to retiring. Now I build console and lap steel guitars, fish, and watch tv LOL It's a rough life.... But someone has to do it. Thanks for your service too.

P.S. Thank you to the forum gods for censoring me as you did above. I'll try harder.... My apologies.

Very cool. I could see these coming in really handy if you had to reenter from the water. Almost no chance of tipping over while trying to pull yourself up and on.

I can see that, although with my limiting medical conditions righting a flipped boat setup like a catamaran and climbing back in to it would probably not be a can do from my perspective while in deep water. But then again I received the outriggers on my b-day to keep me in/on the kayak in the first place. Hopefully between taking precautions and kayaking responsibly, climbing back on will be an experience I never have to attempt or endure from a single person perspective. Yep that would suck big time. If I were to flip the boat I would climb up on it's hull and lay there until someone came to my rescue or I floated to a bank.