Hobie PA 14 Mods

Had a chance to work on some mods on a couple of our kayaks. On my PA I wanted to make a mount for my new el cheapo action camera. Since I have a lot of PVC fittings from my irrigation days I decided to work what I had laying around. Used 1/2" PVC and fittings for the mount. Wrapped a little Gorilla tape around the base on the 1/2" PVC that goes into the sail mast port for a snug fit.

This summer I plan on doing some night fishing. Never been able to do so before in a kayak without lights. So I bought a 12 volt 18 watt spot light and made a mounting pole using more PVC 3/4". The PVC pole is offset and angles towards the front of the kayak being behind the action camera so I can still use the camera at night if the need arises. I'm happy with how well it lights up the deck. Also it's high enough so at least a few of the bugs that'll swarm the light when it's on will be higher in the air and hopefully not as bad as if I were wearing a head lamp.

Also installed some rubber latches on the front hatch. Never been a fan of how Hobie uses the black cord to keep the hatch closed. I'm liking how these latches are working. Now if I ever do turtle at least I know my hatch won't be hanging open letting the kayak flood.

I installed some LED's too. Will post pics when I can get her on the water in the dark.

Good work Jerry!

Thanks Mike. Took it out Sunday after doing these mods and found the switches I used are junk. After getting about a dozen spots of water on the panel the switches wouldn't completely turn off a couple of my lights. Like it was allowing a small amount of current to pass through even though they were off. After drying out a couple of days they work fine. They're supposed to be IP67 rated. Definitely don't recommend them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H9PNM87/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good to know. Hopefully, you can find a replacement switch to fit the holes that you drilled...

What about red lights so you don't ruin your night vision?

Red or green lights are a bad idea as they could be confused for the red/green lights on the bow.

That's my issue now. Killed me to cut a hole in the boat slightly smaller than the plate. Now I'm stuck with that backing plate.

Not for me. I'm with Ocelot.

I've wondered about the cords on my front hatch as well. Where did you get the latches you used? Also, I use blue LED lights that provide enough light for most needs at night. They're good on your night vision and aren't confused for nav lights. My LED 360 light gives me enough white light for most situations, but to avoid any problems with my aging vision I have white LED's as a back up to my blues.

Here's what I used for the latches. They work great!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FVN4MS7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Nicely done!