Rigging the Stealth Pro Fisha

Every kayak requires a bit of customization, and thats half the fun of getting one. Our norcal waters are cold and demanding, and after putting some miles on the boat there are a few modifications that are necassary to accommodate these conditions.  Heres a couple things Ive done with the Stealth. Note that fiberglass is easy to work with, can be cut with a jigsaw, but can strip if overtightening screws. So proceed with caution and familiarize yourself with working with fiberglass if you never have.

When you get the Stealth, the 1st thing you will notice is the footwells are tight for us cold water kayakers that wear booties.


This is mainly because the Stealths come from Durban, South Africa where the water is warm year round. Easy fix. After quadruple checking the placement of the foot pedal guides for my perfect fit, removed the  guides, trimmed off unused portion, sand rough edge, reinstall. Can always reattach the removed section as well.
Much better.

Second thing you will notice the flush mount rod holders are small and wont fit a lot of the poles, nets and gaffs we use in the ocean. Replaced with larger ones more common on kayaks outfitted here.

Big difference. Be careful not to strip the fiberglass when attaching. If you're more industrious than I, figuring a way to reinforce the flush mounts, especially those right behind the seat because of the flex in the glass, would be a most excellent upgrade.

Third is the seat backrest attaches to the grab handle on one side and fabric loop on the other. After a couple uses they were already showing wear. Easy fix, replaced with hard attachments.

I also added a few of these along the rear deck for extra tie downs.

 

These are the only musts in my opinion, and mostly can be attributed to differences between the South African and American market. Every region has different conditions, use different equipment, and have different requirements. Luckily, these mods are cheap and easy.

Everything else is personal preference. On my pro fisha these are fish-finder/battery and above deck rod holders for and aft. I mounted the fish-finder and front rod holder on the fish hatch lid that I had reinforced with varnished 3/8" marine plywood and the rear rod holder just behind the dry well.

The battery is placed towards the rear of the fish hatch and held in place with velcro on the bottom of the battery and a velcro loop attachment on the side.

I have a shorai lithium battery from my dirt bike that has 18ah and only weighs 2.3 lbs. hopefully it will allow a couple days of fishing without recharging.

Thats it so far. The forward mount rod holder worked well for salmon trolling and the deck still feels uncluttered, and the kayak still paddles like a dream. 14 miles of trolling (5 more than I had ever done before), no shoulder pain, and I could still easily lift the kayak at the end of the day. So sweet.

See you on the water.

Excellent write up Matt. Long days, easy load and unload and lots of speed for when you need to cut and run. Sounds perfect to me.  I'm expecting mine any day now and I can't wait to get after some fish so I can figure out just how I want to rig her.

ruben

Hey Matt, where'd you put your transducer?

ruben

Excellent write up Matt. Long days, easy load and unload and lots of speed for when you need to cut and run. Sounds perfect to me.  I'm expecting mine any day now and I can't wait to get after some fish so I can figure out just how I want to rig her.

ruben

Thanks, man. You'll be stoked when it comes in. Just make sure to remember your high and low bracing and a modified sweep stroke when it gets snotty. First thing I did was go to the lagoon and lean until I dumped to find that edge of secondary stability (reentry is a piece of cake).

I put the transducer through the inspection port and gooped to the hull. I tried to figure out how to do a sealed wet mount but was unsuccessfull. There is even a slot in the port cover for the cable.

One other thing I will add is the fish hatch strapping. It took me a minute to figure out how these worked (could just be me), but once I did they are very secure. Anyway, here is a pictorial.

Can't wait to test paddle one. Great write-up and pics, thanks for posting!

Looks good Matt. Your pioneering the way for future Stealth owners here in the US.

On the 575 about the only thing I'm tempted to change is the 1st hatch strap, which I might replace w a wider strap and buckle that can be snapped quickly and w one hand

There are some other latching options but haven't decided yet and nowadays good chandleries are few and far between

When you have to open a hatch in rough water it's about being quick and in control Have had two ops to test that since I got the 575 and took water both times



I also thought about putting hard attach points for the seat back but what WM had didn't cut it

I did replace the seat back w a much simpler one, can't remember the brand. Nothing wrong w the Stealth one just saw a simpler one and bought it


Have had no problem fitting my rods and net in the pole holders so am happy there



Curious why you didn't use the Stealth hatch lid made for fish finder? Or maybe they don't make it for the 525?

I've never used a ff but had them ship one w mine in case I go over to the dark side

To tell you the truth, I didn't no the had a fish finder lid. Could be a nice upgrade. I've gotten really good at the one hand latch and unlatch. I've grown to like the straps, they really secure the lid tight and when I have a salmon burying my rod tip in the water it puts a lot of torque on the hatch.

I'm curious how you did the hard attachments, if you put any kind of reinforcement behind them etc

I'm thinking I may put a flush mount for a Scotty rod holder on the hatch, don't think I could bring myself to cut holes in the yak but drilling the hatch lid doesn't seem like the worst thing

I used marine plywood finished with marine varnish cut to the size of the (boat) front 2/3 of the hatch, then epoxied. Attached the rod holder mount with bolts and fender washers. I didn't go flush mount because that extra couple inches of height gets the rod off the legs. I put a rod holder just behind the rear hatch as well for 2 rod halibut fishing as the glass is really sturdy there, carefully sizing of the drill bit is crucial to getting good bite.

I've also seen the post mount mounted on the rear hatch lid, but that looked like a pain to me.