New Guy

Hello everybody and please excuse my rudeness for posting before introducing myself.

My name is A.J. and I have been a lifelong fisherman. (said in my best A.A. voice) I have only recently started fishing from a kayak after building one in 2009.

Some of you may have seen me or one of my friends fishing in the West Sacramento port. Our kayaks are hard not to notice, they are as big as a battleship and have bright varnished mahogany decks. (mine is blue, also not subtle) The company that designed it can be found at http://www.clcboats.com/index.php . They are a great company to deal with and their forum is full of helpful kayakers as well. (like here)

I also have fished some of the Sierra lakes and plan to do a lot more. (Caples Lake is a favorite) Abalone diving is another hobby/addiction. While my kayak isn't suited to dive from, it can get me to less accessible dive spots if there is a place to beach it. I usually dive in the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area.

I look forward to meeting more of you, on the water of course.

My yak, before I added the utility tray with a proper rod and beer holder.

Welcome AJ! I think we may have a mutual friend outside NCKA. Schwartz? Hopefully I'll see you out there again soon.

That looks awesome 

Welcome AJ! I think we may have a mutual friend outside NCKA. Schwartz? Hopefully I'll see you out there again soon.

You are right! He is a buddy of mine and former roommate. (and one hell of a flyfisherman)

Now I can connect the stories with the person.

Be sure to holler at me next time we see  each other on the water.

I thought you might be the AJ he was talking about. Eventually I'll get him out on the water again. Maybe even on a yak. You'll be easy to spot on the water with that yak of yours. I'll probably be easy to spot too with my camp yak. Watch the hookup boards for more port trips. See you soon.

WTTm AJ beautiful kayak I'd be afraid to take anywhere but a nice quiet lake. Especially if saw the abuse mine takes.

Welcome!  What model CLC is that?  Pretty!

beautiful boat!  I have been wanting to make one for ages, but then would not be able to use it anywhere....I'm hard enough om my plastic boats 

Welcome

if you need to borrow a plastic boat for more risk prone waters, let me know....I'm in Rancho.

jim

i love caples lake it is so nice. welcome see you on the water 

Welcome to the madness AJ. Looking forward to fishing with you soon bro.

Jedmo

Welcome!  What model CLC is that?  Pretty!

It is the Mill Creek double, 16.5 feet. The cockpit is HUGE! Super stable, flat bottom, 33" wide.

It is more versatile than I thought.

CLC has great customer service. I built from plans, but they have kits that make it even easier.

If you've ever thought about building one, DO IT! anyone with basic tools and can build one.

This was my first and it took 6 moths of weekends and evenings. With some time off when work got busy in the middle.

+1     Beautiful lines too.     Having built my own "woodie"  I surely can appreciate the effort you put into that.

     I bet it's like taking a puppy to the beach,  it draws attention.

     Nice!

+1     Beautiful lines too.     Having built my own "woodie"  I surely can appreciate the effort you put into that.

     I bet it's like taking a puppy to the beach,  it draws attention.

     Nice!

I like the puppy reference, very accurate. We usually budget time for answering questions from the ooohs, and  aaahs of the admirers.

What model did you build and how do you like it? (The building process and the performance of the yak)

    I had to create my own design...   kinda crazy idea I had.   Used  a mix of wood.   Teak, Redwood, Alaskan yellow cedar, and some mahogany.    Love the way it performed.   It took 4 months of work.  glassed both sides and 4 coats varnish.
     the non wood parts are carbon fiber.   total weight 75 lbs with out the electric torqeedo
 
let's see if this PDF attachment goes through...

Wow, thats quite a yak!!!!    Is that a POC for the Raptor??