My next project: Veloci-RAPTOR!

    Yeah  A J,,,     The fish around here will be throwing a party knowing you're out of town.

OMG!  I am super jealous of that setup.  Nice job G-Whiz!!!

Glen, ya did a mighty fine job on the Raptor!!  You definitely have great talent when it comes to modifying your yaks. You ain't too bad either with the fishing

Anyways, I hope that you and the rest of the family are having fun at Albion. Can;t wait to hear how it fared for ya. See you soon my brother!!

All Ive done to my raptor is mount some rod holders on the front because its nice to always see your rod tips, and the box I built to fit snug in the back.  I call it the Halibut hatch and it works like a charm.  Oh, and a couple extra holders in the very back for different set up arrangements.

Took my new Raptor out for a spin at Albion and must say, for it's maiden voyage, it did spectacular! With swells to 10' every 12 sec and 1-3' wind waves, it handle beautifully. I continued to test the boats stabilitiy, paddling further out into the rough seas until I was just beyond sight of the last kayaker; still then, I felt remarkably safe inside the Raptor.

The only water that managed to make it inside the hull was from the drip off the paddle (and onto my head) and from one wave that broke on the stern of the boat as I surf a wave as I was headed back in. Even then, there was less than a gallon of water inside the hull; which was easily pumped out with the use of my electric bilge pump (which was cool to use).

Plenty of storage space for tackle and gear inside the hull and access to it was extremely easy; including behind the seat. The only reason I carried the orange box in the storage well was for the 2 extra rod holders; but I'll figure something to eliminate that.

Access to the electronics (fish finder) was within arms reach; the Scotty triple mount worked, but I plan on changing it and use "Ram Rod Holder" instead. I want to be able to still use the center Scotty mount as a mast bse for a sail.

I did manage to get some fishing in, but did not get anything worth bring to the scale; 4 lingcods 22" - 23.75" (which were release because I forgot about the size change) and a couple of gophers....

I will post some video clips of my first trip after I do a little editing; I don't think anyone wants to sit through 10+ hours of me paddling....

Just a thought, if you move your wheels closer to the rear, it will make your end weigh almost nothing. Sweet rig, wished I had tried it out while we were there.

Took me a while, but i finally put it together; here's a small vid of my maiden voyage on my Raptor:

Nice catches.  Thanks for the video Glen.

Nice vid Glen!
Dig the Beethoven.
Nice catches too.

After paddling the Raptor at Albion, I decided it needed a little more tweeking so..

> I replaced the stock gimbal rod holders for a pair of Scotty Round Flush Mounts. This will hopefully give me the flexibility of using various Scotty Rod Holders and their downrigger. Plus, it opened up the area behind the seat for more storage...

> Ditched the Scotty Triple Rod holder dodad and installed a pair of Ram Rod Holders instead; the triple rod mount did not seem very sturdy with my FF, GoPro Cam and a rod (with a fish on the line) all from one mounting point on the yak. Now each has their own mounting point on the kayak...

I'll test the new upgrades at MBK this weekend and hopefully spill more blood on the deck...

{and yes... it gave more something to tinker on while waiting for parts for the Malibu 2XL mods.}

After paddling the Raptor at Albion, I decided it needed a little more tweeking so..

> I replaced the stock gimbal rod holders for a pair of Scotty Round Flush Mounts. This will hopefully give me the flexibility of using various Scotty Rod Holders and their downrigger. Plus, it opened up the area behind the seat for more storage...

> Ditched the Scotty Triple Rod holder dodad and installed a pair of Ram Rod Holders instead; the triple rod mount did not seem very sturdy with my FF, GoPro Cam and a rod (with a fish on the line) all from one mounting point on the yak. Now each has their own mounting point on the kayak...

I'll test the new upgrades at MBK this weekend and hopefully spill more blood on the deck...

{and yes... it gave more something to tinker on while waiting for parts for the Malibu 2XL mods.}

what size ball mounts did you use and did you like the results....

After paddling the Raptor at Albion, I decided it needed a little more tweeking so..

> I replaced the stock gimbal rod holders for a pair of Scotty Round Flush Mounts. This will hopefully give me the flexibility of using various Scotty Rod Holders and their downrigger. Plus, it opened up the area behind the seat for more storage...

> Ditched the Scotty Triple Rod holder dodad and installed a pair of Ram Rod Holders instead; the triple rod mount did not seem very sturdy with my FF, GoPro Cam and a rod (with a fish on the line) all from one mounting point on the yak. Now each has their own mounting point on the kayak...

I'll test the new upgrades at MBK this weekend and hopefully spill more blood on the deck...

{and yes... it gave more something to tinker on while waiting for parts for the Malibu 2XL mods.}

I went with the larger size ram ball mounts; like them alot better than having the triple scotty mount, but if i had to do it all over again, I would have used the Scotty Round flush mounts instead. Larger surface area to distribute the load; plus I have tons of Scotty rod holders......

Can't wait till I get hold of the NEW Raptor 2!!!! and trick the $h!t out of that one....

what size ball mounts did you use and did you like the results....

After paddling the Raptor at Albion, I decided it needed a little more tweeking so..

> I replaced the stock gimbal rod holders for a pair of Scotty Round Flush Mounts. This will hopefully give me the flexibility of using various Scotty Rod Holders and their downrigger. Plus, it opened up the area behind the seat for more storage...

> Ditched the Scotty Triple Rod holder dodad and installed a pair of Ram Rod Holders instead; the triple rod mount did not seem very sturdy with my FF, GoPro Cam and a rod (with a fish on the line) all from one mounting point on the yak. Now each has their own mounting point on the kayak...

I'll test the new upgrades at MBK this weekend and hopefully spill more blood on the deck...

{and yes... it gave more something to tinker on while waiting for parts for the Malibu 2XL mods.}

I went with the larger size ram ball mounts; like them alot better than having the triple scotty mount, but if i had to do it all over again, I would have used the Scotty Round flush mounts instead. Larger surface area to distribute the load; plus I have tons of Scotty rod holders......

Can't wait till I get hold of the NEW Raptor 2!!!! and trick the $h!t out of that one....

what size ball mounts did you use and did you like the results....

I got a little confused with your last post Glen - then I figured out that you'd added your reply to surfingdude in the original quote.  May I suggest that you reply outside of the quotes in the future?  For clarity, of course.  Thanks!   

Wicked build on the Veloci-Raptor!  I just finished your Yak-zilla build thread earlier today too.  Now, I have to look for your Malibu 2XL thread.    I'll definitely be referring to your threads when I get a kayak of my own.  I'm thinking Sportsmen's Expo next year, hoping to score a good "show price" on a yak.   

I look forward to your future mods, sir!

Tam