Pimp my Kayak Headwaters style (After Photos Posted)

Hey guys,

Hello my name is Dan, and I'm a Kayakaholic....  For those that don't know this about me, I tend to have a soft spot for old kayaks and canoes. There have been so many incredible designs over the years that went out of production and fallen by the wayside. Kayaks like the Necky Looksha Sport, Mariner Coaster, Perception Super Sport, Scupper Pro, etc have always held a place in my heart. So when a guy came in with an old beat up Necky Dolphin to sell at the swap, the kayak geek in me jumped at the opportunity to buy it. $150 for a kayak like this was to good to pass up. I have always thought of the Dolphin as a real paddlers Kayak. It responds well to edging, it surfs like a dream, has good capacity for touring, and in the right hands and with leg straps it can even be rolled. I thought fixing up and rigging an old kayak like this would be a fun project and something fun to blog about, but more than that I thought it would help pay tribute to the angers, and the kayaks that came before us. So fallow along as I revamp my Dolphin into my version of the ultimate coastal exploration/ fishing craft!

Your idea's and input are welcome and encouraged. Thanks for participating. In fact the first question I'm facing is weather to do a Rudder Kit, or just Have a metal skeg that drops down. Any thoughts?


Here are a few before shots.   

Well my first idea is don't bite off more than you can chew....just sell it to me for 150 and be done with it...




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Tonight I had some time to work on the Dolphin. I started by taking off a bunch of the rusted and sun faded hardware. Then I used a heat gun to remove the side seam tape. After that I cleaned the yak and 303ed it. That brought some of the shine back. The first thing I did was replace the side carry handles with new ones from Select Designs. Then I installed a pair of Sea Dog foot braces to give some nice support. Lastly I installed some tracks to allow for future rigging options like rod holders camera mounts, and eyelets for thigh straps. (Will show photos later) The camera mount is a Yak Attack Panfish. Yak Attack also makes a ton of other rigging that attaches to this tracks. Check them out online. http://www.yakattack.us/ I will offer 10% off any Yak Attack or Select Design product for those who order through Headwaters.

Thats it so far. I look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas. Can't wait to play some more tomorrow.

Looks like a classic any eskimo would be proud of! The lines on that yakbis awesome!

Peace 2 U

Wow...that 303's does a wonderful job!

Well I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited about my new seat idea. First off, I hate Clip in seats. They just seem to loose that oneness with the kayak that I like so much. So I got to thinking about other options that could be mounted into my old Dolphin. The new Necky Vector came to mind. They took the seat and back band out of a touring boat and put it into a sit on top. I thought about how it attached and realized that I could just as easily stick on in the Dolphin. So first thing this morning I got to the shop early and started mocking up the seat. The back band attaches with two bolts at the base with large fender washers and nylock nuts on the backside. The straps that supply the support attached the same way. The seat pad Necky uses on the Vector is to wide for the Dolphin so I went with a Valley pad that I had extra around the shop. I attached this with heavy duty Velcro, but not sure if thats a good permeant solution. The cockpit feels amazing. Next thing will be to add some eyelets and attach thigh braces. Then it will be time to rig it up for fishing. I'm planning on bringing it to the Fish n Chill in Redding this weekend for its maiden Voyage. There is still a lot more I want to do, but I want to think everything out before drill more holes. Any advise on a good anchor setup for a yak like this? Thinking something quick release.

Spent a bunch more time on the old Necky today. I set up some rigging to hold my tackle box in the tankwell. I installed a rod tip cover in the front so I can lay my rods along the side of the boat while fishing on the river. My favorite part was the depth finder. I used a Yak Attack mighty mount on the center pillar. I then attached a Yak Attack Screw ball and then a Ram arm to my hummingbird. The kayak already had a hold to run the power wire through, so I used that and filled in the space with closed cell foam. I used a 12 volt 7 amp hour battery that came in a dry case from Spy Camera's. I double incased in into a cheap drybag and then custom made a cam strap that runs from scupper to scupper to hold the bag in place. The transducer is mounted on a Mad Frog arm simply because I didn't want to do anything permeant in the hull. The whole unit can pop out in 2 minutes and move to my other kayaks. Thats one thing I like about the tracks. Lastly I added a mesh bag to the the dash to hide the extra transducer wire, and to stow tools and gear that I want close at hand. I'm super pumped on how the boat is coming out. I still have a few more things to upgrade, but its good enough to hit the water this weekend. The last things on the list are, decklines, Rudder, rear access hatch, and quick release anchor set up.

This kayak is looking great Dan! It has all the modern touches while still having a classic design. Can't wait to see it on the water this weekend, also looking forward to seeing you roll it.

The kayak is at a good stopping point so we are loading it up and taking it to the North Valley Slayer Fish and Chill. I'm so Stoked with how it all came out.

Looks awesome. Thanks for posting!


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Well I took the Dolphin out on her maiden Voyage this weekend in Redding. All and all I have complaints. The boat was fast and spunky. It handled the wind really well which made me decide to hold off on the rudder for now. The Down rigger mounted to the mad frog arm worked well but was sort of annoying hanging off the side. I think eventually I will just stick in the hull. The seat was bad ass and my rigging worked very nicely. The last think I plan on doing is a quick release anchor set up for fishing in the Delta and on the rivers. Here are some of the shots of my new boat from our trip this weekend.

A few more photos.

great job on that yak Dan, a resto-mod!  any idea how old it is?