W500 Kayak Outfitted for Photography

By Paul Ekman, Iowa

I’ve had the kayak out a number of times now and am dialing in my photography setup. I found that splaying the tripod across the top of the cockpit is much better than having the legs inside. This way, I have more room for my own legs and cargo and I can slide in nice and close to the camera. I added some hooks to the inside so that I can keep the tripod nice and secure given the weight and expense of the photo gear. I can control the kayak and casually paddle while facing the camera with ease. I just lay the paddle across my legs while shooting which works well. If I have a long distance to cover and don’t want to take the setup down, I’ll turn the other way to avoid striking the tripod while paddling more aggressively.

Things are working out well! I’ve got some great photos of herons and pelicans already – much better than the past years of trying to get close by foot.

stable kayak for wildlife photography

camera with telescopic lens mounted on stable kayak for photography

camera tripod mounted on stable kayak for photography (2)

camera with telescopic lens mounted on stable kayak for photography (2)

wildlife photographer looking through telescopic lens in stable kayak

camera tripod mounted on stable kayak for photography

 

Fishing Kayak Outfitted For Oceanographic Research

Here are some more pics of my Wavewalk kayak, and a blog from the project http://blog.iod.ucsd.edu/RIVET/

We keep talking about turning the wave walker into a robot..autonomous surface vehicle..so I don’t have to drive!…haven’t done it yet but will let you know when we do. We have lots of robotic underwater vehicles here so on the surface is easy.

-Peter

fishing kayak converted into oceanographic research boat

Note this kayak is outfitted with two motor mounts – The one in the front serves for mounting scientific gear

fishing kayak converted into oceanographic research boat (2)

 

2hp outboard motor mounted on fishing kayak

Wide wheel cart for transporting the heavily loaded kayak over long distances on sandy beaches

fishing kayak with outboard motor - oceanographic research

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front (2)

motorized fishing kayak ploughing the waves with scientific gear mounted in front (3)

rear view of motorized fishing kayak with scientific instruments - on the beach

Thru-Hull Transducer For Fishing Kayak

By Gary Thorberg

I have a few pictures relating to John’s transducer set-up. Mine is a
thru-hull transducer that only requires that you dunk it in the water
and throw it in the bottom of the boat. The blue foam is only to keep
it upright. Works every time, and is very quick and easy.

Gary

Transducer for fish finder - fishing kayak (2)

Transducer for fish finder - fishing kayak (3)

Transducer for fish finder - fishing kayak