After my tube had an air bladder leak and needed repairs I was fortunate to use Scott’s “Caddis Float Tube” that comes with factory installed oar locks/oars/paddles. It was so much easier rowing out to deeper water vs my flipper power, I also felt safer in the event the wind came up or I got a leg cramp, I could easily row back to shore. That inspired me to modify and customize my tube and make it more user friendly. As well, I didn’t want to upgrade to anything bigger, my tube weighs 14 lbs, it easily fits fully inflated in my SUV. I ordered a new padded seat, oar locks & oars/paddles from Aquamarine Boats Vancouver, ($170.00 plus mail), I repaired my air bladders and the started to remove and reattach components.
Here’s a bunch of pic’s of the project.
D.
Before:
After:
Removed old back rest for new molded Kayak seat
Attached/sewed on 3 snap clips
Used the foam from the old seat “back” and added it under the seat so I sit higher in the water.
Kayak seat has nice 18” molded back with lots of adjustment.
Carefully removed both storage compartments using a seam cutter, flipped them around & moved then back approx. 12” to accommodate the rod holder and the new oar locks.
Had some Cdn Tire Shoe Goo used for vinyl repairs & glued the vinyl oar locks to the nylon tube fabric. Then took the tube into a shoe repair guy in R/D who double stitched all the components back on to my tube, got a deal at $45.00.
Installed/sewed on 2 snap clips to attach/remove my rod holder.
Installed/sewed on snap clip for my retractable fish net.
