I have had stabilizers on my yak for a while now. I researched the best kayak stabilizers and ended up going with Scotty Stabilizers as the floats are inflatable which is more buoyant then hard plastic and the mounting hardware is better. Its mounted by a Scotty 141 mount directly on the top of the gunnel wall. (I'd NEVER install them with standard plastic track rail, risk of popping out is way too high). I first had them on with well nuts and it worked until they experienced significant torque and they popped. After that went with backing and now it's like it's part of my gunnels it's on there FIRM but there is still flex. They amount of flex has to do with how thick of plastic your Yak/Boat/Canoe is made of. Hard/Thick plastic naturally has less give lightweight plastics have more give. All in all I have been on water with heavy chop, whitecaps and rollers and didn't come to flipping in fact I've never flipped and don't plan on it either.. They do what they're supposed to do and give you confidence to stand and fish in most situations. I highly recommend direct to gunnel with a backing plate. That's the best possible way they can be installed to give you piece of mind they are NOT popping out.
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Hey, i use them on my kayak from time to time when im on the Detroit River. I don't use them on small lakes most of the time. The track makes a big difference i can tell, i have my setup on a Old Town sportsman 106 pdl with the after market metal gear tracks from ketch. Seem to help me out when the water gets choppy for sure. Be safe brother, and definitely add a thick cutting board, or metal bracket under them so they don't pull out of your johnny boat 🍻.
They're called well nuts. Agree the intented single point mount on each rail is too rickety. It may work but would bug the heck out of me watching it flex.
It's too bad a person can't reach far enough inside that round hatch to replace those screws with machine screws with washers and nuts for a stronger track install. You could replace all the track screws with hollow wall anchors which should secure the track making it more trustworthy.
I can totally understand your concern. Unfortunately, I attempted to mount it directly on the Jonny bass itself, and still the same amount of flex. Stay tuned, I'm going to find a solution to this problem before my tournament.
I agree with your first comment. However, stabilizers will increase stability and help minimize the chances of flipping over. As for the mounting comment, I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I mentioned that here was alot of flex in the mounting location. Therefore, I was worried that the stabilizers would pop off. Mounting the stabilizers at a different location and a different way can increase stability and rigidity. Any type of stabilization goes a long way. Not my first rodeo out in the water. But I do prefer to stay dryer rather than being soaked. Thanks for the comment and view. Happy fishing🎣
Normally I wouldn't but since I'm taking it 6 miles out into the unforgiving ocean and fishing for King Mackeral, a little stability is much needed. Plus I'll be the first to do so in such a small craft in this tournament. It's a challenge, It'll be fun! Thanks for the comment.
Jonny boat is more of a boat than a kayak. My brother has one and compared to my Pelican Basscreek, his is more of an SUV, and mine is more of one of those silly crossover car vehicles. 😂 He's going ocean fishing, so I won't blame him for adding protection. Another thing is that he can solo fish on almost any fresh water lake that has restrictions on gas engines.
