Some inspiration from Puerto Rico for the Solo Skiff anglers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF7BmVDNFSQ

ELIZO
 

This dude kills it out there in PR. I've watched all his videos, just goes to show the ability and stability of the Solo.

Fingers crossed mine should be here Wednesday.

:cheers1::cheers1:

"Today was a good Day" - ICE CUBE
 

Yea buddy! And it begins!

Should have some pics of my set up in a few days and breaking her in this weekend!

SOoooooooo Stoked right now! 75days put my patience to new levels, i guess thats a good thing.

Brent=:you_rock:

Got mine home. After fishing LJ on my Malibu, I stopped at OEX and pick up my Solo Skiff. Tired now but tomorrow I start installing the accessories, gear tracks, rod holder, etc. So happy it's finally here. My phone has a problem, pictures get rotated everytime, even when I rotate them, it wont correct them. I'll do it later on the computer.

I need one!

Boy that hangs off the back of your truck a pretty decent amount.

That seat box looks lower than I thought too.

7/6 mine is supposed to ship. I get one of the next five!

Look forward to seeing some picks of what you do with this fishing machine.

The total length is only like 8" longer than my Malibu X Factor. It seemed excruciating at time the long wait. But that is unfortunately the way things are. Everyone is buying recreational items to get out once the lock down was lifted, but most manufacturers couldn't continue making products and soon the stores and showrooms are almost empty of kayaks, boats, motorhomes, etc.... THEY ARE SO WORTH WAITING FOR!

Mine is the one at the top of the picture by the OEX door. I was not having any accessories installed so I was able to pick mine up. I always do all my own installs. I'm in LOVE, that skiff is so fine!

Congratulations on the new solo skiffs. Got one way back they first started sell at oex. Andy hooked me up bait tank at front hatch. Only had it out few times as family and business run my life most time. Trying to get out soon. Hit me up and roll out with fellows. I'm here in OC but would like to get her to LA Jolla. I'll post up some pics on how I riged. :jig:

A BIG SHOUT OUT TO BRENT AT OEX! He has taken a lot of abuse from people on waiting lists and has worked extra hard to get or find products that are is short supply or even backorder. THANKS BRENT, Mark. If you need something like or for a kayak or Solo Skiff and you can't make it by OEX, than just order it from Kayak Fishing Supply. The shipping can be less then the gas to drive there and the products come to you. Support OEX and Kayak Fishing Supply!

Started out this afternoon laying out and installing the accessories, rod holder bases,etc. Had a good idea what I wanted and were. Now that the Skiff is home it's easier to see exactly if the locations I had picked would work for how I want it. A little different than on my kayak because of the extra room. Mostly things are going were I thought they would work best for me. There were some small placement changes and still working on the FF transducer mount option because I would like it to kick up if it needed to, and at the same time have the option to swing up and over to be out of the way on the rear for loading on the back of the truck. I installed the Scotty rod holder bases, live well (Hobie) drain. live well lid 6" hatch and front Yakattack gear tracks. Paddle holder. Front (bow) long rope (for tying up, and for holding on (helping stability) while navigating choppy water, etc. Tomorrow I'll continue with additional installations.

I am super interested in how you install your fish finder. So please include some close ups of that solution.

That seems to be a challenge on these.

Thanks for sharing.

I guess I misread the length somewhere. I was wrong. My Malibu X Factor is 14' 4" and my Solo Skiff is 14' 5", so it is actually only one inch longer. I think the angle of my picture makes it look longer that and the pointed bow makes the front look longer. Fits on my Truck bed with the T-Bone bed extender same as the Malibu.

Here she is.
 

So Friday Brent and Grant spend all day trying to rig up 4 solos. I brought my home after work and began installing the transducer plate, CF#, and everything else need for the maiden voyage. I left the seat off because I was on the fence about centered versus offset, And didnt feel comfortable installing marine mat knowing I was going out in the morning.

Showed up at Shelter Island at 7am, wasnt to busy, and backed the truck down till the wheels were 1/3 in the water, this allowed the nose of the skiff to be at the water, I unhooked and slid her off grabbing the back bar and using bed extender as brace. Jumped in and paddled to the dock. Loaded up, parked truck and got in. Met up with Kai and Rowel and began the day.

Grabbed a kayak scoop of bait and started fishing. Landed a few drinks and decided to test her out in open water, so we to the forest most west point of the kelp where the July 4th grogan's were out in their million dollars boats. Handled like a champ, cool part is pulling motor up and using peddle to enter the forest.

The trip in😬😬

So we decide to troll back to launch, but quickly realized the wind had made 5things unfavorable, south wind and chop equals, super super super wet ride, luckily it was hot as hell (knees burnt, only spot I forgot to cover/SPF). Pretty cool learning how stable this platform is on the first day. I know now how she rides and how to throttle in and out of the swells and chop.

7.4 hours on the motor from yesterday, still 3/4 of gas on my 3GL.

Heres some pics, of Friday, I wont bore u with the pictures of the dink Halibuts lol.

Headed out again Sunday with 3 of the buddies, Mark I know u dont during Holiday weekends, but the invite is there, 7am at Shelter.

P.S. these things get a ton of attention, felt like show n tell while at the launch.

Oh and if ur gonna buy, so far a seat is a must, otherwise u better have good pasture and a strong core.

More pics and video to come!!

All and All love this thing, being able to fish all around in one 8he trip was a blast!!

Thanks for the invite. Yeah, large holiday weekend are deadly. I'm almost done with the installs. Still need to register it and get CF#s. Nice picture of the first fish on the Solo Skiff. Solo Skiff looking SWEET!

Added seat and customized milkcrate
 

I wanted to see where my seat would go, so I fished without it Friday, slightly forward and offset just a hair.

Milk crate has two rod holders and makes securing the gas tank a breeze, plus a little storage for tools or what not. Not sure if tiller will hit the poles, but didn't really make a bunch of sharp turns so we shall see tomorrow, also holding off on tiller extension until I ride with my seat tomorrow. Had to notch top and bottom, bottom for transom and the top due to the motor hitting at full tilt.

Quick video
 

My buddy Fabian whipped up this quick video for he and Nelsons maiden voyage. You can see me cruising right next time to him at times, almost as if we are racing, probably were :D

https://youtu.be/H6TXqcROVlY

The video inst kinda poor quality not sure why, maybe cause its a link of a link, either way.

Do you guys put a dead man switch on the engine? I know that people get thrown from skiffs when they hit a crossing swell or wake from another boat. From the videos I've watched so far the Solo Skiff moves at a pretty good pace so it looks like it would be easy to get thrown overboard. It would get real lonely to watch your skiff going off into the sunset while you waited for someone to find you. I like the Solo Skiff but there isn't much to hold onto when things get rough.

The quality on the U-Tube video is 240p at the highest (that is poor quality level even for cell phones. Most likely it was in the settings when it was uploaded. Even 480 is bad (in my book) I try to use 720p or higher but it takes a lot longer to upload. Still looks like fun on a hot day. I'm almost done setting mine up. Had a change of plans on how to mount a few accessories. Also with the amount of people watching U-Tube they have been automatically lowering the quality setting when there is heavy use and even good quality video get down graded while watching by U-Tube. That part really pisses me off.

The outboard already has a kill switch with a leash, that is meant to attach to the driver, during engine use. I believe all Tiller motors come that way. Falling off is why they would do that. If the user forgets to attach the leash, the boat would keep going. Using the leash, if you fall off, it will pull out a small safety spacer on the kill switch. That shuts off the motor.