Rigging and Review my X-13

[Fiskadoro]

So this kind of all started when My friend Andy (Iceman) of OEX fame contacted me about a yak. He said "I have a X-13 blem in "your color" you got to take a look"

Now I don't know why I have a "color" my first yak I made and it's mahogany and white. My FND is lime green only because my buddy Oliver had it first and sold it to me when he left the country. True I have a Lime green Mini-X but that's just because I got a deal on it, and I'm I'm cheap. Now with my third green yak I guess I'm stuck. At least I like green...LOL

For those who don't know Andy sometimes get's "blem" yaks that the factory says are not quite up to par, and he sells them at a discount. It's a great way to get a new yak at a cheaper price. I buy most of my gear used but with Kayaks I like to buy them new so I can set them up my way versus the standard setups people use. In this case the X-13 I bought is uneven in it's thickness. Thicker then normal in the hull and a little thinner topside. Suits me fine I like thick hulls, and the reduction of weight topside. My M-X and X-13 are both blem yaks and I have no complaints with either of them.


Here's the pic he sent me:



I already knew the x-13 design already, and had been looking hard at them. I've also seen a lot of good reviews, and previously picked Andy's brain on the model and how it was working out. One thing I like about Andy is that he's great for a no BS assessment, and always gives you the straight up word on Yaks whether, he personally sells them or not.

Right now I think Kayaks are going through a transition phase as they make hulls that are more in tune with what we really use them for. Some of the makers are going to get left behind if they do not keep up.

I'm pretty confident that I can tell a good hull and know what I want in a design and the x-13 had some features wanted and had a very good shape to it's hull.

With the X-13 Malibu has gone from their standard tri-hullish shape to a more streamlined rounded chine boat, pretty similar to a Prowler 13 in shape. I liked the layout better then the Prowler, the fact it had a forward self bailing integrated fish hold, and a large center hatch, the seats also further back which should help when surfing into shore. It also looked faster then my Mini-X with the longer water line and cleaner lines, and it had enough capacity for a bait tank which is a plus. Bait and more speed, win-win for me.

Bottom line... Andy basically offered me a deal I could not refuse, on a Yak I was already sold on, so I went down to Sunset Beach and bought it on the spot. I didn't even bother paddling it.


I don't know about you guys but once I like something set up wise I keep using it. I suppose a normal sane man would taken the new kayak out paddled it around for fun first and figured out what he needed. I just went straight to rigging it. I set up the X-13 fishing the way I do it: pretty much just like my Mini-X with the exception of the new bait tank I built specifically for it, and a flush mount internal/external transducer.


I like the double rods forward for fishing Halibut, both for for bounce balling and drifting because the kayak tracks straight with a rod to each side, and you can also see both rod tips as you are paddling or drifting. The rod holders I like are Scotty's with six inch extensions. They are set up so that they are exactly two inches forward of the farthest reach of my paddle stroke, and I have the same setup on my Mini-x.



There are two things you got to watch out for. One you want the mount far enough forward that you won't hit it even on your farthest forward stroke and two you want to set up the holder so the rod is angled forward exactly parallel with your paddle as it goes into the water. That way when the rod is in the holder angled forward for trolling or bounce balling you can't possibly hit it with the paddle..

I like the through bolt flush style mounts as they definitely are the strongest cleanest way to go. With the x-13 though I had to make a few spacers to get them to work.





Bait tank wise the idea was to make a good low profile tank that would work better then a five gallon bucket.

Most Kaykers are using a five gallon bucket with a 500 GPH pump throwing water directly into it sideways like a garden hose. I don't care what anybody says. That just beats the crap out of bait it. That much flow through a small space unbuffered or baffled just eats through bait. Because sardines and chovies are not designed for fast moving water.

My take is that a kayak tank should have the same features as a real boat bait tank. A subdued baffled directional flow, and enough circumference for the bait to circle with no corners for it to run into.

Another thing I hate about five gallon buckets is they are too tall and narrow which increases your center of gravity. I wanted a bigger diameter tank that was shorter to give the bait more room to swim with the same amount of water, with a lower center of gravity. That would be kinder to the bait, and the paddler as well.

I already built a tank like that for my FND out of aluminum, but it was too big for the X-13 and not everyone can make a tank out of Aluminum. So I wanted to make it from off the shelf stuff I could get cheap, and make it relatively easy to assemble with hand tools..... LOL

Here's what I came up with:



Were talking about a cut down Rubbermaid trash can and a cut down Rubbermaid conical lid, reassembled with some pop rivets, a few 12 inch ABS rod holders stuck on the back with screws. It has all the features of my Aluminum tank at a fraction of the cost.

People often ask me about building tanks for them and in aluminum I'd just have to charge too much. I could make one of these tanks in an hour or two with around 25 bucks in materials. It holds six gallons full, and pretty much anyone could make it, that is if they are good with basic hand tools like snips and a pop riveter.

The coolest feature is the cone shaped top as it it's very easy to dump bait into it at the receiver or get your bait off the sabiki and into the tank. I'm not going to lie it's a great feature and I already really like it. When I first thought it up I'm like...cool, this is going to be great... and it is pretty cool...LOL

I rigged up a temporary scupper feed setup for a pump (I will be installing an under deck pump setup later) and it was all ready to try as a prototype.


Here's action shots:






I then set up my standard Garmin 398/120 setup , and put in my newest once again reinvented concept of flush mount external transducer.



This is actually kind of I guess a controversial way to do it, as most guys glue their transducers down and beam through the hull. I've tried that it simply works like crap for me. All I can figure is many of these guys have never used a boat with a correctly mounted transducer and don't know what they are missing.

I get much better results (maybe twice the performance) my way. I mean honestly I can see the lice on a butts... well butt... with the thing.

So there you have it.

Jim