Share Your Innovations

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by whereubinh

Yes this was made in sections. The 3d printer i used was an ender 3 pro with a couple of upgrades for better quality prints. The sections were bonded using jb weld steel reinforce epoxy.

Well done! Appreciate the info, and quick reply. Does the printer come with the software needed to make the design, if not what do you consider a good program for a beginner who wants to fab parts for his kayak? Thanks.

[whereubinh]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Well done! Appreciate the info, and quick reply. Does the printer come with the software needed to make the design, if not what do you consider a good program for a beginner who wants to fab parts for his kayak? Thanks.

The printer does not come with any software. I personally use Solidworks to design and model my parts. This can take some time to learn as ita more of an engineering tool. I know alot of people that do you fusion 360 to cad for 3d printing as it is free and more user friendly. You should check that out.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by whereubinh

The printer does not come with any software. I personally use Solidworks to design and model my parts. This can take some time to learn as ita more of an engineering tool. I know alot of people that do you fusion 360 to cad for 3d printing as it is free and more user friendly. You should check that out.

Good to know, I am checking out Fusion 360 -- Thanks.

[socal.beach.bum]

Originally Posted by whereubinh

The printer does not come with any software. I personally use Solidworks to design and model my parts. This can take some time to learn as ita more of an engineering tool. I know alot of people that do you fusion 360 to cad for 3d printing as it is free and more user friendly. You should check that out.

Solid works? Wow how did you swing a license? I pay almost $100k per seat for my engineers.

[tomahawk]

Solidworks and ProE both used to be available in student versions to students. My son used the ProE version when he was in school. I think you meant $10K per seat (I did a web search and that is what I saw), still not for the casual user. I also read something that said Solidworks gives a free version to start ups.

[cris]

Originally Posted by socal.beach.bum

Solid works? Wow how did you swing a license? I pay almost $100k per seat for my engineers.

Solidworks has cheap non-commercial licenses for hobbyists and students.


Nice work on the 3D printed live well! The ender pro is pretty awesome!

[whereubinh]

Originally Posted by socal.beach.bum

Solid works? Wow how did you swing a license? I pay almost $100k per seat for my engineers.

There are plenty of youtube videos showing you how to get a version of solidworks working. Of course you shouldn't use these methods for legal businesses....

[FISH11]

FINALLY! After a few months since I told some people I know that I would film how I use the system I designed to unload and load my Solo Skiff, I did that today. I had to film it at home since conditions have kept me from being able to launch at La Jolla and film the process. It was a little harder at home because my driveway has this stupid slant that the construction company that built the house and poured the driveway thought that it needed much more slope than I think should have been needed, even with the extra rain and snow we get up in the mountains. I do believe that I covered most of what was important and if there is any additional information or more specific question, just post what those concerns are. I did forget to mention that all the Scotty bases and all the eyelets and hooks are installed using tri-fold aluminum 3/16" pop rivets. Those work great and I have always used them on my kayaks also. They allow you to mount things were there might not be a way to use pass through stainless steel bolts. The short Hobie H Rails and the swivel seat base are mounted with 1/4" through stainless steel bolts, large washers and nylock nuts. The Yakattack Mighty Mount XL gear track bases are of different lengths and all come with stainless steel screws that just screw into the polypropylene hull of the Solo Skiff. The triple rod holders on the rear are Blacktip triple nylon rod holders and I made a bracket that supports the upper section and are mounted to the Yakattack Mighty Mount XL bases using stainless steel carriage bolts that I ground two sides of the head slightly so they would slide in the gear tracks and also not rotate. They are easily removable by just loosening the nylock nuts and sliding the bolts out of the tracks, if I decide I don't want them on. The use of the ramp system is alot easier on the sand. Using it on boat ramps is also easy when you don't have to deal with boat wakes, no different then when using a boat trailer. Hope this helps all you guys that have one or are waiting for a Solo Skiff' Tight Lines.

[dsafety]

A little over 11 years ago, I wrote the first post in the Share Your Innovations thread. It was a rainy day, just like today and I was just beginning to discover how rewarding it can be to modify my kayak so it works better.

Before responding to Mark's fabulous post on his Solo Skiff mods, I checked out the stats that this thread has accumulated over the years. 802 replies and 569,608 views. Wow! To everyone who has participated in this thread, thank you for all the wonderful advice.

Back to Mark's video. It deserves another WOW! Very impressive stuff. Everything that Mark shows us in this video is well conceived, well designed and very innovative. IMO, it is one of the best posts that has appeared in this thread. Well done Mark.

While watching the video, I thought of one additional small mod that might be worth considering. It occurred to me that as often as Mark launches and retrieves his Solo, one spot on the hull may be getting extra exposure to wear and tear. Every time the hull is winched onto his truck, a small spot on the bottom of the hull is constantly being abraded away by the beach sand.

What if you created some kind of a pad, wheel or roller that could be strapped to the bow to protect this part of the hull from abrasion? Just a thought.

See you on the water my friend.

Bob

[FISH11]

Thank You for the kind words Bob. Yes I do monitor the lower edge of the bow were the hull makes contact with the sand and have not had any real wear at that point but it is something I do keep an eye on. I know it can certainly be an issue. My friend Mikey (sd fish and sips) had that very problem and ended up plastic welding that area on his Solo Skiff and adding a piece of PVC to reinforce that area. In his case though, I think most of that wear was due to how often he launches from concrete boat ramps and not from loading but due to having a habit of landing on the ramp while still on the Solo Skiff and then walking off the bow once it had slid onto the ramp. He posted a uTube video on making that repair recently on his uTube channel SD FISH AND SIPS. I noticed years ago how extremely rough the concrete surface on the ramps is (for improved traction for car/truck tires). So I never drag or let my kayak or Solo Skiff slide or that surface. When loading my Solo Skiff onto my truck bed and extender on a boat ramp the bow is still in the water and floating so it never makes contact with the concrete. When I land on the ramp I stop and get out in 1' of water and lift the Solo or Kayak and pull it up far enough so that boat wakes don't move it around. It is absolutely something guys should be aware off, just like owning a fiberglass boat, you would never want the bow/keel area to contact the concrete. Thank You Bob for having started the Share Your Innovations Thread it is certainly the most viewed thread on BWE. Hope the weather improves so we can see each other on the water soon. Tight Lines!