It's been well established that stand-up paddle boards and/or kayaks are pretty darn good weapons in the carp game. Especially when solo on small water with a soft bottom.
Do I want one more inflatable? No...a raft, a Commander and a float tube take up enough room in my garage. Not to mention a 17' boat.
So...why not mod the 10' by almost 4" Commander that I already have into a SUP? Well, there are probably several reasons. Some of which I already know and others that I'm sure I'll find out.
But hey, let's send it and see! So off to Home Depot I went.
I started with a 4x8 sheet of 7/16 OSB. I cut a 2'x4' section off the end and then shaped and sanded it to fit from the back zipper to the end of the foot peg tubes. Then covered it with indoor/outdoor carpet. I still have plenty of carpet left to give my side bunks new life. And a 4x6 piece of OSB for future projects like some shelving in the dirt-bag chalet. The OSB, carpet, 77 adhesive and some wall pipe clamps totaled $60. Not bad given all the leftovers I have.
Onto the chair. My old duck hunting chair was the perfect candidate! It has a straight up posture and makes for easy standing. And the base is just wide enough to feel quite stable. It also has an insulated zippered pocket underneath. Still some dried duck & dove blood in there. Haha!
The chair is zip tied to the OSB using 2 holes drilled on each side of the leg/frame. Super high tech.
Very solid though!
The only thing keeping the OSB in place is gravity and air pressure. It's squeezed in there tight between the tubes enough that standing on the front lip or the sides didn't pop it out. I did this test in the lake in 2' of water with nobody else there. Haha!
I would feel comfortable in a seated position even in some chop. No problem. Now, if I get sideways right when a wake board from hell goes by then it's probably swimming time. But in a non-power lake I feel completely confident I can stay dry. And casting a long line on my 5wt was no issue sitting.
About standing...I was pleasantly surprised! As mentioned, standing on the front lip or sides was no problem. Standing where my feet are when seated is very stable. I can also stand perpendicular/surf style. I also stepped around and over the chair to the back lip and it was fine. Casting a long line on my 5wt was no problem standing.
What about the tracking? Yeah, not great, but better than expected! I used one of the Commander oars as a paddle since I don't own any paddles and it's actually a great length. I have a good idea of what size paddle I'll need now. Paddling while sitting is pretty easy and once I have some speed I can paddle and control my line by paddling and steering on just one side.
Now that it passed the first test, I'll add a fin/skeg using these cheap parts from Sea Eagle-
https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/parts/skeg-base-for-all-skegs
$15
https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessorie...g-for-sups-fasttracks-explorers-and-razorlite
$29
This should help the tracking when under power. Speaking of power...ah yeah...I think I could easily add a trolling motor. Haha! We'll see how much I use it before doing that.
I'll definitely make a stakeout/anchor pole from Home Depot. Lots of videos out there on how to do that for under $30. I can either use the natural gap between the seat/middle section and the back of the tubes or mount something off one of the IGS pads. The left pad might make sense being a right-hander.
I've seen guys just add a stainless ring to a Scotty mount that is on their IGS pad of their kayak. Should be pretty easy to come up with something.
So whether you have the old model like me or the new one, it's pretty easy to make it a standup fishing weapon.
Hmm, this might work
Here goes nothing!
No flippy!
Took a selfie and still didn't fall in!
And this has to be a good sign!
If any of you have a paddle in the 5-6' range you like let me know!
Now I need a carp fighting test!
Do I want one more inflatable? No...a raft, a Commander and a float tube take up enough room in my garage. Not to mention a 17' boat.
So...why not mod the 10' by almost 4" Commander that I already have into a SUP? Well, there are probably several reasons. Some of which I already know and others that I'm sure I'll find out.
But hey, let's send it and see! So off to Home Depot I went.
I started with a 4x8 sheet of 7/16 OSB. I cut a 2'x4' section off the end and then shaped and sanded it to fit from the back zipper to the end of the foot peg tubes. Then covered it with indoor/outdoor carpet. I still have plenty of carpet left to give my side bunks new life. And a 4x6 piece of OSB for future projects like some shelving in the dirt-bag chalet. The OSB, carpet, 77 adhesive and some wall pipe clamps totaled $60. Not bad given all the leftovers I have.
Onto the chair. My old duck hunting chair was the perfect candidate! It has a straight up posture and makes for easy standing. And the base is just wide enough to feel quite stable. It also has an insulated zippered pocket underneath. Still some dried duck & dove blood in there. Haha!
The chair is zip tied to the OSB using 2 holes drilled on each side of the leg/frame. Super high tech.
Very solid though!The only thing keeping the OSB in place is gravity and air pressure. It's squeezed in there tight between the tubes enough that standing on the front lip or the sides didn't pop it out. I did this test in the lake in 2' of water with nobody else there. Haha!
I would feel comfortable in a seated position even in some chop. No problem. Now, if I get sideways right when a wake board from hell goes by then it's probably swimming time. But in a non-power lake I feel completely confident I can stay dry. And casting a long line on my 5wt was no issue sitting.
About standing...I was pleasantly surprised! As mentioned, standing on the front lip or sides was no problem. Standing where my feet are when seated is very stable. I can also stand perpendicular/surf style. I also stepped around and over the chair to the back lip and it was fine. Casting a long line on my 5wt was no problem standing.
What about the tracking? Yeah, not great, but better than expected! I used one of the Commander oars as a paddle since I don't own any paddles and it's actually a great length. I have a good idea of what size paddle I'll need now. Paddling while sitting is pretty easy and once I have some speed I can paddle and control my line by paddling and steering on just one side.
Now that it passed the first test, I'll add a fin/skeg using these cheap parts from Sea Eagle-
https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessories/parts/skeg-base-for-all-skegs
$15
https://www.seaeagle.com/Accessorie...g-for-sups-fasttracks-explorers-and-razorlite
$29
This should help the tracking when under power. Speaking of power...ah yeah...I think I could easily add a trolling motor. Haha! We'll see how much I use it before doing that.
I'll definitely make a stakeout/anchor pole from Home Depot. Lots of videos out there on how to do that for under $30. I can either use the natural gap between the seat/middle section and the back of the tubes or mount something off one of the IGS pads. The left pad might make sense being a right-hander.
I've seen guys just add a stainless ring to a Scotty mount that is on their IGS pad of their kayak. Should be pretty easy to come up with something.
So whether you have the old model like me or the new one, it's pretty easy to make it a standup fishing weapon.
Hmm, this might work
Here goes nothing!
No flippy!
Took a selfie and still didn't fall in!
And this has to be a good sign!
If any of you have a paddle in the 5-6' range you like let me know!
Now I need a carp fighting test!
I admire your ingenuity to customize and try something different with a craft you already own. As you've found out many of the design characteristics of the Commander make it difficult to use as a SUP. Don't misconstrue my reaction to the project as being negative towards the idea. Inflatable SUPs make excellent fishing craft and are my favorite way to fish freshwater.
