Over the past months I have been using a Viking Profish Reload. I must admit I have seriously fallen for this vessel. Its super quick and plenty of room for Davina but unfortunately due to my time constraints with work and shorter days in winter I am always forced to fish at night. I have always wanted to sort out a light for the Reload but it has constraints with their being no hull access down the rear.
I run the exact setup on the back of the Reload. The Chill-Pod (Esky-Pod) is quickly strapped in and sits under the two saddles and the front but the two hatches at the rear are sealed and not accessible through the kayak. I decided to mount a battery in one of the hatches of the of the Reload. I wanted this to be on the lid so I can keep the weight down of the bare kayak for loading and it has to be easily attached to maximize my time on the water!
The idea was to fir a 5ah battery mounted to the hatch and hold it in with a Velcro strap.
I laser cut and folded up the battery mount to test fit it in the hatch.
I changed the orientation of the strap so the battery would always be held off the terminals.
I sat the battery mount on the hatch and drilled 3 holes through it.
I drilled a cable gland and run a cable out with a water proof plug for the light.
I screwed the RailBlaza fitting on the by the hatch and slightly to the side. This is so the light doesn’t cast a shadow over you whilst you are working.
I bolted the mount to the lid and sat it in the hatch. It fit perfect. The mount was just as easy to put in with the battery as without.
The new BerleyPro light was all setup and ready for a test run!
It was so good to get out on the water in this Reload at night. Its so quick to unload and setup I was on the water in no time. I got a great feed of calamari and I can’t wait for the next good night to get out and try catch a gummy shark!
