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In our house this was a big deal every year.  It was a combination of Black Friday and Fashion Week.  When the girls went to college the universe of “back to school” items exploded.  Furniture and small appliances were now in the mix.  If we were to gather up all the vinyl coated wire structures we bought over the years Cristo could create life sized model of the Eiffel Tower with them.  Now it’s just us

, no more school.  Linda looks at the sale papers with nostalgia and a deep seated yearning for office supplies.

D o I t Y ourself

Sometimes we do it ourselves because only we know what needs to be done.  Sometimes it’s because we want to save some money or necessity.  And sometimes, we do it ourselves for the satisfaction and gratification, a sense of accomplishment.

Some hobbies have very little to do with DIY (like coin collecting) others have DIY as a central component (like people into 3D printing).  Kayak fishing is somewhere in between.  Not too many people build their own boats.  They also usually buy their fishing equipment.  But when it comes to accessories

, PVC, milk crates and pool noodles dominate.  People make rudders out of kitchen cutting boards.  They make rod holders with PVC pipe as elaborate as a Blue Man instrument.  They do it for all the reasons above.  Your kayak is a reflection of you.

I have indulged in a little kayak accessory DIY myself.  My best project was a cart I made to help me move my boat from the parking lot to the water.  This was a case of not being able to buy what was needed.  I was more than willing to buy my wheeled mule but I could not find ANY they properly fit my boat and did what I wanted them to do.  So I made my one.  Of course I copied another DIYer’s design and made a few adjustments.  That is another thing about kayak DIY, everyone seems very willing to share their designs and experience.

Today the DIY project was pretty simple.  I added a anchor trolley.  This is something attached to your boat that lets you position the anchor point of your boat anywhere front he front to the back allowing you to face in pretty much any direction while anchored.  Quite useful.  The design was pretty standard, used by both “real” manufactures and other amateurs, but of course I had to make some kind of modification to make it mine.

So what’s the point?  I think it’s that DIY projects are good.  It feels good to get your hands dirty.  You learn how something works (or doesn’t work).  It gives you satisfaction and confidence.  It helps you mark your progress in an area of interest.  So if you are not working on a project, think about tackling one.