Customizing My Old Town Heron 9XT

Old Town Dirigo

L.L. Bean Manatee Deluxe

I grew up in a family that liked the water...be it the lakes or ocean.    I swam in lakes, in the ocean and tubed down rivers.   I spent hours in canoes and sailboats (Sunfish and Lasers).    So in a few years ago I realized how much I missed spending time in and on the water.    I thought about what type of vessel I could purchase.    Unfortunately, I live in a condo, so storage is an issue.    Whatever I purchase had to live inside my unit.   That left out the sailboats...and a canoe was also out of the picture due to size and weight.   So I explored kayaks.   Growing up in New England, when one thinks of canoes, one thinks of either Mad River or Old Town canoes.   In my family, it was always Old Town...so I have a weak spot for their products...and a deep trust in the quality.   I liked all the features of  the Old Town Dirigo, but it was slightly too long for my needs and wants. 

I also looked at L.L. Bean...another New England tried and trusted outdoor store.  Their 10' Manatee Deluxe was almost perfect! (again too long for storage).   Upgraded seat, and deck rigging, but no bottle holder.  

So I turned my attention to the Old Town Heron 9XT.   It was on sale for 20% off at my local outdoor store, so was a great price.   The Heron 9XT had the storage hatch, the thigh pads and a decent seat with a bottle holder.  So it had the basics that I needed and just need some minor customization.  And, it was the perfect size for my storage spot.  

Old Town Heron 9XT

The Heron is a good size for me.   I have discovered that I actually prefer its length.  At 9'6" it is 39 pounds and I can easily handle the weight and muscle it up onto the roof of my SUV.   It is small enough to fit where it needs to fit in my condo...and is also,  IMHO, a good length for running Class I & II rapids.   I find it tracks well too, even on quiet water.

So I set out to customize my Heron 9XT to match the features I liked in the Dirigo and the Manatee and I am very pleased with the results.   Even with what I paid for the materials, it ended up costing me much less than if I had bought the Dirigo or the Manatee. 

So here is a picture of my customized Heron:

My Heron all fixed up

What did I add?   

First I added the deck rigging.   Cost me about $25.

Then I added a gel seat (I find the back of the seat comfortable - just needed a little extra padding under my butt).    So I bought a seat pad...added a some industrial strength Velcro and attached is to the seat bottom.   Cost about $40.

Finally, I added a couple of D-rings to the inside of the boat to secure dry bags or anything else I might want to have handy in the cockpit.    Again, I used the industrial strength Velcro just in case I ever wanted to remove the D-rings for a trip...or be able to use them somewhere else.  Cost about $12.

D-Ring attached to the floor of the cockpit near the front of the kayak

D-Ring attached to the sidewall behind the kayak seat in the rear of the cockpit

 

 

Now I have the kayak with the features, length, and weight that I really wanted.   All it took was a little time and some work. 

Some additional customizations I have done and plan to do, include:

adding a kayak paddle clip as I'm not a fan of the bungee clip.

Yak Gear Paddle Clip

  

and the addition of some reflective tape.

Reflective tape

I also have this great Splash Deck from Seals.    It has a zippered pouch for small items and helps keeps the splashes out when I'm running the small rapids or anywhere where the water gets a little choppy and is splashing up onto the deck.   Keeps me warmer on colder days too.

I hope this blog gets you thinking about what you can do to customize your favorite kayak too.


At the end of the season...after experimenting and see what works best, I hope to do a blog about my tools and gear for making repairs to the scrapes, scratches and gouges on the bottom of the kayak that have occurred the past few years.