I’ve always noticed that despite good paddling technique and a well thought out approach that I create more noise than I feel is acceptable when stalking bass in shallow clear water. I have resisted putting any kind of sound deadening material on my kayak up to this point because it’s just way too expensive for custom cut padding and I’m not willing to take the time to do it myself. There are only so many hours in the day and I have many other responsibilities that go along with running Kayak Fish PA, LLC. Recently HOOK1 Kayak Fishing Gear announced that they would be selling custom cut Conseal sound deadening padding for specific kayak models starting with the Ride 115X! Perfect! I own one and I’m an huge fan of the Ride 115X for river and small lake fishing.
Not only does the Conseal deaden sound but it also improves traction on the deck of a kayak for standing purposes. I stand and fish from my Ride 115X often so I’m all for more traction on the deck! I’ve outlined the install of my Ride 115X below. I also added a Conseal Hatch Cover kit which is sold separately. It’s very simple and it only took me about 15 minutes.
Step 1
Prepare the deck and cockpit of the kayak by hosing it down and cleaning it with a mild soap. Rinse thoroughly then let dry. Here’s a look at the Ride 115X before the Conceal is applied.
Step 2
Lay out the pieces without taking off the backing so that you are able to make sure that everything is going to end up in the right place. The custom kit makes it easy because it pretty straight forward to determine where everything goes.
Step 3
Simply peel off the backing and apply one piece at a time. Make sure to be very certain of the exact placement of each piece. Once you put the piece down on the surface it will be extremely difficult to lift back up. You may end up damaging the Conseal because the adhesive is extremely sticky. That’s a plus because we want the Conseal to bond to the kayak nicely… and believe me… it does! You can see in the image below I used a rag to press down on the Conseal to make sure it was tightly fitted to the plastic. The rag just increased the surface area when I applied pressure and made the application process move faster.
Finished Product
Once all the Conseal is applied to the Ride 115X, you will have a fishing kayak that is stealthy as a ninja. It will also look pretty darn sharp too! The Ride 115X kits will be available at HOOK1 Kayak Fishing Gear very soon. More model specific kits are in the works as well.