QRP + KAYAK = OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

Editorís note: Some of the photographs accompanying this story were taken by Jane Krolczyk, KC8TSG.

This story began with me wanting to retire my old Thompson wood canoe and get a light weight kayak, that I could easily handle by myself. After searching the Internet and talking to a dealer, I purchased a Wilderness System Pungo kayak that would fit my needs.

While taking a few trips to the lakes, rivers and marshes, I got to thinking about Paul Stroud, AA4XX, and all the fun he had with the Flight of the Bumble Bees and his kayak adventures. Maybe, I thought to myself, I could put a 40 meter Hamstick antenna on the back of the kayak and use my Ten-Tec1340 QRP rig to at least listen to some CW while I'm enjoying the great outdoors.

Not wanting to drill any holes in my new kayak I came up with a portable system for the antenna and QRP rig. It's really quite simple to make and is easy to install and remove. First you cut two pieces of broomstick dowel that will fit across your cockpit combing and flat tapper the ends as needed. Then I used two pieces of square plexiglass on each side for reinforcement - which will also be used later to mount my homebrew CW key and earbud headphones.

The Ten-Tec radio has two slotted holes on the bottom of its case, where I attached two broom clamps, which where purchased from the local hardware store. Now the radio clamps over the front dowel and just sits on the rear one, but I also put a little Duct tape on the rear dowel to act as a cushion so I wouldn't rub the paint off.

While I'm on the subject of good old Duct tape, I placed some over the top mounted speaker to keep water from accidentally dripping off the paddle and into the radio. It also acts as a sun reflector to keep the black case cool.

Now to the antenna mounting. Here I cut a piece of plexiglass to the round shape of the rear combing and attached a small E clip to the bottom back section that will slip under the rear combing, then I used two pinch clamps to hold the sides.
In the middle I cut a hole and installed a small metal plate with the Hamstick quick disconnect mount. A short piece of wire was placed between the back two mounting bolts, so the radials can easily be attached with an electrical pinch connector. The two radials are made from speaker wire, because it is very flexible and won't catch on weeds, as they are being dragged behind the kayak. My radials are 12 feet long and with the Hamstick adjusted for 7.040 kHz, the SWR is 1.3 to 1. It's important when your doing all your antenna adjustments that your radials are in the water.

A 7ah battery just lies on the floor to power the radio and anything else I might need to run off 12 volts.

Remember, I thought that the best I would do with a small antenna and a QRP radio was to be able listen to some CW. Boy, was I ever wrong! This setup worked like gang busters. I launched the Pungo on Gooseneck Lake, which is about 16 miles east of Ludington, MI, my home. It was 2 p.m. and I heard N9CX calling CQ from Columbus, OH, so I gave him a call signing W8BHK/MM/QRP and Bill came right back with a RST 349 signal report. After our FB QSO I called CQ/MM/QRP and Terry, W9CSL in Decatur, IN answered running QRP with his OHR-1. By this time I was on a real high! My first day was a great success and I knew I'd be back tomorrow.

On the second day I was back on Gooseneck Lake at 3 p.m. and called CQ/MM/QRP and W1IDL, Vin, on the other side of the state at Saginaw Bay, came back to me with a 559 RST and he was loud. I just can't get over how well those Hamstick antennas hear. To put the topping on the cake, WD9GWH/QRP running an FT-817 from Fort Coulonge, PQ, answered my CQ. When Dale came back to me and said, "WOW! That's a first for me," I think I was flying high instead of floating in a kayak. We both had a RST of 479, but some QRM moved in on us, so we said 73s to each other and hoped to meet up again.

A few days later I went back to the lake and set up a schedule with some of the members of our radio club. There was W8ZKZ, Bab in Ludington, WA8YLZ, Rick in Custer and K8DGY, Bob at Long Lake, who wasn't too far from me.
Then Allen, KC8OTI, and his wife came down to the boat launch site for a eyeball QSO, but left before I could make contact with the group. It was a fun afternoon for everyone.

If you own a kayak or are thinking of getting one, try a little maritime mobile. It's a blast! And if you hear me calling CQ/MM/QRP give me a bump on the key.
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Harcourt Quick, W8BHK, is an avid QRPer living in Ludington, MI. His main interests are low power operation and building small radios to operate while hiking and kayaking. He can be contacted via e-mail at: w8bhk@arrl.net.