Replacing a Broken Wilderness Systems Seat Back

Sometimes parts break. Pictured below is the seat from my Wilderness Systems Commander 140. Moving back and forth from the Captain's Perch to the seat I didn't pay enough attention and a couple of times flopped down on the seat back instead of the seat and it eventually took its toll. I blame myself. When you don't pay attention and get in a hurry, stuff can break. My Commander doesn't qualify for warranty and I didn't see much in the way of tutorials of replacing a broken seat back so I figured, what the heck. I ordered the parts from harmonygear.com and the next day it was sitting on my door step. I ordered the seat back and the cover for it. Total with shipping was less than $25. The back offered as a replacement is bigger which I thought was a nice bonus.  To do this, reusing hardware you'll need a flat head screwdriver and a Phillips head screwdriver. That's it.

My broken seat back

The first thing you need to do is get the seat back adjustment straps loose. On the front of the seat near the corners are two Phillips head bolts. They are holding the straps in place. They will have a washer on each side and a lock nut. Remove and save these parts.

The front connection point for one of the straps

The lock nut and washer holding the strap

Make sure you save these parts

Now you have the seat back loosened from the front and if it's broken, it's completely loose. Now you need to pull the straps through the back of the rest. You will be removing the adjustment strap and the bungee. Hang on to these as well.

Seat back removed with straps still in

The straps once removed with bungee

Now you need to remove the connection point where the back connects to the seat base. You can do it with a flat headed screw driver. On the right hand side is a plug and spring that will retract with some pressure. It's like the spring loaded toilet paper holders. The left side is stationary and won't move. Put a little pressure moving inward with the screwdriver and pull it out and away from the base. Be careful because the spring inside will make a run for it. Save the plug end and spring as well.

The plug and spring with pressure being applied

The plug and spring you need to save

The old seat back now completely removed

The seat base free of the back

The new seat back on the left

At this point you should have only invested about three minutes in this process. It's time to put the new back on! You will need to lay the seat back facing down with the molded pivot point to the left. Take the tightening straps and the bungee and thread the through with the loose ends coming out of the back of the seat back.

Straps threaded through

Now you'll want to put the cover on the seat back. Make sure the pivot point goes through the strap so it will be behind the seat.

Cover now on the seat back

Carefully place the spring and plug from the old seat into the new seat back and pop the seat back into the seat base. Once you do that you'll want to loosen the seat back straps as much as possible and then reconnect them to the base using the bolts, nuts and washers you saved earlier.

Inserting the spring and plug

Loosening the straps for reattachment

Straps reattached

Tighten the straps a bit and attach the bungees and voila! You did it.

Finished seat with new back

Start Cheating... on Yourself

Fishing forums are filled to the gills with people talking about fishing, catching and the baits they are using to do it. Among those baits are certain ones that you have heard about for years and constantly pass over when tying on a new lure while on the lake. I've been doing it for almost 30 years.

I don't like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and until recently jigs. I've never had a lot of luck on them and they just gave me no confidence. I see friends, family and famous people throwing spinnerbaits but when I do it, it's...well...it's a suck fest. Chatterbaits are just weird to me. My dad likes them and caught his biggest bass ever on one but for me, again, suck fest. Jigs, the same story. Until last week.

I've had limited success previously on jigs. That translates to one six pound bass in the dead of winter. One time. It was a great fish but I quickly went back to my favorite confidence baits (Hag's Tornado Baits). I am sure we've all done it, told ourselves we would branch out and try a new bait that works well for lots of people and is great in lots of applications. We buy some of those new to us baits and take them with us. And then when the opportunity arises, the new tool never gets used.

Speaking personally, I've sold scores of baits that were out of package and merely chauffeured around in my kayak.  I hate that but I just wouldn't cheat. I wouldn't cheat on my confidence bait. I wouldn't cheat on myself. As a creature of habit and seeking to actually catch fish I had to break my mindset. Completely. When you take personal pride in outsmarting nature and convince a fish to eat a non-food item, it's hard to break that. Fly fishermen understand this even more when they tie their own flies. I remember my first fly I caught a trout on that I had personally tied. It was amazing!

So what did I do? I set myself up for success. To gain confidence, you need to locate water with actively feeding fish. Then, you need to cheat on yourself. You need to quit taking your confidence baits. It is much easier said than done and it feels wrong. Only take the bait you need to get to know. Take several of them but stay within that category. For me, the first item was the jig.

I had received a boost of confidence from friends on the forums who already know the fish catching power of the jig. I followed their advice and went to work. Within 15 minutes of launching, I had my first jig fish of the year in the kayak. My Commander 140, nicknamed "Winter Soldier" was proving a great platform for this type of fishing. I could stand, sit or crouch and lay into the hookset to get these fish out of the cover. With early success, I continued to percolate confidence and land several more fish. All on the jig. The other bonus was all of the fish were 14 inches or larger.

Planning for success coupled with forcing the situation made it happen and now the jig has a permanent place in my bait rotation. To me that makes me a better fisherman.

Now I just need to cheat a little more and learn to love a spinnerbait.

Review: Wilderness Systems Commander 140

This winter I was able to acquire a kayak I've been eyeing for over a year: The Wildy Commander 140. I first demoed one last year at Fly Fish Texas in Athens, TX and had been thinking about it since that time. I've had several trips out on the water now and it is time to report in.

The Rigging

My Commander, nicknamed "Winter Soldier" by my son, is the 14 foot version with a front bow skirt and a rudder system. I've added a Lowrance Elite 5 fish finder, a Super Nova Fishing Lights LED light kit, several RAM and YakAttack accessories, a Bullwinkle mount, an anchor trolley and switches for the electronics. I move it from place to place with a C-Tug cart and transport it either via trailer or in the bed of my truck with a bed extender. It is the camo color offered by Wilderness Systems.

The Good

The Commander 140 is the second easiest kayak to stand on I've ever tried, just short of the Hobie Pro Angler (but let's be honest, that thing is a barge, like standing on a cruise ship). Because the Commander is a sit in/sit on hybrid, the point of balance for your body when standing is not your ankles, it is actually your knees because of the padded side rails. Imagine trying to extend your arm perpendicular to your body while standing. Now, in that extended arm, with just your fingertips hold out a six foot long broom handle with a tennis ball on the end from the opposite side. Now try it again, two feet closer to the ball with your whole hand. The second way is easier. Much easier. This is the same thing with the Commander. Using a support point closer to your head eliminates sway in your torso and allows you to balance better.

Standing isn't the only nice thing though. The kayak is spacious. I can store my BlackPak and C-Tug in the back without a problem. There is even enough space that I usually bring a bag of snacks and drinks to stow back there as well. In the main area, the seating options also shine. The lumbar support offered from the Wildy seat is good with adjustable leg straps, back rest straps and tensioners to keep the seat in place. If you need to get a little higher up just fold the seat back down and slide it under the Captain's Perch. The Perch is molded like a seat and getting up and down changes your angle and can also relieve stiffness after long hours on the water. If the Captain's Perch still isn't high enough up, just stand up and paddle.

In front of the main area is a cross bar for mounting items or carrying or resting items. This separates another front area that when you add the bow skirt with the mesh pocket can become additional storage that is not on the floor of the kayak.

As for tracking, the Commander 140 stays pretty straight when paddling and doesn't deviate course. For long paddles with wind, this helps your paddle stroke be more efficient.

So it is pretty easy to stand in, tracks well, has good seating options and ample storage space. There is one more thing that shines about this kayak: The Weight. Listed at only 68 pounds, this 14 foot kayak can be carried on your shoulder and has padding provided to do so. Going from Point A to Point B is easier than with most.

The Needs Improvement

As with most hybrid sit in/sit on kayaks, there are no scupper holes. You need to keep a sponge or pump handy if you are fishing in heavy chop or rain. With a bow skirt you'll eliminate most of the water that could potentially get in on normal paddling days. I also don't recommend this kayak for anything surf side but bay side adventures will be a great fit.

Another thing that is difficult is inside the side track you have these bungee connectors that can move back and forth to be tightened. The tightening happens with a hex key. The hex key is a size that isn't included in a normal $10 set at the hardware store so hang on to the key. I don't have mine and it's been a bear trying to find a size to match it. If Wildy could make a place, possibly under the Perch that had a couple of clips and a couple of the hex keys it would help. At least for me.

Bow and stern skirts currently need to be purchased separately but in the future it would be cool to see a retractable skirt integrated into the front and rear hatches. If you need it you extend it and if you don't it rolls back into its self on the hull. Think of it like those retractable window shades for cars.

It could also be a nice addition to include rod tubes for the main area. I currently store rods in my BlackPak and two on a Bullwinkle mount up front. Rod tubes would store a few of the rods out of the way of limbs etc and also not have them in the way of a sweeping hookset.

The final thing is maneuverability. Because the Commander 140 tracks so well and is long, it needs some extra effort to turn. It takes some extra strokes (as does any 14 foot kayak) to turn but the added rudder can greatly ease that burden. I don't see this as much of an area of needed improvement as a "just be aware of it" item if you don't get a rudder.

Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a kayak you can stand in, camp in, store tons of gear in, and just all around enjoy, this is a kayak you should look at. With 450-475 pounds of capacity it will accommodate most paddlers and sometimes an additional guest. The Commander is stable and can make a long day of paddling seem short. I'd highly recommend a demo of one.