Five Mods for the 2016 Vibe Sea Ghost 130

It’s no secret the new Vibe Sea Ghost 130 has made a splash across the US. The waiting lists are long and the product in high demand. As the product becomes available and anglers get to purchase their long awaited kayak their thoughts turn to rigging.


The internet is teeming with questions about rigging the SG130, what to do first, what to look for. I thought I’d simplify some of it and list five modifications I would do straight away that will make that new Ghost an even better kayak.

1. Level the Seat

If you find yourself leaning more forward than you’d like to (or are used to) when you sit in the seat, don’t fret. This is an easy enough fix. To raise the tilt of the seat in the front, a one inch pvc pipe will do it. Put it under the front bar of the chair right in the molded groove. This will allow a little more knee bend and a better paddling plane for really digging into those turns.

2. Rudders Need Cables

The spongey nature of paracord as a rudder cable is well documented. The nice thing about the Sea Ghost is that the rudder lines are ported out for you. Simply untie the included cord and replace it with some coated steel cable of approximately the same diameter, maybe a touch smaller. Use some crimps to attach where needed and you are good to go.

3. Firm Up With Foam

Yoga blocks are your friend. The side walls where the foot track and rudder control systems are mounted are not as rigid as I’d like. Go to WalMart or Target or somewhere else that has a work out aisle and get some foam yoga blocks. Utilize the front hatch and stuff the blocks between the sidewalls. This will add some additional rigidity so when you dig with your feet, the side wall won’t flex in as far. This will also help prevent stress cracks in the future.

4. Foam Some More

The rear tank well has some flex to the deck. If you plan to put a heavy crate or a big cooler back there, it’s time to reinforce. The same foam blocks you used earlier will work, they’ll just have to be trimmed so they can fit through the round hatch behind the seat. You don’t need to fill the whole thing, just a couple of points around the center line to reduce deck flex.

5. Wingnuts are Crazy

I’m not a fan of wingnuts. The bungee for the back deck is secured on clips which are tightened down with wingnuts. It’s been my experience that wingnuts eventually break, are hot in the summer to the touch and cheapen the aesthetics of the kayak. I would replace the wing nuts and screws with some thumb screws. There are several different types on the market but something similar to what Native is using on the Slayer or YakAttack offers would be an improvement. If you didn’t want to put much money into it, a few riveted pad eyes could feed the cord and you could remove the track clips all together.


These five modifications are just a small part of what you can do but will be fairly quick and simple for almost every kayak owner. Do you have a Sea Ghost 130? What mods have you done?