I like the Rod Pod, but I'm sure you guys have heard reports of them leaking in the surf, this should take care of things. But, that wasn't the point of this project. I felt the Rod Pod lid could be made much more useful. There's a lot of space there, and the plastic the lid is made out of is just, well, too flimsy to do much with.

So out came the tape:

and then the epoxy resin and glass

and then more epoxy and glass

and then the test fit came

I didn't bother taking any pics while joining the two pieces. But I ran strips from the top piece to the bottom on the outside, then some matting on the inside....

The final layer went on with black dye. Was gonna rattle can it, but this will be scratch resistant...

Heres the final test fit

The all important water test!

and this should give you an idea of how much space i've gained between the knees!

in use at a tournament last month.
you'll notice the center tray is sticking up. I dropped a small LED light down there to illuminate the trays to make it easier to find whatever gear i was looking for. FWIW, I did win the tournament and have a new Trident coming soon! Will have to work on the new lid next!

Since the last pics, I've put a RAM Mount on the front of the rod pod, and a bungie over the trays. I'm thinking of installing a small 4" or 6" hatch at the seat end. There's just enough room for the 6... The lid is sealed using inexpensive sealing tape - same type of foam rubber, self-adheasive tape as you can find at any auto parts store to seal your canopy to the truck bed (labelled "Camper Top Weather-strip").

The lid is STRONG. I've stood on it a few times just to test things out, and have lifted my kayak by it as well. Not had any problems sitting sidesaddle, but it would be easier to scoot to the front of the yak with some 5" wide trays instead of my 8" trays... I had to keep things shallow enough that I can still get rods and such stored under the lid, and so far so good.