How to make a SUP Bottle Holder
While there are many ways to carry fluid on your person when paddling there are few good solutions to mounting a water bottle on a board. Importing one from the States was just too expensive so I sat down with my thinking cap on and came up with something that works really well for my Starboard Allstar and will work for any other board with a GoPro mount.
You will need:
The Allstar has an FCS plug on the deck in just the right place to hold a camera or a water bottle so that was the obvious point for me to work with. In the garage I had a spare FCS mount, a mountain bike bottle cage from a well known bike brand and a short GoPro extension arm that fitted nicely against the base of the bottle cage. And I always have some Sugru in the fridge.
I chose a plastic cage for several reasons; Most of my paddling is done on the sea or in tidal waters and a plastic cage will not corrode. I feel that a plastic cage is less likely to damage me (or the board) if I fall onto it as it's more likely to sheer off in an impact than impale me!
Sugru is a mouldable silicone glue that the makers say can stick anything to anything. It's fantastic for modifications and repairs. Importantly for SUP use it's mouldable, waterproof and in my experience more than strong enough. Perfect for a SUP Bottle Holder.
I used a file to rough up the plastic extension arm and the back of the bottle cage so that the Sugru would get a better contact. That might not have been strictly necessary as Sugru is pretty good at sticking to anything but figured it was worth taking a few seconds over it.
Ideally the bottle will be facing you at a slight upward angle, this will make it easier to grab and replace on the water and by carefully positioning the arm on the back of the bottle cage you should reduce any tipping when using a full bottle. On the cage I used the base was wide enough in the middle to accommodate the extension perfectly, a cage with a narrower spine might present more of a challenge!
Open the Sugru, play with it for a bit to warm it up and then mould it into a shape that fits the back of your bottle cage well, there are a lot of tips for using Sugru on their website. Press the extension arm into the Sugru making sure that it won't foul the end that you'll use to mount the arm to the FCS plug. I attached the FCS plug to the arm when I made the example in the photos then removed it once the Sugru had gone off a day later. I also used a cable tie around the cage and extension to make sure that it didn't move while it was setting. You get some time to play about with positioning before the glue sets so can tweak the position and smooth it out before it sets. Then leave it alone for a day or so at room temperature, remove the cable tie (if used) and go paddle.
- FCS GoPro mount
- GoPro extension arm
- Packet of Sugru
- Bottle cage from your local bike shop
- Sandpaper or a file
- Cable tie
The Allstar has an FCS plug on the deck in just the right place to hold a camera or a water bottle so that was the obvious point for me to work with. In the garage I had a spare FCS mount, a mountain bike bottle cage from a well known bike brand and a short GoPro extension arm that fitted nicely against the base of the bottle cage. And I always have some Sugru in the fridge.
I chose a plastic cage for several reasons; Most of my paddling is done on the sea or in tidal waters and a plastic cage will not corrode. I feel that a plastic cage is less likely to damage me (or the board) if I fall onto it as it's more likely to sheer off in an impact than impale me!
What is Sugru?
Sugru is a mouldable silicone glue that the makers say can stick anything to anything. It's fantastic for modifications and repairs. Importantly for SUP use it's mouldable, waterproof and in my experience more than strong enough. Perfect for a SUP Bottle Holder.
Prep
Positioning
Open the Sugru, play with it for a bit to warm it up and then mould it into a shape that fits the back of your bottle cage well, there are a lot of tips for using Sugru on their website. Press the extension arm into the Sugru making sure that it won't foul the end that you'll use to mount the arm to the FCS plug. I attached the FCS plug to the arm when I made the example in the photos then removed it once the Sugru had gone off a day later. I also used a cable tie around the cage and extension to make sure that it didn't move while it was setting. You get some time to play about with positioning before the glue sets so can tweak the position and smooth it out before it sets. Then leave it alone for a day or so at room temperature, remove the cable tie (if used) and go paddle.
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| SUP Bottle Holder on the River Tavy |