kayak tarpon 140

[Moonyaker]

The tarpon 140 seems to be suited for the longer journeys i will make, especially as i already have a 10ft one! (Quote - s2vto)

 

" The Tarpon 140 is a top class kayak, beautifully finished and extremely stable, basic yak rather than angler edition is a good choice, extras do not add up to £125, but you have to think that somebody had to fit them at the manufacturing stage and time spent is money.

 

Rudder is not necessary on the 140, it has great tracking and increadible stability, mostly due to the deep channels running along the underside of the hull, only downside is she is a slow paddle compared to most "

 

Quote - Starvin Marvin.

 

It is more comforting to buy local but these yaks do not need servicing and once you have got one then it is unlikely that you will have to take it back.

 

There are two things that bother me here:-

 

1. ' the longer journeys I will make.......'

 

2. ' the only downside is she is a slow paddle compared to most....'.

 

Your requirements and this statament are incompatible with each other. The Tarpon is I am sure a great boat but before you commit it would seem to be a good idea to also try P13, Scupper Pro and P15 or P4.5 in the light of Starvins comments. If you want to paddle any distance you may not really want a 'slow paddle'. It sounds like the Tarpon 14 will consume more effort than its competition and on occassions you will find this to be an important consideration.

 

Sorry to perhaps add confusion.....and good luck with your deliberations - don't worry, we know it aint easy!

 

All the best

 

Moonyaker

[s2vto]

Cheers for the replies.

 

It is very difficult to decide what to get as people have their personal preferences!

 

People will not find a fault with their kayak unless they have tried the whole range.

 

Obviously i would like the kayak that will be the safest in the sea! I know it is not as simple as that

 

From help and advice i believe the tarpon is not the best kayak to go for, yet most of the others do not have the same build quality. The dorado seems to be the ferraris of kayaks!

 

The conclusion is to try as many as possible and if the dorado is that much better than the rest, then IMO it would be better to save for this one as it is 'much better' than all of its rivals and is worth the cost.

 

It is very hard for a newbie to read this forum and decide which kayak is for them.

 

build quality, cost, performance and reliability are important factors

 

Thanks for all the help

 

STU

[Moonyaker]

Now I am most likely going to get slammed here; but what the heck...

 

The Dorado is probably the Kayak that most of us aspire to but if you are fishing shallow rocky shores you will find that a Polyethylene Yak will take the scratches and scrapes in a more robust manner than a gel coated fibreglass yak.

 

Your analogy of the Dorado being the Ferrari of the Sea fishing Kayak world is very apt and the question is ' if you have spent loads of money on your mode of transport (be it Dorado or Ferrari), are you really going to be all that keen on taking it into an environment where you know that there is going to be a good chance of it getting dinged and that that will be costly?

 

If money is no object, you'll buy a Ferrari and use it at every opportunity but if it is not you will cut your cloth.....

 

For now, I will have a 'Metaphorical' Golf GTi (which I do not have), (The Scupper Pro) and an Estate Workhorse (P13); (I actually have a 406 Estate), until 'my ship comes in' and I can afford the luxury of the Ferrari too !!!!

 

Over to you Simon!

 

Moonyaker

[Simon Everett]

Just that mine is 3 years old, has been used by others and there are no dings that you speak of!

On the other hand, the soft plastics DO scratch - GRP is surprisingly resilient - bt if you drag it over barnacles without a care then I don't know of anything that will withstand that for long without showing signs of deterioration.

[s2vto]

Valid point moonyaker, I can see both side of the equation.

 

And no I dont own a ferrari, only a mercedes vito which is more versatile than a ferrari

 

What in your opinion would be the best Polyethylene kayak to buy?

[Simon Everett]

A second hand Scupper ProTW

[s2vto]

A second hand Scupper ProTW

 

Why a second hand one? a new one is about £400?

 

What about the prowler elite 4.5?

 

The more i look into kayaks the more confusing it gets

[GB]

Why a second hand one? a new one is about £400?

 

What about the prowler elite 4.5?

 

The more i look into kayaks the more confusing it gets

 

Welcome to the joys of choosing your first yak.

 

You are not going to get the perfect kayak.

 

I love my t140 but I know it has limitations. I am thinking of getting a t160i for next year for distance paddling as the 140 is hard work, and it is not as easy to manourver as some of the other brands which is why I fitted a rudder A.S.A.P. I bought mine for short distance lure fishing close to the rocks and for fishing at anchor on local sand banks. I have not done more than 16 miles in 1 day (inc the amount of milage drifting).

 

The max capacity Simon is 400lb, I am 235lb and once all my gear is on all 100lb of it for a full day she does sit low and dig into a swell. I think if bought to near the 400lb capacity she would be a semi-submersable

 

Stu there will be a load of yaks in tywyn this weekend, if you got time take a day out and go have a look at a few. Alternativly get down to the Southampton boat show starting next week, I'm sure there will be a good few yak stands there.

Edited September 4, 2006 by GB

[Starvinmarvin]

I would not dismiss the Tarpon 140 on the grounds that it is slower than others, not everyone is out to blast about, it's a very good kayak and excellent for the first time paddler, mainly due to it's stability and tracking, it makes life very simple.

 

Surfing on a wave is great fun, but not always the sensible thing to do when fully laden with tackle and rods, so the fact that it won't plane also helps to make her safe.

 

Get out and paddle one and also try the Scupper and Prowlers, they are all excellent kayaks, I love my Prowler 13 but everyone is different and you need to find what suits your body shape and style.

 

Sm

[SpeciMan]

s2vto just to add a bit more to your confusion: a few of us here probably went for faster kayaks, not just for overall speed but for the advantage speed gives in the ability to make progress against wind or tide. Its no fun paddling against an unexpected strong wind - it does happen. Having had the experience of a slower kayak (Caper) I would not want to be paddling anything slower than a P13 in the waters where I normally fish (Christchurch Bay, Poole Bay and Solent areas).