Testing Kayaks

[seajunky]

Cheers Bill...yeah, been thinking of some dry trousers for the open canoe and I can see they'll be a godsend on a yak.

 

Definitely going to try out the OK Prowler Trident before making up my mind. The X-Factor is a great platform but if the Trident is reasonably stable I think its narrower beam will make it a little quicker paddle.

 

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head there mate. The X factor is a very good kayak. For me the only down side is the weight, its quite heavy to handle out of the water. One of my main considerations would have to be the initial and secondary stability. In order to make a judgement you would need to try both kayaks.

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Hi Greencat

 

Just for the fun of it, fill in this link, see what comes up.

Would be interesting to see.

 

 

 

 

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/kayakdata/kayakstats7.asp

 

 

 

 

Bill.

Edited November 18, 2008 by Yakity - Yak - u.k.

[greencat]

Managed to get a test paddle in a few Ocean Kayak boats today courtesy of Paul at Herefordshire and Borders Canoes & Kayaks

 

In choosing a kayak I have used the following criteria to match my intended use:

- Good tracking and reasonable speed for some slow day-touring.

- Sufficient storage for fishing and camping.

- Good access to storage while on the water.

- Stable enough to fish from (and fitted with relevant accessories like rod holders, etc).

- Large enough to maintain sufficient buoyancy so that the yak doesn't fill with water when fully loaded.

- To be used primarily on the sea but occasional river use (so still needs to be relatively manoeverable).

- Well rigged to assist in managing the craft and re-entering from the water.

- Comfortable!

 

 

Prowler Trident 15 (4800 x 737mm)

Ticked all the boxes on my wish list above! A good compromise between speed (for touring) versus stability for fishing.

 

And compared with the Trident 15...

 

Prowler 13 Angler (4100 x 711mm)

Pretty quick and easy to get up to speed.

Wet in the boat when stationary (I'm clearly a bit on the tubby side).

Didn't get on with the round/screw-in centre hatch (going to struggle with cold hands).

Lower in the water and shorter so shouldn't have as much windage.

Noticable water slap on the hull (although I was only test paddling in a pond with just a few ripples on it).

 

Prowler Elite 4.5 (4500 x 710mm)

Pretty quick and easy to get up to speed.

Wet in the boat when stationary.

Didn't get on with the round/screw-in centre hatch.

Lower in the water and shorter so shouldn't have as much windage.

I found this yak to be very similar in performance to the Prowler 13.

 

Prowler Big Game Angler (3900 x 864mm)

Very similar in stature to the Malibu X-Factor

Slowest of all the yaks tried.

Poor tracking (without a rudder) but conversely very easy to manoever compared to the rest I tried.

Centre hatch is large but doesn't extend into the inside of the yak like the Trident RodPod does (maybe possible to cut an opening here?).

Fantastically stable.

Paddled well with a standard length paddle but, like the X-Factor would benefit from a longer than normal paddle to accomodate it's width.

 

All these kayaks were great and the build quality looked excellent.

The comments here are purely my own opinion from a relatively short trial on flat water.

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Hi Greencat

 

 

Now all you have to do is...........choose one

 

Its nice you were able to try them all out, sounds like Paul is a very helpfull chap.

 

 

 

 

Bill.

[greencat]

Now all you have to do is...........choose one

 

...and I did. The Malibu X-Factor and OK Prowler Big Game Angler are probably two of the best dedicated fishing platforms but to give me a bit more flexibility with how I use my boat I've gone for the Prowler Trident 15. Also opted for a rudder so just waiting to hear how long I have to wait until it arrives.

In the mean time I've managed to find someone running the RYA Short Range Certificate course in a couple of weeks time so hope to have my radio licence ready for when the yak arrives.

If the gulf stream could just suddenly shift around to the English Channel to raise the sea temperature a bit life would be rosy.