Malibu Mini-X

[chimo]

Newest member of the fleet Been looking for a short, stable yak for smaller bodies of water and was looking at the 9ft Stealth but ran across a deal I couldn't pass up on a Mini-X Got it out on the water yesterday at Jonas Green and thought I would post a review / my initial observations.

First inpression: Damn this thing is wide! 33.5"'s wide and only a little over 9ft long. 325lb capacity. Weighs a bit over 40lbs. The material dosn't seem as thick or substantial as compared to some of the other yaks I have paddled. The layout is pretty sweet. 4 flush mount rod holders, 2 front that should be good for soaking bait and 2 aft for storing rods. Large center square hatch that allows access the inside of the hull so there should be no issues with space for storage. Lots of flat areas for when I becide what / how I want to lay out additional equipment. On the water it acted like a 9ft boat with an almost flat hull. A lot of back and forth action with the bow as you paddle but easy enough to keep a heading. Paddling effort seemed reasonable and I was able to cruise at over 3 mph. It was quite a bit easier than the Cobra Explorer I paddled last month. I tested out the stabilty by paddling out from shore and standing up. Need to work on my sea legs but even with swells / boat wakes hitting me I was able to stand without an issue and in calm water I should be able to stand and fish. Looks like I got what what I was looking for, a short stable manuverable boat that I can stand in and fish the back water areas with, at the right price too

Chimo

[Shield]

Nice Chimo. Pics?

[msjcl]

Is this the mini x that was for sale on craig's list?

Newest member of the fleet Been looking for a short, stable yak for smaller bodies of water and was looking at the 9ft Stealth but ran across a deal I couldn't pass up on a Mini-X Got it out on the water yesterday at Jonas Green and thought I would post a review / my initial observations.

First inpression: Damn this thing is wide! 33.5"'s wide and only a little over 9ft long. 325lb capacity. Weighs a bit over 40lbs. The material dosn't seem as thick or substantial as compared to some of the other yaks I have paddled. The layout is pretty sweet. 4 flush mount rod holders, 2 front that should be good for soaking bait and 2 aft for storing rods. Large center square hatch that allows access the inside of the hull so there should be no issues with space for storage. Lots of flat areas for when I becide what / how I want to lay out additional equipment. On the water it acted like a 9ft boat with an almost flat hull. A lot of back and forth action with the bow as you paddle but easy enough to keep a heading. Paddling effort seemed reasonable and I was able to cruise at over 3 mph. It was quite a bit easier than the Cobra Explorer I paddled last month. I tested out the stabilty by paddling out from shore and standing up. Need to work on my sea legs but even with swells / boat wakes hitting me I was able to stand without an issue and in calm water I should be able to stand and fish. Looks like I got what what I was looking for, a short stable manuverable boat that I can stand in and fish the back water areas with, at the right price too

Chimo

[chimo]

Is this the mini x that was for sale on craig's list?

Not sure if it is the one you are referring to but it was on Craigslist. Seller was in Pasadena / Gibson Island.

Chimo

[msjcl]

That's the one. Came close to putting a bid on that one myself!!

Not sure if it is the one you are referring to but it was on Craigslist. Seller was in Pasadena / Gibson Island.

Chimo

[chimo]

Nice Chimo. Pics?

I'll try to get some th next time out. Put some slime on the boat last night with 3 little largemouth bass at one of the Patapsco ponds

[chimo]

Heres a pic as promised. Still some rigging to be done but its working out pretty good in its stock format

[msjcl]

looks pretty cool!

Heres a pic as promised. Still some rigging to be done but its working out pretty good in its stock format

[Shield]

Definitely looks like a nice yak for skinny water. Nice find.

[AnimalPA]

I'm looking

Also thinking about a second yak for carry in locations. You got me thinking. Nice yak.

[DOGFISH]

I sold one of those this past weekend, at the kayak pool we had. It is really a nice little kayak. For a 9' kayak it is very stable and tracks well for being so short.

[sailandfish]

I sold one of those this past weekend, at the kayak pool we had. It is really a nice little kayak. For a 9' kayak it is very stable and tracks well for being so short.

Yep, I'm the guy who bought it--thanks DOGFISH! Had it out on Spa Creek today with my son; loved it. An early start and calm weather allowed us to head up the Severn to jig the Naval Academy Bridge and make a pit stop at Jonas Green, then back to Spa Creek. We didn't find the fish, but we still had a great paddle.

As Chimo said, the Mini-X is extremely stable and set up nicely for fishing, right out of the box. I had no problems or worries being out on the Severn with boat wakes, but one thing to remember: it's slow. Not surprising being so wide. Overall, it's a great yak for what I want to do.

[chimo]

Just an update of my orginal review now that I've put it through the paces.

Paddles a little harder than I origanlly thought or maybe I am just getting soft from using the Revo

I have been fishing standing up while in shallower water like the spatterdock at Mattawoman but the cockpit layout isn't ideal for it. Your feet end up either on the large center hatch or the edges of the hatch which are not flat.

My hatches leak (maybe from the standing???). Found this out by surfing the waves at AI this weekend. Not exactly what the yak was intended for I know ( a couple times it was completely filled with water as the scuppers struggled to drain it fast enough ) but still a little aggravating. Probably dumped 5 gallons out after launching, punching through a bunch of cresting waves, filling it with water a few times and flipping a few more over 30 minutes. Normal fishing conditions haven't been an issue.

Still very happy with my purchase and look to continue beating the snot out of it