New Yak!!

[Runnin]

I got a new yak! This is a lightweight kayak from Hurricane. It's called a Skimmer 128. This boat replaces my old Tarpon 120. Even though it's about 8 inches longer than the old tarpon it weighs nearly 20 lbs. less. After 2 back surgeries, I needed something that was easier to lift onto my SUV racks.

To the Yak I added:

Gear Track
Scotty Rod Holders and Camera mount
Harmony traction pads
ACK anchor trolley
Crate w/ rod holders
Paddle keeper
Keel Eazy fore and aft

I haven't made the leap to adding electronics, but I might do that soon. I'm trying to decide is the "juice is worth the squeeze".

Full View:
skimmer2.jpg

Crate:

skimmer1.jpg

Seat Area:

skimmer4.jpg


I had the Yak out for the first time yesterday. It paddled great and is a fast boat. I was easily able to spin around and fish with my legs over the side. This makes it much easier to access the gear in the crate. The loading and unloading was awesome. I was easily able to spin around and fish with my feet over the side. Makes accessing gear in the crate much easier to get you hands on.

[ronaultmtd]

Nice- the newest technology in plastics...thinner, harder and tougher than Poly- good luck with your new ride-

[zeebyrd]

Nice yak and great color too! Its even better when you can find a way to accommodate a physical "issue" and still keep yakking.

I finally found a way to more easily get my yak into the bed of my pickup truck after a long day. 80 pounds may not seem like much, but after 7 or 8 hours out there paddling with a bad back, I am tired.

Keep us updated on how well this yak works for you.

[d16daily]

Congrats on the new purchase, I can't believe someone on here has that yak...what area are you in?

I was really considering the Skimmer 128 as my next kayak but instead I stuck with FeelFree and I have a Moken 12.5 on the way. I couldn't find a place to test paddle it (missed a big demo day in June) and there were no reviews online from real people. On paper the thing sounds awesome. Couple quick questions for you maybe when you get more time with the kayak.

How would you compare the speed and stability to the Tarpon 120?
How comfy is that new seat, the backrest looks awesome but I wonder if the bottom part is thin
I know it's meant to be light and quick but I don't suppose a small guy like me could stand and cast from it

[Mike]

Congrats! Will we see it next week at the meet and greet on the Potomac?

[Runnin]

Congrats on the new purchase, I can't believe someone on here has that yak...what area are you in?

How would you compare the speed and stability to the Tarpon 120?
How comfy is that new seat, the backrest looks awesome but I wonder if the bottom part is thin
I know it's meant to be light and quick but I don't suppose a small guy like me could stand and cast from it

It's either a little faster than the Tarpon or just requires a little less effort. It's hands down way faster than my Pamlico 100. It's a little longer but I didn't think it was any harder to turn than the old Tarpon. Tracks beautifully. I may add a rudder kit at some point but I'm not sure I would need one right now. We'll have to see how it handles bigger water on a windy day. I thought stability was excellent, but I didn't have guts to try and stand in the boat. Maybe I'll try when I have a group around and have help at the ready if needed. I won;t have it fully loaded with gear when I try that stunt either.

I'm quite happy with it after one outing, and was really happy when it came time to load it on my vehicle. That old Tarpon was just too hard for me to get on my truck.

[kevinfry]

I didn'r see any scuppers. Does it have any?

[Runnin]

Congrats! Will we see it next week at the meet and greet on the Potomac?

Most likely not. I bought this boat for lakes, the bay, and tidal rivers. If someone needs a yak though for upper P, I can bring it as a spare. I think those ledges will eat mirage drives. My Pamlico is my beloved little river boat for the upper P! I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's about a dozen years old and I just refurbished it with new paddle keeper, Kayak Konsole, Camera mount, Keel Eazy, and new WS Phase Three seat . It's ready for another dozen years.

Any one that wants to paddle the Skimmer is welcome to try it. Let's go fishing and you can paddle it while we're out. I plan to start hitting the Severn, Susky flats, Dundee Creek, and the Bay.

I agree they aren't readily available in this area. Luckily, my daughter went to a summer camp not too far from a dealer up in Pa. a few weeks ago. I stopped in there and picked it up. It's a little bit of a trek but I bought it from Lancaster County Marine and they seemed like very nice family owned business. You will never find so many boats in the middle of a cornfield! They have Old Town, Hobie, Hurricane, and Necky, and maybe a couple others. I was in a hurry and knew what I wanted so I didn't hang out and shop much.

I had three boats on my list.

WS Tarpon 120 Ultralite. Hurricane Skimmer 128, and Eddyline Carribean 14. The Eddyline seemed very nice and had some real good design features but was significantly more expensive than the Hurricane. I thought the Tarpon was interesting but the Hurricane was a newer design and was about the same price.

[d16daily]

I didn'r see any scuppers. Does it have any?

It has two scuppers.

m_skimmer128_0016.jpg

[rob-kayak]

Very nice looking kayak. They say that's the best color for visibility.

I haven't made the leap to adding electronics, but I might do that soon. I'm trying to decide is the "juice is worth the squeeze".

Yes... then it's your budget decision. I strongly suggest the models with GPS/Charter . While some may disagree, I don't think anyone that has the multi function of GPS/Charts wishing they didn't.

[rob-kayak]

I just saw Dick's is offering 10% off their fishfinders this week.

Also.. with GPS/Charter units that have an SD card slot.. you can download your tracks and
trails... and vice versa upload waypoints to the units.

DonV and I have had a lot of fun using OpenCPN an open source chart viewer for the NOAA raster charts.
http://opencpn.org/ocpn/
Downloading charts from
http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/m..._agreement.htm ---> you have to click the "agree" button on the bottom of the page.
But you have to figure out which chart you want from...
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineVie...werTable.shtml or the other links on the website.
And for all the information that you will see on the charts... a guide for reading all the icons and notations.
http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/m...1/ChartNo1.pdf


You will find this program... it's a data converter... useful also...
GPSbabel http://www.gpsbabel.org/

All of the above programs are free or open source free.

With the OpenCPN mentioned above (and other programs out there) you can just have fun exploring charts offline,
plot waypoints, make tracks/trails, calculate distances for adventures etc. And transfer them to your FF/GPS,Charter .

Even if you don't have a GPS/Charter... the OpenCPN is pretty darn cool.

[Runnin]

Thanks for the GPS tips. What combo unit do you use. My Bass Boat has a Lowrance Elite 5 DSI. It's a nice unit but isn't great at marking fish. It's phenomenal at showing a picture of the bottom though.

[rob-kayak]

Well... I'm not exactly one to tell you what's best.. and I opted for the least expensive
Lowarnce. Mark 4 (black and white) FF/GPS-Charter. I don't have anything to compare
it to..
But I am super happy with it. People were speaking well of Lowrance.. so I went with them.
It I wasn't such a cheap wad I would have waited a little and gotten the DSI/GPS-Charter for
$350. Mine retails for $200... with rebates and coupon.. I got it down to $150.

It shows fish, as far as I can tell... very well. But I am sure the others are even better.

But to be quite honest with you... it ain't the boat or the fish finder that's has trouble
keepin' the stringer full... it's the bloke typing this message !

Best fish finder...
http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...ht=fish+finder

[DanMarino]

Runnin,

How do you like the keel easy product?

I've been thinking about adding it to my kayaks.

Tom

[buzz]

Nice looking boat there, Runnin.