Tweet
I've been itching to get this yak in the water but life and the weather have been in the way. I finally got to launch today at SPSP and I figured I would share my experience.
The yak is very light (46 pounds) so it was a breeze to move it around, even for this geriatric with arthritis.
I bought this for small ponds and rivers when I could only get out for a couple of hours and didn't want to deal with my larger yak. The only mod I made to it was to fashion a board to put my feet on instead of the little molded in foot rests that it has. I have never liked them as they play hell with your leg muscles.
To launch, I just backed my pickup down the first ramp (so I could tie up and load at the landing) and slid it off the tailgate into the water. easy peasy. I decided to check its stability and did so at the dock. In my opinion, it has better primary stability than my OC Trident. I could even stand up on it which I can't do on the Trident. The hull has a lot of rocker so it rides high at the ends.
I then set out and right away I was glad I mad the foot board. One complaint about this yak is that the seat slides. Well, with my foot board allowing me to sit straight up, my seat never moved. As I paddled, I adjusted my strokes to keep the bow swing as small as possible and was impressed by how well this little 9 foot boat tracked. It's not like paddling a 14 footer with a rudder, but it doesn't swing you around in circles either. I was able to maintain a comfortable speed of 2.5 GPS with light winds. My max speed in dead air at the back of Mezic Pond was 3.7 GPH and I worked for it.
Since it was a nice day, I decided to head out into the bay. While out there, I had the opportunity to see how well the Skipjack takes boat wakes. Two boats, one a Grady 27 the other a Sea Hunt came by me at full tilt within 50 feet. I figured they would slow down going through the bridge but they didn't.
Since all I could do was angle the bow, I did and took a roller coaster ride! However, the rocker paid off and no water came into the yak. That my friends was pretty amazing.
While I didn't fish today, I did observe that all four rod holders are placed so that they will not interfere with my paddling. I may make some kind of filler for them though because the diameter is pretty big and the rods will jump around otherwise.
I also like the type of plastic they used in construction of this yak. It is very firm and takes a lot of pressure to make it flex anywhere. That has not been my experience on my Trident.
With that I will close and go an put it back on the garage ceiling.
The yak is very light (46 pounds) so it was a breeze to move it around, even for this geriatric with arthritis.
I bought this for small ponds and rivers when I could only get out for a couple of hours and didn't want to deal with my larger yak. The only mod I made to it was to fashion a board to put my feet on instead of the little molded in foot rests that it has. I have never liked them as they play hell with your leg muscles. To launch, I just backed my pickup down the first ramp (so I could tie up and load at the landing) and slid it off the tailgate into the water. easy peasy. I decided to check its stability and did so at the dock. In my opinion, it has better primary stability than my OC Trident. I could even stand up on it which I can't do on the Trident. The hull has a lot of rocker so it rides high at the ends.
I then set out and right away I was glad I mad the foot board. One complaint about this yak is that the seat slides. Well, with my foot board allowing me to sit straight up, my seat never moved. As I paddled, I adjusted my strokes to keep the bow swing as small as possible and was impressed by how well this little 9 foot boat tracked. It's not like paddling a 14 footer with a rudder, but it doesn't swing you around in circles either. I was able to maintain a comfortable speed of 2.5 GPS with light winds. My max speed in dead air at the back of Mezic Pond was 3.7 GPH and I worked for it.
Since it was a nice day, I decided to head out into the bay. While out there, I had the opportunity to see how well the Skipjack takes boat wakes. Two boats, one a Grady 27 the other a Sea Hunt came by me at full tilt within 50 feet. I figured they would slow down going through the bridge but they didn't.
Since all I could do was angle the bow, I did and took a roller coaster ride! However, the rocker paid off and no water came into the yak. That my friends was pretty amazing.While I didn't fish today, I did observe that all four rod holders are placed so that they will not interfere with my paddling. I may make some kind of filler for them though because the diameter is pretty big and the rods will jump around otherwise.
I also like the type of plastic they used in construction of this yak. It is very firm and takes a lot of pressure to make it flex anywhere. That has not been my experience on my Trident.
With that I will close and go an put it back on the garage ceiling.
Comment