Old Town Predator Pdl Owners!!!

[croaker d]

Hey guys I have a question. But first let me say I hope all is well and everyone is being safe. Ok with that being said I purchased a 2018 old town predator pdl brand new three weeks ago. I was able to get it out on the water last week for about three hours. I didn't demo this boat and I found that the pdl seemed stiff but then again I don't know what I should feel again because I didn't demo. I know that I didn't get no where close to 5mph. I seem to get up to 3.5-3.9 when pedaling my hardest. Everything seem fine but I heard that I have to give it time to break the pdl in, is this true with a new drive or should I be getting more speed out the box? Thx in advance guys!!

[Mark]

Croaker D,

Thanks for the well-wishes. The same to you and all forum members.

I don't have your kayak but I don't think your pedals should feel stiff or have a break-in period. How do they feel when they are out of the water with the prop spinning in air? Water will provide resistance, of course. But with no water and the prop spinning in air, that would give you a gauge as to the true tightness of the unit.

Another thought is that perhaps Old Town has a users' forum where this matter has been addressed.

Good luck,

[croaker d]

Thx Mark. They seem fine off the water but I have been watching guys get these boats up to 5.5 mph on youtube. Just wondering because going with or against the current my garmin unit never even reached 4mph. I'll have to give it another shot soon.

[Mark]

That's pretty fast for a kayak -- 5.5 mph.

I can reach 6 mph in my Revo but only for sprints. In a normal cadence I can cruise at 3 mph for long distances. That's with standard fins. I don't have Turbos.

I'm far from a trolling expert, but I typically slow down to about 2 mph for most striper catches, just enough to keep my jigs from bouncing on the bottom. So you probably don't need to go fast anyway merely to catch fish. But it's nice to use the pedals to get to another spot a little quicker than normal.

[croaker d]

Yeah Mark 5.5 is pretty fast for any yak. But I have watched videos of guys getting that speed for short distances giving it all they had. I'm pretty young and in good shape. The problem for me is I have been kayak fishing for I think 7 years now and have never tried any pedal yak but came across a great deal at my local kayak shop and couldn't resist it. With me never demoing the boat I was just going off what I have watched and read about this particular boat. I just want to make sure everything was working properly because I sadly and honestly don't know.

[Mark]

You're not the first to buy a kayak without a demo.

I bought my first Revo without testing. In fact, I had never been in a pedal kayak of any kind before that purchase and my experience with paddle kayaks was extremely limited. It worked out fine for me but it's not something I would recommend. However, no one is going to learn all the nuances of any boat on quick test ride. That's why I've come to the conclusion that there is no perfect kayak. We all learn to compensate for the shortcomings of our boats while appreciating their stengths.

You'll get that Predator working just fine.

[gliebig]

What would you say an average speed would be from paddling?