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I ordered my new Native Watercraft Slayer Propel last month. Local kayak fishing guide, Chris Dollar drove to the Native factory last week to bring back boats for his own inventory. He brought my new kayak with him. I drove to Chris's shop in Centreville, MD this morning to pick it up. It came wrapped in a big black cloth bag -- I hoped that I wouldn't get stopped on the way home for transporting a dead body.
I unloaded the boat into my garage, unwrapped it, and set up all the standard parts. Although Native offers a wide range of colors, including some new multi-color patterned designs, I wanted to maximize my visibility on the water and ordered the boat in Road Cone Orange (it definitely is orange).
Here are some photos. The hull is 13 ft long. Instead of the typical handles found on most kayaks, this boat has rigid metal handles covered with dense foam. This makes carrying more comfortable. Seating is an elevated "lawn-chair" style seat with adjustable backrest. The seat fits into a gear track so it can easily be slid forward or backward to the desired position. There is lots of storage space behind and underneath the seat for tackle trays, water bottles, etc.
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The roomy rear section is open with adjustable bungees to hold items in place. The bow section comes as an open well. I purchased the optional well cover. I will experiment with and without the cover to see how I prefer the usability.
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There are numerous gear tracks on this kayak -- two in the rear well, two in the front well, and two longitudinal plus three lateral ones in the cockpit. I look forward to customizing my FF/GPS position and installing a variety of rod holders.
This kayak comes with lots of scupper holes. The front well has one, the rear well has two, and the main cockpit has six. You can see from the photo that these scupper holes are considerably larger in diameter than the ones I have seen on other models. They come standard with heavy duty, flanged scupper plugs for a tight seal.
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The most intriguing feature of the Slayer Propel is its Propel drive. This unit features pedals that move in a bicycle pedaling motion and drive a two-bladed propeller under the hull. When launching, the Propel unit is tilted up. After reaching deep enough water, the black cover on the floor is lifted after loosening a bungee cord, then the propeller unit is pivoted down into the water. The black cover is reattached to keep the Propel firmly in position.
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I unloaded the boat into my garage, unwrapped it, and set up all the standard parts. Although Native offers a wide range of colors, including some new multi-color patterned designs, I wanted to maximize my visibility on the water and ordered the boat in Road Cone Orange (it definitely is orange).
Here are some photos. The hull is 13 ft long. Instead of the typical handles found on most kayaks, this boat has rigid metal handles covered with dense foam. This makes carrying more comfortable. Seating is an elevated "lawn-chair" style seat with adjustable backrest. The seat fits into a gear track so it can easily be slid forward or backward to the desired position. There is lots of storage space behind and underneath the seat for tackle trays, water bottles, etc.
001.jpg 002.jpg 004.jpg
The roomy rear section is open with adjustable bungees to hold items in place. The bow section comes as an open well. I purchased the optional well cover. I will experiment with and without the cover to see how I prefer the usability.
003.jpg 006.jpg 007.jpg
There are numerous gear tracks on this kayak -- two in the rear well, two in the front well, and two longitudinal plus three lateral ones in the cockpit. I look forward to customizing my FF/GPS position and installing a variety of rod holders.
This kayak comes with lots of scupper holes. The front well has one, the rear well has two, and the main cockpit has six. You can see from the photo that these scupper holes are considerably larger in diameter than the ones I have seen on other models. They come standard with heavy duty, flanged scupper plugs for a tight seal.
005.jpg 008.jpg
The most intriguing feature of the Slayer Propel is its Propel drive. This unit features pedals that move in a bicycle pedaling motion and drive a two-bladed propeller under the hull. When launching, the Propel unit is tilted up. After reaching deep enough water, the black cover on the floor is lifted after loosening a bungee cord, then the propeller unit is pivoted down into the water. The black cover is reattached to keep the Propel firmly in position.
012.jpg 013.jpg
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