Best Kayak for a fat man

[luremaker]

Just what the title says. I'm a 300 pounder with a bad back and knees. Looking for a fishing kayak for streams and small lakes for crappie, bass, and perch. Maybe even for fly fishing. I can get the Ascends from Bass Pro but don't know if they are what a fat man like me needs.

Oh, and I can't swim a lick either but I always wear a life vest.

So, what do I need to be looking at?

Thanks!

[jimp]

The WS Ride 115/135 has the load capacity, as does the Nucanoe Frontier IIRC.

[huntinslabs]

Ok, I AM 6' AND 275 with bad back, shoulders and knees from sports and construction work. You really need to paddle em as many as you can. I was lucky and found 1 dealer with the main 4 I was looking at. I was the only person of 12 that showed up at the lake on test day. Had all the boats to try and no real time constraints. Ended up testing all they brought. Some I paddled for 1 minute and was uncomfortabe others took a bit. Came down to the Tarpon 140, Ride 135 with high seat and the Trident 13. The ride was stable and comfortable at rest but felt like I had to reach for the water to paddle and felt the tinge in my shoulders eventually and had less glide than the other 2. The other 2 were a coin toss and ended with the Trident only because of a few features it had over the Tarpon.When your testing them pay attention to everything. Getting on and off, imagine fishing and reaching behind you for a drink or tacklebox. Slide forward to get something out of front hatch. Sit sideways like drift fishing. Anything you can think of, try it. That said, if you cant swim dont go cheap on a life jacket and get a designed kayak jacket with the lower back open to accomadate the seat. And get the best seat with high back and lumbar support. Spend money on a quality paddle that is the correct length for you and light as you can afford. Then test the kayaks again. Its a hefty investment on the front side but relatively no maintenance and no added fuel costs etc. Buy one your absolutely comfortable in and you will enjoy it.

[bfish]

Jackson BigTuna and BigRig will both work great. As should the Wilderness System Ride 135 and Nucanoe Frontier. All of which have elevated seating.

[RetiredRR]

The seats in the new WS Ride 135's are hard to beat for comfort. Stability. Paddle length is more important than most realize as beginners. Go right the first time
and save in the long run. Good luck and keep us posted on your decision.

[yakpilot]

Ok, I AM 6' AND 275 with bad back, shoulders and knees from sports and construction work. You really need to paddle em as many as you can. I was lucky and found 1 dealer with the main 4 I was looking at. I was the only person of 12 that showed up at the lake on test day. Had all the boats to try and no real time constraints. Ended up testing all they brought. Some I paddled for 1 minute and was uncomfortabe others took a bit. Came down to the Tarpon 140, Ride 135 with high seat and the Trident 13. The ride was stable and comfortable at rest but felt like I had to reach for the water to paddle and felt the tinge in my shoulders eventually and had less glide than the other 2. The other 2 were a coin toss and ended with the Trident only because of a few features it had over the Tarpon.When your testing them pay attention to everything. Getting on and off, imagine fishing and reaching behind you for a drink or tacklebox. Slide forward to get something out of front hatch. Sit sideways like drift fishing. Anything you can think of, try it. That said, if you cant swim dont go cheap on a life jacket and get a designed kayak jacket with the lower back open to accomadate the seat. And get the best seat with high back and lumbar support. Spend money on a quality paddle that is the correct length for you and light as you can afford. Then test the kayaks again. Its a hefty investment on the front side but relatively no maintenance and no added fuel costs etc. Buy one your absolutely comfortable in and you will enjoy it.

Good advice here. I had a couple of thoughts come to mind due to your particular physical situation.

I wanted to add that, eventually, you'll probably roll yourself over into the lake. Will you be able to climb back in? That will be very important! (Think long-time exposure to water temps...) If not, you'd probably want to stick close enough to shore that you could swim the kayak over to where you can stand up. The very first thing I did after buying my kayak (Trident 13) was tip it over a few times and practice getting in. It's not that difficult, though I'm 6' and 190#, but there's a good technique to use and those steps make it pretty simple. I did all this in the family's farm pond as I wasn't able to test any kayaks out prior to purchase.

My second thought was loading and unloading the kayak. Take a look at not only the kayak weight capacities, but the weight of the kayak itself. Throw in some more pounds for a few extra accessories that you've bought and installed; those that you can't really take off prior to loading. Some of these things can get pretty darn heavy.

I'm looking at the Austin City Kayak website right now. www.austinkayak.com That's where I bought mine from. Here are a couple of capacities and weights:

- Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140: 375 lbs/70 lbs
- Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120: 350/64
- Ocean Kayak Trident 13: 475/60
- Native Watercraft Slayer 12: 350/70

Those are just a few examples, but you can see that some of these suckers can get fairly heavy. I'm able to get mine to the roof of my truck and off by myself, but probably only because my truck's paint is shot and I don't care about being really careful. If you don't have anyone to help you, it could be a real challenge and the last thing you want to do is disable yourself out in the middle of nowhere. However, if you have a truck with a long bed (mine's short which is why I need the roof), or a trailer, etc., then this isn't a huge issue. Just food for thought.

Back to the kayak weight capacities. You can see from that list above that they'll all work for you alone, but once you throw in gear, tackle, bait, ALL THE FISH YOU'LL CATCH (I never seem to have that problem though!), you can push the limit of some of those quickly. (This is where I throw another vote towards the OK Trident- best load capacity vs weight of those I've shown.)

Lastly, good for you to want to get out and do this! It's an absolute blast and good exercise! Not sure where in MO you are, but it would be great to get some of us KS and MO paddlers together someday somewhere in the middle.

[Yaker]

I too have a bad back ( several fusions) an unrepairable shoulder,and a unreparable distal tendon,along with a new torn rotor cuff in my last good shoulder.The fear of falling out and not being able to re enter a yak led me to a 12' nucanoe( frontier ). I am able to rise from a sitting position with the ridged seat base,and feel very comfortable in the stability.
I cannot speak for the several other yaks,just that I chose a frontier and have not regretted it.

[jaoeyp]

You might check out the Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler II. Super comfortable seat, 600lb capacity, and weighs 70 lbs.

[MichChef]

+1 for the Jackson Big Rig close to the widest, stabelist yak on the market. I've only seen one wider by 1 inch.

[FlyBye]

You might check out the Ocean Kayak Big Game Prowler II. Super comfortable seat, 600lb capacity, and weighs 70 lbs.

I haven't found one close to demo, but that would be my recommendation also. The option of a comfortable raised seat, ability to stand without advanced gymnastic lessons and super stability has got me looking at the OK Big Game II.

I currently have the Ocean Kayak Endeavor. I really like it although the lower seat isn't as comfortable as I would like for extended excursions. The Big Game II is really the same basic Kayak on steroids! Shorter, yet wider with tons more bells and whistles. I might even order one this week!

If speed and long distance paddling isn't in your equation, then the OK BG II might just be the ticket for you. Several other good choices have been suggested also. Good luck with the search, be sure to let us know what direction you choose.