Thread: Your Kayak: Pros/Cons

Mines a Perception Pescador Pro 10.0
pros- light and easy to handle
tracks well with good speed
stable and comfortable
very easy depth finder mounting
priced right and seems durable so far
cons- the factory rod holders suck but I don't use them
I wish it had a bigger access area for in the hull storage

The table idea sounds good and would work with the wife's pickup. I have a Jeep Unlimited with a 3" lift kit, so the lifting to the roof got old fast. I broke down and got a trailer. Turned out to have been a good investment, easy on the back and now I always have either my son or daughter going with me (or both) so the fact that it holds multiple yaks works.

Originally Posted by INDyak

Sun dolphin excursion 10

Pros:
Cheap (229$)
Light (about 40 lbs)
Stock cheap rod holders

Cons:
Not much storage
No bottom pad on seat

Not stable enough to stand(I got wet lol)

Originally Posted by pop

For those who have complained about kayak weight, I hear you. I, like some of you also have back and neck problems and at age 75 also having leg problems. What I did to help solve the problem is build a wooden table 3.5' x 6' with a storage shelf below. Put carpet on top. I store my Wilderness 115X on this table in the garage. The table height is level with my truck tailgate when lowered. I also have carpet in the bed of my truck. I forgot to mention that the table is on wheels. I just wheel the table/kayak up to the truck bed and slide it in on an angle. Not much of the kayak sticks out, bungee cord the kayak down and I put a red flag thru the handle. Pop

Just curious on how you load the kayak back into your truck after a day of fishing?

Originally Posted by Trippster33

Just curious on how you load the kayak back into your truck after a day of fishing?

My truck has carpet in the bed and I also use another heavy carpet about 5 ft long which I hang half way on the edge of the tail gate. I back the truck into the water and lift the rear of the kayak up on the tail gate as far as possible. I then do the shuffle along the kayak to the front where I lift it up and push into the bed and strap down the kayak. My order is a little off, I back up the truck before hanging the 5 ft carpet off the edge of the tail gate as it may fall off if hanging too close to the edge. The Kayak is always on carpet which makes it slide easier. I'm 75 and if I can push the kayak up, younger guys should have no problem. Pop

Originally Posted by Trippster33

Just curious on how you load the kayak back into your truck after a day of fishing?

Pop has it figured out. That's the easiest way I could figure out. My kayak is pretty heavy dry and empty, let alone wet and geared up. I have never had carpeting, but I used the same strategy. I'd just pull my yak completely out of the water back my truck down, lift one end up on the bed extender, and do the shuffle down to the other end and lift it and slide into my truck bed. I'm 33 and about average strength. Having said that, now I have a car and I use a 4x8 utility trailer. Much easier now. I wish I would have bought the trailer with my truck.

Had a chance to demo a couple today, so these are initial impressions

JK Big Rig

Pros:

-Stable
-Roomy
-felt solid
-Tracking

Cons:

-Heavy
-Slow

the weighty-ness of this kayak both helped and hurt it. Heavy to pick up, and heavy to get going up to speed.
but the weight also made it feel rock-solid in the water, and helped its momentum once moving

Hobie Compass

Pros:

-roomy
-stable
-simple
-pedal drive

Cons:

-nothing. unless you're considering cost.

Vibe Yellowfin 110

Pros:

-light
-zippy

Cons:

-tracking
-stability

even though its a tri-hull design, it still rocked left and right a bit much when any movement once involved. I was able to stand on it, but it wasnt confidence-inspiring.

jackson big tuna 14'

pro's

tandem with ample room and very stability for 2 people , it moves well with 2 people even with just one person paddling
loads of space and super stable for one person
live-well can be removed and is great to mount a trolling motor up to 55lb thrust , it needs a rudder if mounting a motor in the live well since it's in the center of the yak
pretty solid
easy to stand and cast from

con's
no slide track system
rear is stuffed with foam which makes it difficult to store spare rods
hatch is simple and pretty cheaply designed
seat feels angled forward and gets uncomfortable after time (will be doing a slight mod)

Overall I love the tuna , though I think some things could have been better thought out

Wilderness ride 115

Loads of room under the hatch and easy to store rods and tons of gear
moves well and quick considering the width
easy enough to move around out of the water
the seat was the older style but was comfortable . It's fit into the yak was well thought out .
very stable

cons

space , not much room to lay gear in front of me
price to upgrade to the newer seat was ignorant

I loved the wilderness but the lack of space for all my crap lead me to jump a good deal for the tuna , otherwise I would have stuck with the 115 .
I'm still trying to figure out which one I like better , both have their advantages and disadvantages . I think that wilderness systems put a lot more thought into the overall design . Jackson , even though I think the hatch and stuff is cheap , they actually sell replacements at a cheap price too , which i think is fair