brian22
08-31-2010, 08:17 AM
Well folks, after demo'ing and throwing the cast net out of the PA without issues, I fell in love and bought one from Pack & Paddle this weekend (they're on closeout at $2100!). Took her for a spin this weekend and despite lots of wind, it handled like a dream - pretty agile for such a big girl. The wind will definitely push her around, and the old "oar in the mud" anchor didn't work yesterday but it was very windy, so an anchor project fore and aft is in the works.
I see what people mean when they complain of the steering, but I think I'll keep it and get used to it... it's really not squirrelly for me and I love the tight turning.
Load? What load? My 165lbs. and a tall ice chest w/ 40 lbs of ice, fishing poles, lures, camel back, etc. and I was still sitting really high in the water, I should have taken a picture of the waterline when i was washing it.
Let's talk about fishing - in a word, awesome! I've been fishing out of canoes and other kayaks and being able to have 1 pole trolling and another in my hands fishing while I'm pedaling along makes the whole thing worthwhile - I am a terrible fisherman and need to have as many baits as I can in the water for as long as possible :lol:
Pedaling took less energy than an equivalent distance paddling traditionally - never did i feel like i really had to exert myself to go upwind or get to where i needed to be. I have yet to try a top speed run - moseying along gets me going plenty fast enough and I really have to slow it down when I'm trolling as just normal cruising is too fast. I like the turbo fins; the regular fins were too easy to pedal and I found myself wanting for more torque. The turbos fit the bill in that regard; I'd even be interested in trying out a super turbo if they were ever to come out.
Lots of talk about the cons of the boat talk about shallow water. I didn't try the flutter technique, and here's why. When I'm in super-shallow water, it's usually b/c I'm trying to sneak up on something I see in the grass or to go investigate an attractive point or cut to fish. Therefore, I want to be:
a) quiet (rather not splash around w/ a paddle anyway)
b) as high up as I can be so I can hopefully see something down in the water.(having trouble with that - can anyone ever actually see anything? Maybe it's time I quit buying the $10 polarized sunglasses).
To meet those requirements, I stand up and pole with my oar, just as I would in a traditional yak - I enjoy doing this, so super-shallow water performance is no different to me than a regular yak. As for beaching, I pick a line, pedal a couple of times real good, then fold them up under the hull and grab the paddle for final beaching. Not a biggie as I don't usually have a fishing pole in my hand when I'm parking.
Paddling - it's pretty responsive when it has to be done - it's a little more difficult than w/ a regular yak b/c of how much higher out of the water you are and how much higher your seat position is. It almost feels like I'm digging into my lap w/ the paddle or having to hold the other side really high in the air to get the working blade into the water and pulling. I paddled around for a couple of minutes but quickly got bored with it and went back to the fins. Short of an emergency (drive breaking while I'm out on the water), I don't see myself paddling ever again. I can already attest to the toughness of the mirage drive (see next paragraph), but 1 trip and a demo is no measure of longevity, so time will tell. However, it seems to be very solidly built.
Just for fun I tried paddling and pedaling at the same time - pointless. As soon as my blade hit the water, it was sucked to the stern as if there was a vacuum cleaner back there! I couldn't paddle fast enough to add any more thrust to what I was getting from my turbo fins.
Luckily it's pretty idiot-proof too - like a dumb@$$ I put it in the back of my truck w/ the mirage drive in (it was harder to push but i attributed it to me having to push uphill as my truck was parked on a boat launch). Luckily, the drive was unscathed - till I saw black plastic shavings stuck in the chain! "Crap, I messed up my new $100 million drive!" Upon further investigation, I found that the shavings were actually from my tailgate and bed that the drive scraped as I foolishly grunted and strained to get the yak in my truck. The drive is tougher than my truck bed! FWIW, PA's are MUCH easier to load when you take the drive out first! :buttrock: Definitely learned my lesson on that one, it was a gift that there was no real damage.
Weight - Nonissue for me except when loading yak into my truck w/ the drive still in. I'm 5'9, 165 lbs in decent shape. With the cart in, my skinny 7 year old son can push the boat around the house. In the water, it doesn't seem any heavier than a "normal" yak to me. There is a lot of this yak out of the water though, especially with just me and an ice chest w/ 40 lbs of ice, and the wind will blow her around a bit.
Easy to clean too but this is my first yak so I've nothing to compare it to. Only gripe is with the EXPENSIVE cart - there's a locking pin that smartly keeps the cart locked to the yak if you so desire (sometimes I desire) - the pin is on the underside of the black stopper on the end of one the cart's tines. It came out of the stopper and fell down into the cart - tried to hammer it back in, and it stayed for a few minutes and fell out again. Will bring to the shop or just glue it on better myself. All in all a great yak and looking forward to my first cajun sleigh ride.
I see what people mean when they complain of the steering, but I think I'll keep it and get used to it... it's really not squirrelly for me and I love the tight turning.
Load? What load? My 165lbs. and a tall ice chest w/ 40 lbs of ice, fishing poles, lures, camel back, etc. and I was still sitting really high in the water, I should have taken a picture of the waterline when i was washing it.
Let's talk about fishing - in a word, awesome! I've been fishing out of canoes and other kayaks and being able to have 1 pole trolling and another in my hands fishing while I'm pedaling along makes the whole thing worthwhile - I am a terrible fisherman and need to have as many baits as I can in the water for as long as possible :lol:
Pedaling took less energy than an equivalent distance paddling traditionally - never did i feel like i really had to exert myself to go upwind or get to where i needed to be. I have yet to try a top speed run - moseying along gets me going plenty fast enough and I really have to slow it down when I'm trolling as just normal cruising is too fast. I like the turbo fins; the regular fins were too easy to pedal and I found myself wanting for more torque. The turbos fit the bill in that regard; I'd even be interested in trying out a super turbo if they were ever to come out.
Lots of talk about the cons of the boat talk about shallow water. I didn't try the flutter technique, and here's why. When I'm in super-shallow water, it's usually b/c I'm trying to sneak up on something I see in the grass or to go investigate an attractive point or cut to fish. Therefore, I want to be:
a) quiet (rather not splash around w/ a paddle anyway)
b) as high up as I can be so I can hopefully see something down in the water.(having trouble with that - can anyone ever actually see anything? Maybe it's time I quit buying the $10 polarized sunglasses).
To meet those requirements, I stand up and pole with my oar, just as I would in a traditional yak - I enjoy doing this, so super-shallow water performance is no different to me than a regular yak. As for beaching, I pick a line, pedal a couple of times real good, then fold them up under the hull and grab the paddle for final beaching. Not a biggie as I don't usually have a fishing pole in my hand when I'm parking.
Paddling - it's pretty responsive when it has to be done - it's a little more difficult than w/ a regular yak b/c of how much higher out of the water you are and how much higher your seat position is. It almost feels like I'm digging into my lap w/ the paddle or having to hold the other side really high in the air to get the working blade into the water and pulling. I paddled around for a couple of minutes but quickly got bored with it and went back to the fins. Short of an emergency (drive breaking while I'm out on the water), I don't see myself paddling ever again. I can already attest to the toughness of the mirage drive (see next paragraph), but 1 trip and a demo is no measure of longevity, so time will tell. However, it seems to be very solidly built.
Just for fun I tried paddling and pedaling at the same time - pointless. As soon as my blade hit the water, it was sucked to the stern as if there was a vacuum cleaner back there! I couldn't paddle fast enough to add any more thrust to what I was getting from my turbo fins.
Luckily it's pretty idiot-proof too - like a dumb@$$ I put it in the back of my truck w/ the mirage drive in (it was harder to push but i attributed it to me having to push uphill as my truck was parked on a boat launch). Luckily, the drive was unscathed - till I saw black plastic shavings stuck in the chain! "Crap, I messed up my new $100 million drive!" Upon further investigation, I found that the shavings were actually from my tailgate and bed that the drive scraped as I foolishly grunted and strained to get the yak in my truck. The drive is tougher than my truck bed! FWIW, PA's are MUCH easier to load when you take the drive out first! :buttrock: Definitely learned my lesson on that one, it was a gift that there was no real damage.
Weight - Nonissue for me except when loading yak into my truck w/ the drive still in. I'm 5'9, 165 lbs in decent shape. With the cart in, my skinny 7 year old son can push the boat around the house. In the water, it doesn't seem any heavier than a "normal" yak to me. There is a lot of this yak out of the water though, especially with just me and an ice chest w/ 40 lbs of ice, and the wind will blow her around a bit.
Easy to clean too but this is my first yak so I've nothing to compare it to. Only gripe is with the EXPENSIVE cart - there's a locking pin that smartly keeps the cart locked to the yak if you so desire (sometimes I desire) - the pin is on the underside of the black stopper on the end of one the cart's tines. It came out of the stopper and fell down into the cart - tried to hammer it back in, and it stayed for a few minutes and fell out again. Will bring to the shop or just glue it on better myself. All in all a great yak and looking forward to my first cajun sleigh ride.