I got the OK from the wife to start looking for my sit on top.
You would never guess what I had to trade to get this offer from her. Lets just say that it will be fun to make and it will pop out after 9 months .
I would still like to sell my Dagger Charleston first but I dont have to. So if anybody out there is interested in it, I would cut you a heck of a deal just to get it out of the garage.
Looking for opinions on boats. I may spend up to around a $1000. I would prefer not to but I know me and if I dont get the better boat now, I will be unhappy with it in no time and regret it. I would kind of like to buy new so that I can rig it like I want it also. I have looked at the FeelFree Moken 12 and sitting in it, it felt like it was a good fit. The plainer boat was $850 and would only need a few things done to it rigging wise. I kind of liked it better than the one with more stuff on it. I have not looked at a Ride in person yet but I do like the way they look and I read and hear nothing but really good things about that boat. I like the idea of it being stable enough to stand in but I would be a little concerned about trading speed for that standing ability. I do like the speed of my Dagger. It gets where I am going with little effort and gets there rather quickly. Are the Tarpons much faster than a Ride?
Or should I just stick with a cheaper $500 boat from somewhere like Dicks and just roll with it? I am planning on fishing the boat a good bit so I am thinking it would be worth it to get the better boat.
Please give me your opinions guys. I am not new to kayaks by anymeans but I am new to sit on tops.
You won’t find a sit on top that even remotely compares to your Dagger Charleston for under 2 grand. That Charleston is a really efficient hull shape. You’d need a Kaskazi Dorado or better.
Tarpons are a bit faster than the Ride. If you want to save some bux for rigging, the prior generation Tarpon is available at the big box stores as a Perception Pescador. The prior gen Tarpon is a tiny bit faster than the current gen. The new gen boats have much better seats.
A Tarpon 160 will paddle close to your Charleston, but still slower. The T160 is a good bit heavier, so loading and unloading is more of a chore.
The Ride 135 is a good paddling boat for the super stable pack. It’s more efficient than some others in that group because of the pontoon hull.
There’s a bunch of other guys on here that paddle the other breands and can give you ■■■■■■■■ on their relative merits. You can also come over and ask the same question on Kayak Bass Fishing and get more responses than you’ll probably want to read.
Let me know if you want to take a Ride 135 or Tarpon 160 for a spin before you decide. I can meet up on a Saturday or Sunday once the ortho clears me to drive again.
You’d better enjoy the new boat for the next 9 months. After your trade arrives, the yak will most likely be parked for a few years other than a rare outing.
My wife is pretty cool about that kind of thing. She just wants the 2nd one and I have been putting her off on that one but I guess there is no sence in waiting for ever.
The Dagger is a good paddling boat, but the more I fish out of it, the more I can see where a sit on top would work so much better for fishing.
If I had to choose between speed and comfort, I guess I would rather have the comfort. The Pescador may be a good option for me. Price is closer to where I would rather be at and if the hull handles like I have read about, I would probably be happy with that. I could always upgrade the seat later.
My buddies little Sport Casters really look pretty cool to. And for $500, they look even better. I would love to have one of the newer, better boats but I am having a hard time justifying twice the money. Rigging out a kayak is no problem for me. Rigging is what I do everyday anyway. So I can always make a cheaper boat much nicer than is was when it came from the store.
I will have to ride over to Time Out this weekend and check out the Ride and Tarpons in person. That will give me a good idea on if I can justify the extra money.
Couple things to look at:
Do you want to stand and fish if so look at the ride 135, paddles well you may give up a little speed but not enough to make a difference fishing even on long trips.
And is in your price range
If standing isnt a concern then a Tarpon 160, OK trident are good yaks as well.
Looks like a Pescador may be the pick. Mainly because of price. I can get one through West Marine for a little less than normal retail. And from what all I have read and from what some of you guys have told me, it will make a good boat for me. I also kind of like the fact that it wont come rigged for fishing so that means I can put everything on it the way I want it. I’m kind of looking forward to that part. I may have it by tomorrow afternoon.
I’m not to concerned about standing. I have pretty good ballance so I will probably be able to stand in that boat anyway. Or at least I will give it a try. Worst thing that could happen is I will get wet.
I like the fact that most seem the think it makes decent speed. I like the lay out of it. I like the the number of scupper holes in it. And I like the idea of getting to rig it the way I want it.
That Perception Pescador looks like a good boat for the $. Do they make it in longer than 12’?
Rigger, you can probably pad the seat out with some closed cell foam and a glue gun if you find it necessary. I have a “clip-in” padded seat with adjustable back on my Prowler 15. Works well.
The Prowler is also a 28" beam. It’s not easy to stand and fish in. I’m dreaming up the ideal outriggers in case I want to do that in the future.
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