Newbie wanting guidance on a kayak purchase

[jimbop]

Hey guys,

Looking at getting into a kayak for fishing and was wanting to get some guidance from the kayak gods.

I want to get a quality kayak and I'm willing to spend up to $1,500 on the kayak itself. I would prefer to buy brand new. There's the cheap ones you can get from BCF, but I don't think they are going to do the trick, and their sub $500 makes me very wary of their quality.

There are a few Hobie dealers in my area. I have been looking at either a Quest 11 or a Quest 13. I have also looked at the Viking Espri Super Angler online as well. My main issue is getting it back to the place of purchase if something goes wrong, which is why I am a bit hesitant about purchasing from Viking. They are based in Queensland, and I am from Gippsland in Victoria. Which is where I would prefer the Hobie Quest 11 or 13. Locally, I can get a Hobie Quest 11 for $1,250 or a Quest 13 for $1,390 for just the basics, or a fully kitted out Espri Super Angler for $1,295, plus about $120 postage.

I will be mainly fishing in bays for squid, flathead, whiting and snapper. Every now and then might go for a paddle in the local lakes/rivers to catch trout and whatever else will get attached to my hook.

So basically just wanting suggestions on which kayak would be best and if anyone has had experiences with these kayaks in particular and what those experiences have been like, or even suggestions of other kayak brands and models to suit what I will be using it for.

Cheers,
Jamie

*** Edit ***

There is also a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 with the Angler Kit that is a few hours from me for $1,485. Wondering if this is another one that is good to consider?

[RayS]

You might want to look into the AquaYak Ranger too. It gets good reviews and for the money your willing to spend you'd get be with the lot. Same goes for the Wavedane Kingfisher.

[laneends]

I have both the quest 11 and 13. They are both very similar in layout. Hull shape is more different than seems at first glance.

Pros of 11 is that it is far easier to manhandle and more maneuverable in narrow waters.

Pros of 13 the extra length makes for greater safety and capability in rougher waters. My 13 is the older profile, there are some changes to the current model. The model I have is lower profile/shallow draught compared to the 11. This increases stability, at the cost of slightly wetter ride.

If you are fishing mainly the bay go for the 13 as you need every margin you can for when it turns lumpy.

The 11 feels like a sportscar compared to most yaks of the same size (hence the price), but length ultimately does make a difference in adverse conditions.

The quest greatly benefits from rudder option, especially as it has very little in the way of a keel. I actually upgraded my rudder to the larger one. a worthy upgrade for minimal cost.

Another option in the price bracket is the prowler 4.1 available via Anaconda (rarely kept in store)

[Hammertime]

I purchases a 2015 Hobie Outback last year, which is above your price range (about double for the base model) so this is only really telling you of my experience and not suggesting that you follow suit.

The base kayak was $2750 from AKS and then the wheels are a couple of hundred on top of that.

I was considering buying one of the cheaper kayaks ($500 kinda thing) but this forum turned me off that. I then came across the voting page where people talked about the kayak they first owned and where they ended up. It's got some interesting data in it.

http://www.vyak.net/forum/viewtopic.php ... w=viewpoll

Anyway the key thing to remember is, money put into the yak isn't sunk cash.

Whatever you end up in, you'll have a ball, enjoy the community that is Vyak and the others on FB etc. Overall be safe and have a great time

[jimbop]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I went down and had a look at a few kayaks today and paddled around in a few and ended up deciding on the Tarpon 120 Angler. Ended up getting them down to $1,330, which I think is pretty reasonable.

Will be fishing in both port phillip and western port bays, and the bloke at the kayak shop advised against a rudder... Any idea why? Or would it be a good idea to get a rudder for it?

[laneends]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I went down and had a look at a few kayaks today and paddled around in a few and ended up deciding on the Tarpon 120 Angler. Ended up getting them down to $1,330, which I think is pretty reasonable.

Will be fishing in both port phillip and western port bays, and the bloke at the kayak shop advised against a rudder... Any idea why? Or would it be a good idea to get a rudder for it?

Depends how effective the tarpon rudder system is. Did he give a reason, or could he not be bothered fitting it?

Some rudder systems, eg those on the ebay style yaks are supposed to be more trouble than they are worth.

I would do without it to start off with (google gives many users who say not necc). You can add later if you like, there are plenty online DIY guides for this model.

Reasons it is good on mine.
~Quest has little keel profile and so is manouvreable, but also reduces tracking, so in a strong crosswind rudder helps you track straight, without corrective stroking.
~It helps steering when drifting.
~When you stop paddling to attend to a lure, it will hold yak straight rather than spinning with wind/tide/pull of lure retreival, if you have two lines out second line tangles if you start to spin.
~In rivers you can glide up to a spot and stay orientated when casting, without water flow turning yak.

Rudders can be raised or lowered as required

[jimbop]

Depends how effective the tarpon rudder system is. Did he give a reason, or could he not be bothered fitting it?

Some rudder systems, eg those on the ebay style yaks are supposed to be more trouble than they are worth.

I would do without it to start off with (google gives many users who say not necc). You can add later if you like, there are plenty online DIY guides for this model.

Reasons it is good on mine.
~Quest has little keel profile and so is manouvreable, but also reduces tracking, so in a strong crosswind rudder helps you track straight, without corrective stroking.
~It helps steering when drifting.
~When you stop paddling to attend to a lure, it will hold yak straight rather than spinning with wind/tide/pull of lure retreival, if you have two lines out second line tangles if you start to spin.
~In rivers you can glide up to a spot and stay orientated when casting, without water flow turning yak.

Rudders can be raised or lowered as required

I'm not exactly sure. He didn't give reasons, or maybe he did, I was just trying to get the price down as much as possible and was a little excited about purchasing my first kayak. He was asking questions about where I was going to be fishing, and I told him it was Western Port and Port Phillip bays and then suggested against getting one. I suppose I'll just try without and see how I'll go. If I get sick of the spinning around and whatnot, I'll try a rudder. I'm pretty handy with a few tools so I don't think it'd be too difficult to fit it myself.

They didn't have any kayaks in stock, so I have a few painful weeks to wait before I get to go and have a paddle. I think it's going to be the longest couple of weeks of my life.

[Babylon]

Depends how effective the tarpon rudder system is. Did he give a reason, or could he not be bothered fitting it?

Some rudder systems, eg those on the ebay style yaks are supposed to be more trouble than they are worth.

I would do without it to start off with (google gives many users who say not necc). You can add later if you like, there are plenty online DIY guides for this model.

Reasons it is good on mine.
~Quest has little keel profile and so is manouvreable, but also reduces tracking, so in a strong crosswind rudder helps you track straight, without corrective stroking.
~It helps steering when drifting.
~When you stop paddling to attend to a lure, it will hold yak straight rather than spinning with wind/tide/pull of lure retreival, if you have two lines out second line tangles if you start to spin.
~In rivers you can glide up to a spot and stay orientated when casting, without water flow turning yak.

Rudders can be raised or lowered as required

I'm not exactly sure. He didn't give reasons, or maybe he did, I was just trying to get the price down as much as possible and was a little excited about purchasing my first kayak. He was asking questions about where I was going to be fishing, and I told him it was Western Port and Port Phillip bays and then suggested against getting one. I suppose I'll just try without and see how I'll go. If I get sick of the spinning around and whatnot, I'll try a rudder. I'm pretty handy with a few tools so I don't think it'd be too difficult to fit it myself.

They didn't have any kayaks in stock, so I have a few painful weeks to wait before I get to go and have a paddle. I think it's going to be the longest couple of weeks of my life.

Gives you time to save up for all the extras Babylon

[cheaterparts]

He was asking questions about where I was going to be fishing, and I told him it was Western Port and Port Phillip bays and then suggested against getting one. I suppose I'll just try without and see how I'll go. If I get sick of the spinning around and whatnot, I'll try a rudder. I'm pretty handy with a few tools so I don't think it'd be too difficult to fit it myself.

Really a rudder isn't to stop you spinning around just as they are only an assist to turning on a paddle yak --- turning, going forward or backward is done with your paddle

the main reason you fit a rudder is to hold a heading while paddling in side winds and side chop - by using a rudder to do this a more normal paddling stroke can be used
where as without a rudder you have to do more work on one side to hold your heading

this also means it's easier to hold a good speed in less than perfect conditions by being able to continue to use a normal paddle stroke and just adjusting the heading with the rudder

hope that is some help

by the way I used a wavedance kingfisher for the first 4 years of my kayak fishing without a rudder and fished both good and not so good bay conditions - so a rudder was not completely needed
I now have a rudder on my OK Prowler and it does make those less than perfect days a lot easier

if money is an issue I would go without a rudder and spend that money on your safety gear

[choppers]

Yes rudder id advise or it's six strokes one side one stroke the other Side

so I found out