Thanks to the wisdom and advise from folks on this board plus a training session & encouragement from Seasherpa I have made the plunge and purchased my first ever kayak - a 2017 dune PA14 from Action Watersports.
I added the extra fat wheels, hobie crate, pump and anchor trolley along with a few other misc bits and pieces. Should probably have included rod holders but at the moment am still trying to get my head around everything.

I have obtained a Kokatat Bahia Tour PFD from elsewhere and am intending to get a pre-rigged anchor, pants and BerlyPro Orb from SLH . Haven't settled on a fish finder, radio, or PLB yet (though for the radio I'm considering a Lowrance Link 2 DSC).

Congrats mate

Seasherpa wrote:Congrats mate

thanks! Also wow that was quick, three minutes from my post!

Well Done Chris.

Many years of enjoyment. Give a thought how you are going to load it if not on a trailer. Once you get a bit of gear in it it can add quite a bit of weight. Also add a compass as it's great insurance and I find I use it quite a lot anyway.


I have recently purchased the lowrance link 2 and the main reason I purchased it is for the DSC feature. to use this feature you need to register and obtain a licence. The DSC is great. One press of the button and it sends who you are and gps co-ordinates to authorities.

vicyak wrote:Give a thought how you are going to load it if not on a trailer. Once you get a bit of gear in it it can add quite a bit of weight. Also add a compass as it's great insurance and I find I use it quite a lot anyway.

For day to day use I'll just be wheeling it to the water (about 300m). For transportation the roofracks on my SUV have sufficient capacity so I'll be adding some soft pads and tie-downs for that, plus most likely a rear and front tie to hook to the tow hitch and bullbar. May consider a rear support/hitch helper to assist in loading and supporting it. As it stands I didn't have any problem lifting the front up to above head height so I am hoping I can use a protective pad and slide it onto the roof from the back. As it gets loaded up though and/or as I get older I'll probably need to look for some sort of aid to load it.

vicyak wrote:I have recently purchased the lowrance link 2 and the main reason I purchased it is for the DSC feature. to use this feature you need to register and obtain a licence. The DSC is great. One press of the button and it sends who you are and gps co-ordinates to authorities.

Agreed, DSC is the main reason I am leaning towards that model.

Congrats

vicyak wrote:I have recently purchased the lowrance link 2 and the main reason I purchased it is for the DSC feature. to use this feature you need to register and obtain a licence. The DSC is great. One press of the button and it sends who you are and gps co-ordinates to authorities.

Hi Brian,

Just got my lowance link 2. Curious to know how you carry it yourself ... do you attach it to your PFD, use a pocket, or some other method?

The belt clip that came with mine is too chunky to be usable with the lash tab on my PFD (though I could probably modify it if need be).

I just clip it to my life jacket. Doesn't get in the way

Sweet Rig Chris ... i have just recently purchased 2016 12 ft PA with 180 Drive and i must say what a brilliant feature .... Im still in the hunt for a fish finder ! Im starting to think though i should of purchased a 14ft now as im hearing thats it alot more stable and faster!

Boydy81 wrote:Sweet Rig Chris ... i have just recently purchased 2016 12 ft PA with 180 Drive and i must say what a brilliant feature .... Im still in the hunt for a fish finder ! Im starting to think though i should of purchased a 14ft now as im hearing thats it alot more stable and faster!

Yeah the 14 is probably a better choice for PPB, at least from what I learned. The 12 isn't a bad boat though.

As far as a finder goes, I didn't get one initially as I wanted to see how I went without one. After a number of fin-strikes in the water around here (which is really shallow and can be murky making it hard to judge depth), plus my lack of knowledge regarding good local fishing spots I ended up ordering a Lowrance Elite (but don't have it yet as I'm waiting on parts).