Thanks for the advice cheater.cheaterparts wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:20 amFirst as a long time Kayak fisho I can tell you it is a great way to fish - I don't know the kayak you are looking at ( the Torpedo 13 ) but you are on the right track with the length -croe04 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:06 pmMy budget is $700-$900 for a good, stable entry level kayak. Desired length is 12-14ft, preferably with a comfy seat and decent amounts of storage, on the lighter side would be nice and it needs to be rooftopable.
Ive found this one online from freak sports, and i'd like a second opinion
- https://www.freaksports.com.au/product/ ... r-package/
My only concern with that one is that i've seen the same model around on different sites and it seems like one of those cheap mass-manufactured ebay kayaks, and I haven't heard of freak sports before.
I've looked around on the forum and seen the wavedance kingfisher as a highly recommended model as well, so i'm considering that as well.
croe
any kayak you wont to use on the bays should be at least 3.6 meters long and this boat is close to 4 meters
I'm not sold on the high seat most of these newer designs have it cuts down stability so the manufacturers normally have to make them wider to get this back - this adds both weight and drag - both are less desirable
it's always worth looking at the second hand market as well as new as in a lot of cases you will get quite good bang for your buck
if you are thinking about a kingfisher ( I started out with one by the way ) look a Bretts boat for example - $ 700 - $ 750 and the extras -- a sounder -some rod holders and stainless mount for them - a paddle all extras you dont have to buy on top of your new yak
the Kingfisher is an older design but a good starter boat for most places - I use to paddle mine 20 km in a day on Westernport if needed and fished both bays with it
and there are other examples of S/H kayaks that come with extras - as a starter kayak it's a great way to go
I now use longer narrower craft ( also more expensive ) and no I don't use a Hobie much preferring to paddle as It suits my needs just as well and better in a lot of cases
if you lock at the LHS top thats my old Kingfisher I haven't upgraded my pic for a while
Freak sports doesn't list the width or weight of the torpedo 13 on its website, but based on other models in different places it would be around ~84cm wide and ~35kg
I was told a while ago about the raised seats being more of a gimmick that just make the kayak more unstable, but most of the ~4m yaks in my budget unfortunately have it as a feature.
I've had a look around on some local online stores and found a couple models that look good, like the viking profish 400 and the profish 35, and the wilderness systems tarpon 140. Do you have any opinions on these? They're all a little above my budget, but I would be happy to spend more for extra quality. They also come second hand on gumtree, which i'm happy to consider too.
cheers
croe