Anybody seen the Stealth Pro Fisha 575?

I'd buy one of these in a heartbeat but I don't think they're sold here



Looks pretty fast and even though it's on the narrower side they managed to still make it stable

Basically is a cross between the two yaks I own, an old glass dive yak, and the WS Tarpon 160

Only drawback I can see is rudder, but as long as you avoid exciting situations should be okay

Not sure why none of the US manufacturers make something like this, all the good stuff seems to be coming out of NZ, Australia and South Africa

Like to try one out for sure.

I wonder what it would cost to ship one from SA?

That looks like fun but its Fiberglas so if you hit a rock won't it crack?


Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

I knocked something like 11 big holes and ripped the hatch off my old glass yak one afternoon

Glass is easy to fix

Perhaps this can be an alternative for you:

http://www.warrenlightcraft.com/

I saw those, they look nice but come with a serious pricetag and not sure I'm up for closed deck

Stealth replied to my email, closest dealer is down in Panama

I paddled a Stealth kayak down in Panama. Very good fit and finish- quality boat. The hull moves through the water very well, good paddling qualities and good glide. It was fitted with a rudder; needed on this boat. Though the lineage is from surf skis, I found the boat plenty stable for fishing.

I don't remember the models in the line, but the boat I paddled was a bit small in the cockpit for me...but I'm 6' 5". I'm told that the company has other models that offer a bit more leg room.

Downside:  I really like some of the things our plastic boat builders have done with regard to deck layout, ie a rod pod and provision for sonar.

The Stealth was okay, but not up to state of the art in that respect.

So...a paddlers boat, fast, well built, and light. Good looking boat too. Comfortable seat shape.

Expensive and hard to get?  Compromises on deck layout and fishability, but manageable if you love the hull.

Shipping should be about the same as from Washington, which I think is somewhere around $500-700

So it looks like it's about $3k to get one of these up here from Panama, and they're "working hard to get them to the U.S. by next year"

Paul, you paddled the Evolution 495 down in Panama.  Yes, fast boats, but still stable.  The main drawback on the boats we paddled was that the cockpit was pretty short for us guys with longer legs.

Blue, what's the drawback with the rudder?  Note that on the Evo's and Supa's, the rudder is fixed (meaning always deployed and not retractable).

I think I can get you one here if you want.   

-Allen

Stealth in SA put me in touch with Hennie, while I was looking at this stuff online I saw you guys were down there fishing with him

The Profisha comes pretty close to how I'd design a kayak, like a cross between the old style glass dive yaks and SOT

The rudder looks like something for me to break, I'd probably order a replacement just to have on hand

Question now is whether to pay through the nose now or be patient and wait til they come to the U.S. to avoid the shipping costs

Saw more clips about the 575, looking real good but wondering how long that fixed carbon rudder will last here in Norcal since it is not possible for me to stop the yak in time to prevent the rudder from hitting the bottom with waves coming from behind. 

Talking to Hennie in Panama today figured out the price he quoted was for Evolution 495, the ProFisha 575 is about a thousand more than that

Also said it "can easily cruise at 12 kilometers an hour" which puts it at around 7 1/2 miles an hour, which makes those fish ten miles out not seem so far away