The All New Cobra Kayak, the MARINER-XF is here.

Hey guys, check this out.

http://www.cobrakayaksfishing.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2

Ric

i hope we can see some at sean's store soon. it looks light and useful. why is it short, and why does cobra insist on those graduated foot pegs, IMHO a smooth foot well with a peg for a rudder is better.  but any way at 53 lbs i am very interested.  i need to have a face off between the mariner and the x-factor.  i am currently in a perception Bimini, it is fast, but it lacks storage.

Short?

14'3".

And as to the foot wells, sorry. You'd be amazed at the amount of praise we get for our molded in foot wells.

Sean will have one very soon.

Ric

Looks great Rik! Can't wait to test one out. Is Sean going to have one in time for the Mendo Tourney?

Sweet looking boat Ric... I really like the looks of the hull design... very innovative.  

Sean was telling us about it yesterday... said it was the bomb.  I can't wait to test drive one.  

I hope Sean can get is paws on one for the Mendo tourney... like Chris... I too am looking for the perfect big man boat.   I finally paddled the X-factor yesterday and it made me realize just what kind of a banger my old worn out Malibu II really is... If the Mariner offers the kind of stability and big-man comfort of the X-factor with improved speed on the water, I have a feeling that you'll be selling a lot of them.  

I like the looks of the hatches too... no more twisting behind you to stow your gear.

Good stuff man... keep it up.

Erik

Wait until you see how stable this thing is.

Thanks for the props guys. I promise we'll have some at Mendo.

Ric

Boat looks awesome What the msrp running on those bad boys? Might be time to upgrade my ws freedom this christmas.

-Brian

rikshaw, thanks for posting here.

These new boats will make a lot of people happy.

Has any thought been given to a short boat with a skeg that can be raised and lowered?

I like a small boat, but my paddling overpowers it a bit, hard to stay straight.

A rudder would be overkill. I just need something to improve tracking.

Something that would allow a long paddle out to start salmon trolling,
or a paddle up the coast to ling reef.

Surfing experience suggests a skeg is the answer to tracking.

It's my belief that a skeg that could be raised and lowered at the very back of the kayak would greatly improve tracking at the cost of just a little drag.

I've seen that some of the small fun boats have skegs now.

Instead of that back hatch, a depression with a handle that allowed a skeg to be raised and lowered might make a shorter boat track like a longer boat and still fit in the bed of my truck.

Some big men eyeing the new boat:

kayak with non-removable skeg:

http://www.malibukayaks.com/kayak_vision.asp

This thing is not built for fishing, but part of me would like to try it anyway.

But that skeg needs to pop up for beach launching and landing.

Yeah, a drop down skeg is an interesting idea.

Good luck finding a vision classic from MK. It cracks me up that that photo is on the MK site seeing as how they have not made one in 3 years.

Sean at GWKC has a Cobra Re-Vision with a removable Skeg, ask him about it, or if you want a smaller boat still... check this out.

http://www.cobrakayaksfishing.com/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=86

BTW, the big guys checking the Mariner's out are me and Swampchicken Dave.

Ric

can you put a rudder on a mariner.

When I was fishing Saturday I was thinking that it would be great if a fishing kayak had a big square hatch in the middle. Ric, are you employing mind readers down there?!?!

Yes, as I said in my post about the Mariner-XF, it works great "Even without the OPTIONAL rudder".  

And Bill... Shhhhhhhh! Keep our team of savants a SECRET!

Ric

Bill, fish n dive has a big center hatch.

Rik, the Strike is interesting as one step above fishing off a surfboard. You could probably launch and land that thing almost anywhere.
Which is a fundamental part of the battle in getting a hook in the water.

Land transportation, land/launch and water travel to the fishing grounds are mandatory requirements to going fishing. The more flexibility you have there, the more fishing you are going to do.

Regarding skeg placement on the strike. The skeg will stop sideways drift on a wave, but it should be at the back of the kayak to optimize tracking. I realize it's where it is to allow manuevability, but I want tracking to allow efficient covering of water in a more or less straight line A to B type travel, before and after fishing.

On a longboard, the skeg is in a track. you move it toward the tail to
make the handling more stiff, better tracking, and toward the nose to increase the ability to turn.

It would seem there has to be a lot of skeg expertise in the windsurfing world. I would not know, but would not be surprised to see some kind of
retractable skeg there. don't they have to beach launch? drag those things
on the sand?

Not sure yet, but I think I want an Explorer with a skeg/daggerboard thing that raises and lowers. It would be in a slot in the tank well, at the stern. It could be kind of spring loaded where it pops up if pushed hard enough. But something you just ram in and pull out manually would be fine.

This might give me a small boat I can transport with plenty of room for the
basic fishing and safety gear. The skeg, in theory, would give me the
tracking to let me paddle that thing a few miles offshore in the pursuit of salmon, or paddle further up the coast to the less fished reefs. I may only be 150lbs, but 10 years of paddling a surfboard in a 4 mil wetsuit means I can put some power into the paddle. A skeg would help that power move me forward, not sideways.  I don't want a 16 foot boat just to allow me
to go straight. Also, when landing in surf, the skeg would keep the nose of the boat pointed toward shore. The boat would resist going sideways on landing.

I have imagined putting some kind of "outboard" skeg on a pole on my scrambler.  The pole would sit in the tank well slot that goes to the end
of the boat. The skeg would hang off the back of the boat in essence,
like a rudder, but without all the hassle a rudder entails during the fishing part of the exercise.  In my imagination, I pop the pole with the skeg off and put it in a rod holder when it is time to drift or troll or mooch.

A short boat does not need the steering of a rudder, but it could use the tracking, is my theory. Even trolling something improves the tracking on my boat. Like wise, hanging a bait bucket off the back during landing in surf keeps the nose pointed to the beach.

One of those Hobies has a mast hole and a slot for a dagger board, but
the slot is in the middle of the boat, again that is for side slip, I need the skeg at the stern. Those Hobies in general seem like too much technology for repeated beach launchings.  

finally, good job on the branding of Cobra. I have to say that Ocean Kayak, bless their hearts, only ever comes off as "dorky". Malibu is positively "metrosexual". Cobra almost makes a plastic boat "cool",  .

Ric:

Awesome work!  We have been waiting for these to come out for a long time.  We plan on stocking PLENTY of these, because it looks like the perfect combo.  Can't wait to get em in.

BTW-I didn't tell any one anything other than wait a few before you buy anything else...something good is coming from Cobra