First impressions of the Cuda 14 on UK flatwater.

Well I have had two freshwater trips now on the Cuda' both on freshwater. One at Rudyard on a very windy day and the second at Denvers Sluice and on the Twenty Foot drain both with a steady but not strong wind.

Those that know me know that I always take too much gear.....that is the match fisherman in me where I always covered every eventuality, old habits die hard.

The Cuda more than met my needs. There is so much storage even I have space left over and the great thing is with the stability of the hull it is all accessible, you can even shimmy forward and use the front hatch.

The centre hatch is a blessing I have had one before nad would not be without one. The great thing with the Cuda is the addition of the circular hatch to give easy access to conveniently place bits rather than opening the whole lid.

The rod holders are great, the new Ram tubes are solid as a rod when trolling and fitting the front holder on the Ram ball and track on the centre hatch is even better.
It was a doddle to fit the FF on the hatch and I didn't have to drill any holes in the hull for cables.

Snapper mentioned the 'gurgling' from the front scuppers. I ordered some scupper bungs, I have only had them in the front scuppers and there was no noise at all. In fact it is the quietness of the hull completely that pleases me. No bow slap paddling into a 12 inch wave at Rudyard or any noise from the stern when at anchor in the same waves, well you guys would call that a ripple. I paddled across the wind and whilst there was some windage it was no worse than on previous kayaks I have paddled.

Whilst talking of the scuppers .....I am 15 stone and with all my gear there must have been another 4/5 stone on board and there was no ingress of water up the scuppers.

Now the dreaded seat! I love it! I paddled into the wind at all locations and at Rudyard I have to admit I knew I was raised but as and out of condition old git I did not feel the increased effort was significant. In fact if the GPS on the Virb is correct on the Twenty Foot I was paddling at a steady 3/4 mph with a very gently paddle stroke.
Whilst fishing I prefer to sit side saddle and I wondered how the seat would do. Once tethered I swung my legs over the side and released the straps on the seat backrest and let it drop right back out of my way. Like this it was great, I did not have my legs draped over the gunwales, I could reach all storage areas and the yak was very stable.


The Cuda tracked well but I did notice reviewing the video from the Virb there was a steady sideways rock on the hull but that could be down to my paddle technique. On the subject of paddles....with the seat in the low position and using a 220cm paddle I saw that the blade was not penetrating the water as much as I would like and I have ordered a 230cm which will hopefully resolve this.

Of course these are only the impressions of a coarse angler of a boat primarily designed for 'flatwater' and I have to say that so far ...'It does what it says on the tin!'

Terry

Thanks for the Cuda 14 review Terry.

Not quite a review mate, just first impressions.

Thanks

Terry

Well that's a very good first impression.

Also on my cuda I put the bungs in on all the front scupper openings and leave the ones under the seat open. Havn't had any noise or drainage issues. I'm in the 17-18 stone + whatever gear I have.
I paddle flat water and pacific ocean.
 Great to here from you.
 
Paddle on.

Tim.

I almost forgot.  I had to upgrade to a 240cm paddle.
It works well for me in the hi/ low positions.

Thanks,
Tim

Yes I think the longer paddle is essential to get the most out of the boat .... and the paddler 

Terry

Yes I think the longer paddle is essential to get the most out of the boat .... and the paddler 

Terry

Longer paddle for sure helps...I have a 250cm Aquabound MantaRay Carbon and it paddles like a dream. 

Thanks for the write up!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim