Thanks for sharing. I’m glad I’m not the only one with the same experience… Did you see any boats trying for Hali outside of the harbor at about 30 FOW?

I met Kevin today at Pilar Point. Very nice guy. He set me up with an Epic v8. The kayak was amazingly light. 24 lbs. I could carry it in one hand like a bag of groceries. On the water it’s fast. Here are my impressions:
I tried it only inside the harbor.
Despite having a rather flat bottom, it’s like standing on a skateboard; the slightest move would translate to a capsize feeling. I wouldn’t call it tippy since I didn’t tip over, but like Krishna said, it requires constant focus. You have to be centered. And you need to move like a machine, in a very deliberate fashion, to be efficient and stable. That aspect I didn’t expect. I thought I could just sit on it and casually paddle if I wanted, but I’m afraid that’s not the case, and even more so in open water.
It’s a fun, high quality boat (made in China though), good looking, sleek, light, easy to transport, and easy to clean. It’s not cheap ($4200 for the v8), it’s not for the surf (and will get damaged if you’re not careful), it’s not for taking it easy, it’s not for fishing even if you customize it, and it requires you put time and effort to learn it.

Good luck to your fam and well done being a great dad. If he remembers all the basic 20 knots of fishing then you’ve done your job. Just kidding.. I only remember 4 ..

Thanks Krishna. The Stealth is excellent. Their lightest model is 57lb if I’m not mistaken. Do you use a cart? Any aides for car loading or unloading?

Thanks for sharing! I lived in Victoria BC for 6 years and know the island and other places you visited. Thanks for the nostalgia and good luck for the rest of your trip!

I have a side scan transducer with my Hummingbird fish finder. It also has a downscan and standard sonar. I’m also one of those unhappy BerleyPro customers.
I don’t know what your setup or kayak is like, but I suggest that you have the transducer under the kayak without any obstructions. Even sand collecting around the transducer can impact accuracy.
I have a Revo 16 and I ended up engineering a setup like that. It’s not simple to build, but it works great. I never had to remove it and it never moved. My main concern was damage to the exposed transducer, but it’s build like a tank. No issues at all.
In a nutshell, I cut out an opening exactly the outline of the transducer, and then used some hardware to connect it to the Hobie transducer plate. The final and most critical part was to fabricate a custom piece of closed cell foam that filled in the remaining kayak’s transducer cavity. The foam prevents the transducer from getting pushed in.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more details 

Thanks for sharing. I need a welder; and you have time. Too bad you have money

I hope they bring back the Revo 16!

I’m so lucky I got one of the last Revo 16.
Nobody is selling them, unless they are sadistic.