OK big game vs x factor

Regarding X Factor stability, we had my X Factor and Pro E at Natoma last weekend. While my daughter and I were in the Pro E, my wife paddled the X Factor with my 10 year old son on the bow (5'2", about 90 lbs) and my (sometimes spastic) 80 lb. lab (see avatar) in the tank well.  The dog was moving all over the place and jumped in a couple of times - barely a roll of the yak!  God, I wish I took a picture of that!

Regarding X Factor stability, we had my X Factor and Pro E at Natoma last weekend. While my daughter and I were in the Pro E, my wife paddled the X Factor with my 10 year old son on the bow (5'2", about 90 lbs) and my (sometimes spastic) 80 lb. lab (see avatar) in the tank well.  The dog was moving all over the place and jumped in a couple of times - barely a roll of the yak!  God, I wish I took a picture of that!

Gotta agree with that. I'm no lightweight and even sitting sideways is like sitting on a picnic bench for me. I can't wait to get my X-Factor!

Z

Z-the simple setup I have works great, and there is AMPLE room in an X tw for whatever style tickles your fancy.  There is also an advantage to having the tank a little farther back...its easier to reach and you can see the bait.  Stuff right behind the seat is in the "bra strap position" and in my experience much harder to get to.

Comfort and speed are both important.  It isn't any benefit to be in a zoomy boat that shortens your day by putting you butt into a deep sleep and takes you off of the water.  A fast and comfortable boat is the dream!

While it may take a few more minutes for me to get there in my X, I can sit in that boat very comfortably for way longer than any yak I have ever tried, so it actually increases my fishing time.

However if the day was to entail faster baja style trolling for an extended period my shoulders would call it a day well before my butt was sore. 

Z-the simple setup I have works great, and there is AMPLE room in an X tw for whatever style tickles your fancy.  There is also an advantage to having the tank a little farther back...its easier to reach and you can see the bait.

Yeah, it just seems smarter. BTW Where did you get the bucket? And what kind of setup do you have for you aerator?
Found this on BPS and seemed a simple/cheap ($20) way to get the job done w/ 2 rechargable batteries.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&partNumber=1285&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

Z

To answer the question about the rear hatch... it's definitely useful when you stick the optional live bait well perfectly inside of it.

IMO: I would not put a live well on the yak when fishing the Ocean....I see many So Cal guys with the internal live bait tanks.....sure you can use 'em ......when the ocean conditions are flat most of the time. The fact is, the ocean conditions here in Nor Cal are not as forgiving (and are more unpredictable)...this includes the Bay as well. The bait tanks would be more ideal in small lakes.

....just my 2 cents.

Sadly I have yet to find a battery powered aerator worth buying.  At the day job we have purchased and ruined every varient, including the Big Bubbles

Mine is a standard So Cal pump dragger, with a few personal touches.  It works well.  I don't usually use a tank, but sometimes its the only thing that will work.

The bucket is from the paint store, and is 3.5 gallons, not 5. 

the rear hatch meets up with the bottom of the tankwell I think.  If I were to take water in the tankwell, is that seal going to hold or am I going to have gallons of water in the hull?

I've got a live bait well for my X-factor, I love the damn thing but think I might be nuts enough to take it out in the ocean. The seal is iffy; I added a few pad eyes to the top of mine and secure it with tensionser bolts. It's fun for getting out the sabiki rig and plopping chovies in behind you to fish peirs and pilons in the bay. On flatwater or in our windy Lagoons I'm not really concerned. In a kayak you want to disperse weight evenly but keep heaviest items torwards the midship. The X-factor factor bait tank is numero uno because the weight is dropped into the hull giving it a good trim and weight displacement On the open sea I 'd have my X-factor completly inflated with whitewater kayak airbags in all the nooks and crannies. My girl is unsinkable. I have to add though that were I too capsize and have the tank broken off it could be potentialy catastophicWiththe bait tank running, it has a lot of water in it and can upset a kayak that takes an unforeseen wave broadside. I've never used of the any of the other models so i'm biased, but building your kayak so it has an internal tank is head and shoulders above the current systems. As soon as I get some free time I'm going to be testing it at local beaches. You gotta be able to land a disabled kayak in the surf if you hope to keep it.

If I were to take water in the tankwell, is that seal going to hold or am I going to have gallons of water in the hull?

If your tankwell is momentarily filled in the surf etc, it will be absolutely fine.  If you overload the boat and keep it submerged for a prolonged period it will leak.  To do so requires a ridiculous amount of weight.  The only time I have seen it happen was when a big guy (350#) gave his big guy buddy (250#) a ride in the tankwell for a few hours.  That it could hold that much for a few minutes is impressive, a few hours amazing...not recommended.

As to the bait tank, the idea of an integrated tank is a good one, I just feel the execution is poor. For the price, it should be much better.  I would rather keep the hatch for storage, and put a $4 bucket in the bucket recess...but what do I know?

...but what do I know?

Howzit SCWA? Ho brah, you OG... shoots. I tink you spent a few days on da watah! You talk we listen cuz. K'den.

Z

SCWA- a person would have to be a fool to discount your knowledge and innovations in modern kayak fishing. Would you clarify why you think the design on the malibu drop in tank is poorly executed. Is it a matter of economics, the seal, or lashing it to the yak? I've always felt that having the best equipment and buying it once was the way to go. I doubt anyone would argue against bait tanks of any kind on flatwater. I think the originator of this thread or whoever is intersted in hearing about bait tanks out on the big blue. I'm on the fence there until I try it myself and can prove it's bombproof.

The two hubba bubbas on an X together must have been a sight for sore eyes!

for me personally, I fish almost exclusively in the ocean, and I fish in crappy conditions a lot.  So knowing my yak is seaworthy in slop is most important to me, and I assume others as well.  If an option is iffy in slop, I aprreciate knowing about it ahead of time, so a big thanks to SCWA for a heads up on the rear hatch tank option. 

Im trying to imagine the circumstances that had two jumbos on one yak...
either way its a testimonial to the stability of the X!