Upgraded my fleet today!

While still super happy with my FeelFree Moken 12.5V2, Friday I came across a deal that I couldn’t pass up. Headwaters Adventure in Redding had a 2024 Old Town Big Water ePDL 132 on sale. Drove up there from Sacramento this morning. This yak is freakin awesome.  May get it on the water tomorrow if I can get it all set up tonight. If not, for sure next weekend. SUPER STOKED!!!!!                                I was thinking of selling the Moken but have decided to keep her. She has been a fish catching machine as those of you that have fished with me know. I know I’d regret it if I turned my back on her.  Probably hitting Sly Creek next weekend if anyone is interested in joining me.       Kevin

Congrats on your new ride Kevin.

Congratulations on the new ride, going from unstoppable, to super unstoppable. Is it a better rig for bay, and ocean?

Mark, from all of the reports and articles I've read about it, its designed for it. Cant wait to find out for myself!
Kevin

Kevin,
Love my pdl120 but it is too heavy..... I use it when I am not camping also as it takes up all of my room and then I have to load and unload it.... my inland rig is an inflatable from Saturn.... light folds up small and works pretty well but nothing like the old town....

Love the motory assist .... too bad my old town is so new.... probably cannot persuade the wifey that I need to spend what it takes to get one.... I am jealous.

It will get really dirty at Sly when you get to use it.... water is super low (as I am sure you know) and the lake is covered it slime.... fish were good got a mix of chrome and those turning red.... No one there for last Wed -Fri not even another boat.

Meet up with you soon I hope.

Troy

Troy, I was worried a little about the weight. With the drive out, my wife and I easily carried it 100’ to my trailer. Not bad at all. Feels only slightly heavier than my Moken. On any body of water that has a ramp, it should be no problem if I'm alone. When not on the trailer, it will live on a cart that's the exact height of my trailer so it's easy to load/unload. Just slide from one to the other. Low water at lakes or a long pull to a surf launch may be a bit challenging though.
Kevin

I look forward to testing your yak out    The epdl sounds like a cool feature!

No Problem Al, the going rate is 3 Barley Pops per hour!

Congrats Kevin! I’d love to see it in person. Definitely on my list of possible future kayaks. The outback is getting on almost 6 years now and will be due for a replacement soon.

Oh no Kevin, what color is it? You were always so noticeable with your orange and black kayak!

Steel/Blue Camo. Thinking I'll need a Florescent Orange hat and mount a flag for safety. Although even with that most Lake Lice and Power Boaters will still blow by too close for comfort.

Very cool! I've been intrigued by that kayak since I heard about it, and I'm definitely looking forward to your review. Seems like a very cool setup, and a great alternative to a trolling motor setup. 

let us know how it goes!

10/12/24, Got it on the water at Sugar Pine Res. It's a nice quiet lake near Forrest Hill. 5 mph, so I didn't have watch for lake lice while getting the feel of things on the new kayak.
First impressions:
Setting Up - Score- 9/10.
Very easy. The drive unit about 25-30lbs but is super simple to install and remove. Just drop in the groves and rotate three clamps that securely lock it in. The unit has a clamp that keeps the drive up in a stowed position so the prop is out of the water. That makes things simple when landing on a bank, beach or dock. The battery, a Amped 36v 40AH is super tiny and lives in a sealed locking hatch just behind the seat. It has a bracket to sit in and a strap to secure it. The large hatch in the bow allows plenty of space to store gear, rods...and it seemed to seal well as I didn't get any water inside the hull. The seat is very comfortable and easy to adjust. Plenty of room underneath for tackle trays too! I like the way the built in rod holders are aimed more toward the stern as opposed to outward. The rear tank well is huge. I had a full size milk crate and ice chest back there and there was still room left. Need to add some pad eyes and straps to secure the milk crate though. The rudder is easy to deploy with a handle on the right side. It folds all the way back and has a bungee to secure it for transport. The cockpit is super roomy, plenty of room to move around and nothing that bulges out on the sides or floor. The only thing I an complain about is the rail tracks. They are 1/2" thick and beefy but the tracks themselves kinda suck for me. I use dual clamp Ram Mounts for my rod holders. The track groves don't run the full length of the plates. Instead, they have two 3-4" tracks on each end. They are not long enough for my dual clamp mounts. I may buy aftermarket tracks or bust out my Router to extend the rail grooves. If you're just using single clamp products like YakAttack or Scotty, you'll have no issues.
Performance Score 10/10.
Although a reported weight of 143lbs with drive installed, this kayak handles very well. It's way more stable than my Moken. I was easily able to step from the dock into the cockpit and stand there without it wanting to roll on me. With the Moken, I have to plop my butt down pretty quick or I'm going swimin. Started off paddling. This is a big, wide, heavy kayak so it takes a bit to get going. Once moving it's not to bad to keep up momentum. It tracks good too. The rudder is nice and long and does an excellent job of keeping you going in the direction you want. It's set up just like a Hobie with the steering on the left side of the cockpit. Easy to use and very responsive. Funny, while out on the water, I found myself pushing the floor hard with my feet wondering why the hell I wasn't turning! The Moken has toe steering on the foot rests! HA HA. Ok, time to check out the peddle drive. Pedaling was quite easy. The bicycle motion did not bother my old man knees at all during the time I actually peddled. If you're willing to put in the effort, this thing will get up and go! Now for the fun stuff, The peddle assist. All it takes to engage the peddle assist is the push of an easily reached button on the drive unit and one crank of the peddles and you can feel the drive kick in. There are 5 levels of assist. Once it's on and you're peddling at a nice leisurely pace, just push the + button and it will add additional boost. Easily getting up to 4+mph while still pedaling at the same leisurely pace that you started at. To stop it just reverse peddle. Then if you want it again, just peddle and it will automatically resume the speed it was before. Super cool! The Cruise mode. Just like any trolling motor. Just push the Cruise button, turn the crank and it's off and running with the same speed adjustments as when in the assist mode. Just kick back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Over all Score 9.9/10
Just to make sure you understand by now, I love this thing. For me, going from the Feelfree Moken 12.5V2 to the Old Town 132 ePDL is like going from a Toyota Corolla to a Mercedes Benz E-Class sedan! Is this the kayak for you? Demo one and find out. I don't see anyone cartopping this thing. But if you have a truck or a trailer loading/unloading is no problem.
Note: Haven't had this in any sort of rough water yet. Sugar Pine was flat, calm with no wind. Cant wait to get it out on big water to see what she can really do!

Kevin.

Thanks for the in depth first impression report! Sounds like a winner!

I remember seeing the first articles on this setup a while ago, and thinking that the whole thing made a lot of sense.  Sounds very similar in operation to a lot of the high end E-mountain bikes, in that the hybrid propulsion allows varying levels of assistance.

Very cool new ride, looking forward to seeing it in person one of these days!