In the market to buy, stuck between two kayaks

I'm about ready to upgrade kayaks, Im tired of my little 10' rec kayak with no room, and unstableness. I'm kind of stuck between a Tarpon 140 or a Prowler 15. First of all I am 6'3" 250lbs and my type of fishing is mostly largemouth and stripers in the delta. I do a lot of levee launching as well. I'm just curious about opinions on either. My boss recommended a Wilderness System Ride as well. Oh and most of my fishing trips are 8-10" hours in the kayak when the fishing is good, so I am looking for something comfortable as well. Thanks!

Jeff

Jeff- You might think about the prowler 13......shorter, lighter, more maneuverable, thoush still fast and very stabele.  Actually has more room in the cockpit than the 15.....  good dry sorage also.  For inland waterways (levee launching) this might be the ticket.

also i know it can get snotty on the open reaches in the Delta, and the 13 is very seaworthy in chop and wind.

otherwise, i'd say the 15.....(But I am an OK guy LOL)

Allen

I have a 15 and a 13. Ironically the 13 has more room in the cockpit ( I think 4'' more ) but the 15 is a LOT faster and tracks a lot better too. There is also more deck space on the 15 for rigging.
Paddling the 13 just seems weird to me although I will admit it does turn a lot easier.
Hope whatever you get works out just right for you.

In my opinion:

Bass guy Jeff:
Get the faster boat.
Or your friends will beat you to the boils.
After 8 hours, no kayak feels that great, so you might as well be hauling ass.

Go get em!

At 6'3" I'd shy away from the P15, I am your height and find the cockpit a bit cramped. The 13 is a more comfortable cockpit. Also I have a Trident, and if you plan on spending many hours on the water, I would recommend a Trident. The seat is raised a bit, keeping your butt dryer, and the width gives you more stability for kneeling up to pee, if need be. I paddle with a few guys, and we often trade off between the P15, P13 and trident, all with rudders. The P15 is slightly faster than the 13 or Trident, but the Trident is much more stable and has more room. Also the Rod Pod is sweet.

Hi Jeff,

I second the motion that you also try a Trident Angler.  A friend just got a new Trident; he is also a big guy, and he loves it.  It is stable but still fairly sleek.  His mid-sized dog walks all around the boat while he paddles, no problem.  Plus, it is just beautifully and thoughtfully designed.  Lots of usable space for your long trips, good hatch designs, Rod Pod, good rudder, and finally, a molded-in place for a transducer and a very nifty sonar shield.

http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/single_kayaks/prowler_trident_15.html

At 6'3" I'd shy away from the P15, I am your height and find the cockpit a bit cramped.

6'3" and 220# these days and I don't have a problem with the P15 cockpit, and I fish plenty of 10 hour days too.  34" inseam if that helps.  Moral of the story ... different yaks fit different people well, differently.  Try before you buy.

Oh ... and buy a good cushy seat.

-Allen

T-140 is the btter boat in my opinon. thicker more rigid hull design. stronger hull can take more abuse. dry ride.

At 6'3" I'd shy away from the P15, I am your height and find the cockpit a bit cramped.

6'3" and 220# these days and I don't have a problem with the P15 cockpit, and I fish plenty of 10 hour days too.  34" inseam if that helps.  Moral of the story ... different yaks fit different people well, differently.  Try before you buy.

Oh ... and buy a good cushy seat.

-Allen

Ahh, good point, try before you buy is a good policy. I don't know if you have a rudder, Allen, but without a rudder the P15 would be fine in cockpit length for me.

Oddly I find myself thinking your friend has a point. At 13-ft plus, the Wilderness Ride has a wide, comfortable cockpit, a good balance between tracking and maneuverability, and a 400 lb weight capacity. Since you are starting with 250, that's important. I feel the Ride is under-rated for bigger guys. Performance is nice, meaning its no pig.

I love the P15. Depending on how much gear you pack, you could be pushing its limits. Its a soggy ride to begin with.

However, if you want a longer kayak, look at the Trident, but also check out the Xfactor. Some people describe the Trident as a fast ride - it has a vast 500 to 550 lb capacity, the same as some tandems. You can't get something for nothing, so like the Xfactor all that fishing-friendly goodness comes with a hull that takes more effort to get moving. That said, I'm stoked on the Trident's elongated center hatch (the goofily named Rod Pod), and the fishfinder recess (the Sonar Shield) really works - but not for larger-sized electronics.   

Ahh, good point, try before you buy is a good policy. I don't know if you have a rudder, Allen, but without a rudder the P15 would be fine in cockpit length for me.

There you go!!!  I can definitely see it possibly being problematic with a rudder, which I don't have.

-Allen

On choosing a first or next kayak.

As is so often repeated, ad infinitum in all forums; try all kayaks before you buy.

I happily envy anyone's time and opportunity to have fun testing different kayaks.
 
I missed that episode in my life, and I wish anyone to take advantage of that process and enjoyment of it.  It's a lot of work, but good.














I want a kayak that suits my size and strengths and weaknesses, whatever the case may be; ergonomically and otherwise.  I love being "one" with the boat, when I can't tell a border between the yak and I and the various waters.  When you've tried everything, you'll find a boat that suits you best.  There are so may good kayaks now.

Granted my advice is more philosophical than based on actual experience.  One can get all the experienced advice in the world, but having a choice when choosing a particular kayak, we all want to eventually come to a decision about which one suits us best, physically and functionally, for our intended purposes.

Being patient and trying a whole bunch of different kayaks is the only way, and is a great way to have fun anyway.

I do hope that you do try the Trident, Jeff.

I have a few you can try if you want to come to Santa Cruz....Trident (current favoriote) P15 and P 13)

PM me

Allen

I am going to give you my advise. It just happens to be the complete opposite of what most people on NCKA will tell you. But I'm not trying to play devils advocate. Just stating that there are other ways to go about your business.

The most important factor in a kayak (for me) is the price. I don't have a thousand bucks to spend on a kayak. I have owned 4 kayaks so far. And never paid more than 400 for any of them.
The first kayak I paddled was an OK Malibu 2 tandem with my friend Mahito. It was his kayak and we surf launched a couple times to fish for rockfish. Then I started borrowing his kayak to go fishing by myself. Looking back, the thing was too big for me (I'm only 6' and 200lbs). But that didn't seem to matter, mainly because its all I knew and I wasn't paddling very far. I didn't test-paddle any kayaks, at all. I just wanted to get a decent kayak for cheap, and I did. Test-paddling would probably be beneficial. I am not saying that you shouldn't test-paddle various kayaks. But the reality is that you can buy a used kayak, paddle it around, then sell it for the same price you paid. Thats the type of "test-paddling" that I did.

I finally bought a kayak of my own, an old OK Drifter. I loved the stability and roomyness of the cockpit. Plus, it had a nice big hatch up front. This thing worked fine for me; it was an upgrade from the tandem, thats for sure. So I appreciated the subtlties of its manueverability. Its almost like: if your parents give you a Corvette for your 16th Bday, you will not be able to fully appreciate it....whereas if your parents gave you a 1984 Nissan Pulsar, you would totally appreciate the 'vette. Not sure if that works in this scenario. But you get what I'm saying.

Now I have a T140. It might not be the fastest kayak on the market, but its plenty fast for me. I mean, its not like I'm trying to race anybody across the bay. A strong, efficient paddler on a crappy boat can outrace a weak paddler in a fancy boat anyways. But we're fishing; not racing.
So that bring me to my point. You should definitely take into consideration the type of fishing/paddling that you will do. If you aren't going to paddle very far, then a 14-16ft boat might not be necessary (especially if you're launching on the levee solo. Those boats get heavy) because you won't benefit from the speed+tracking qualities. A shorter boat would provide better manueverability in the brush/tullies, and it w/b easier to manage solo.

I think the WS Ride might be a good fit. Otherwise, the P13 or T120 would work too. Heck, an OK drifter might be the best choice for the type of fishing you will do. But don't feel obligated to spend beyond your means: just because everybody on NCKA says that you need to buy a new thousand-dollar boat doesn't mean its the best option for you. 

Alright. Now I'm just rambling. Good luck with the kayak search.
PK

I have been watching Outback Adventures websites kayak sales, they have some great prices. I havent seen a Trident posted yet

http://www.outbackadventures.com/sales_service/sales/used_kayaks_for_sale.htm

http://www.outbackadventures.com/sales_service/sales/kayaks_on_sale.htm

Now that I have done some more research and have gotten some great info from you guys, I am getting closer to making a decision. Just taking my time. Since I already have a kayak I am not rushing it. I want to make sure I am not going to regret it later. I'd really like to test them out first. Since the kayak I own is the only on I have ever been in. I honestly hate it. With it being so short when I paddle it dog walks which slows me down. I fished with a guy in a Tarpon 160 and I honestly couldnt keep up with him, even with me paddling twice as hard. Just need to upgrade!

Jeff