Tandums

I'm trying to decide between Malibu's II and II XL's. After hours of comparing Tandem's, these seem to fit the bill for my needs. Chris, Big Red, Allen, Sean(can you get me one),Mooch (you seem to have set in all types of Yaks), & anyone else's two cents are greatly welcome. I come to the bay often, San Lorenzo (from Chico) and would like to find one used. Any interested in Fishing Oroville, Sac river, Almanor-(WELL WORTH THE TRIP) Let me Know. Thanks!!!
  P.S. Chris, if I can find a pair of size 16 hockey skates, I'd love to play.

We have a Malibu II and enjoy using it. It is very stable and has plenty of topside storage. My daughter and I have climbed in and out of it while free diving without a problem. I've never fished off it, so I can't comment on that.

It's a nice kayak if your not in a hurry.

I saw one for sale not too long ago. Graig's list or the Sac Bee.
Also, you might call Adventure Sports on Watt ave in Sacramento. They are selling some of their rentals.

I'm trying to decide between Malibu's II and II XL's. After hours of comparing Tandem's, these seem to fit the bill for my needs. Chris, Big Red, Allen, Sean(can you get me one),Mooch (you seem to have set in all types of Yaks), & anyone else's two cents are greatly welcome. I come to the bay often, San Lorenzo (from Chico) and would like to find one used. Any interested in Fishing Oroville, Sac river, Almanor-(WELL WORTH THE TRIP) Let me Know. Thanks!!!
  P.S. Chris, if I can find a pair of size 16 hockey skates, I'd love to play.

Hello Bigfoot,

I Have a Malibu Pro2 Tandem if you are interested PM me . I will give you a good deal!!. . I bought this from GWCK ( Sean AKA swacfish ) not too long ago.. I want to upgrade mine to Cobra Marauder...

Sean, do you take order now on those Cobra Marauder ?

Kiel

Bigfoot - welcome to the madness  

If you're looking for a fast tandem kayak : test paddle this -
http://www.oceankayak.com/ZestTwoExp.html


I got to test paddle this at the REI paddle demo and I was impressed with the speed and glide with this kayak.

Good luck! Paddle safe!

I knew I could count on ya Mooch! I was very impressed by the Zest. I  can't find one to demo and had ?'s about rigging, hatch, and rod storage. Pushing 300#'s I love the max wt limit.

I've been paddling a Malibu II solo for the past 5 years.  Good kayak for a big guy and lots of deck space for fish storage.  Very stable and safe kayak for fishing but not very fast in the water.  

Hatches are small, so you're limited as to how much you can put below decks.  Also, for a tall or heavy person, if you're going to be using it as a tandem, it may be a bit on the small side.  I'm pushing 300# as well and with my wife and I on the kayak there aint much freeboard left.  

Unlike many tandems, the Malibu II allows you to sit in the center postion when going solo.  This makes for a well balanced boat but the footwells could be one notch longer (I'm about 6'4").  

Comfort wise the Malibu II leaves quite a bit to be desired compared to some of the more modern fishing kayaks that are available, at least when sitting in the center position.  It took me a while to find a seat that was comfortable enough to tolerate a long day on the water.

I'd say that if you are mostly looking to use it as a single kayak, get something else... cobra fish-n-dive, Malibu X-Factor, or the new Cobra Marauder.  If you are going to use it frequently as a tandem, get a larger boat so that a guy your size can ride reasonably well with an extra passenger... the XL may be good for that.

Erik

the sidekick by Ocean Kayak might be another option......
http://www.oceankayak.com/Sidekick_HangTag.html

I'm only 200lb, but sitting in the back seat of my tandem (islander festiva) the nose points upwards and makes it paddle slower than it does if you sit in the middle.  But in the middle you're higher up, no footrests, ect.  My dad is your size and it was very unstable with him in the back seat, ended up flipping and he moved to the middle.

I'd reccomend a single boat like the drifter over a two seat tandem.  Tandems with a middle seat (that isn't child sized) could work, but I'd test it out for comfort and stability first.

Hay Mooch, I was thinking of the Aegean earlier not the zest. I think the zest might be a little much solo. I'm thinking the malibu II XL. Little longer better track and speed. Any thoughts on the Aegean & zest

Unlike many tandems, the Malibu II allows you to sit in the center postion when going solo. This makes for a well balanced boat but the footwells could be one notch longer (I'm about 6'4").

Like Erik had mentioned - the one advantage that the Malibu II XL has over the others is that you have the option to move the seat forward (to sit on the middle). Unfortunately, the Aegean and the Zest don't have that option. The sidekick would be nice if it was longer.

I suggest you take your time and paddle all the yaks Erik had mentioned on this topic - also, try to study the deck lay out on the yaks so you'll have an idea on where you can add stuff like you Fish finder, GPS, rod holders.....ect...

you can check out the photo's on the rigged kayak section for some options on how to outfit different kayaks.

Good luck!

Ditto on what the mooch said -- I picked the Malibu II because of the center-seat option.  Also cool if you have a little kid (like I do) who could ride in the middle while two adults paddle.

It's a great stable boat that holds to big guys my size and has lots of deck space.  My complaints are:

1) Hatches are of the crappy gaspachi "tupperware" type.  That means they pop off when you don't want them to, particularly the center one.  If I had it to do over, I wouldn't even cut out the middle hatch and I'd use only the hatches fore and aft.

2) Slow paddling means those other guys (who also happen to be in shape, damn them) at the tourneys keep paddling faster than I do!  

3) Not purpose-built for fishing, this means there's not a lot of deck mounting space for things like rod holders.  It's also complicated by the need to keep mounting brackets out of the way not just of a paddler in the center seat, but also the front and rear seat.

Those are my gripes.  That being said, I did buy the II XL and I love it.  If you want to paddle one for a day or so and are down in SCruz area, drop me a PM.

Sean, do you take order now on those Cobra Marauder ?

size 16 skates! i have never heard of that, the panthers goalie wears size 15. we won last night i had an assist and a solid game. if you want to test drive some kayaks here is my inventory;
15' bimini
13' "little bimini'"
12' keowee II
12' nekke cruiser
10' royak
14' super cool x-factor

Thanks everyone. I'll pick an XL up this weekend. Chris, Eric thanx for the offers. Chris that is quite the stable. Most of those rigs are pretty Narrow, your new toy must feel like a cruise ship. I have family in San Lorenzo and have fished the E Bay all my life, 47 yrs. We must hook up. Eric, I'd love to see pics of how you set things up. Big Red, yours too