Ocean Kayak Ultra 4-7

Have you guys seen this yet ? Looks like the dogs doodars  http://www.kayakfishingnz.com/ocean-kayak-prowler-ultra-4-7-first-look/564

I like it a lot. I better start saving some money aside for this one.

Jedmo

Thats one sweet yak
even sweeter price tag
they forgot to include the torque trolling motor option

I see some very nice stuff there. It looks like they upgraded the horribly flimsy pod hatch and put an overlapping lip on it so it might seal. The original one was very substandard for a reputable kayak company. What is the neoprene hatch seal on the front hatch? They mention it but I haven't seen one. The hatch in the picture looks like the one that original T15s came with. The original hatches are paper thin and not properly fitted to the hole. Too many people have had problems with their front hatch taking in large amounts of water for the company to have kept the design.

The only reason I bought the T15 was the rod pod. Now they have closed it in. I'm sure that design will work better for some people but I would prefer a large access to the entire hull like the original model. At first I thought they did that to keep the kayak from flooding when the pod hatch failed but that won't work because they have the big hole for the rods to slide to the rear.

Hobie, Malibu, Cobra and now WS have lock down hatches. I wish OK would get on board with the lock down hatches. The T15/4.7 has so many great features give it lockdown hatches and it would be hard to compete with. Unfortunately the one major shortcoming is a big safety issue not a convenience issue.  

#1, this is a version of the boat that may never make it to the US.  the prowler elite 4.5 is pretty much impossible to find here so I think there's a chance we'll never see the ultra 4.7.

#2, it's expensive and heavy.
it's approximately 77lbs without the rudder
15.5ft long
29 inches wide, so not too wide.
good weight capacity though.

Price if we go straight from NZD - USD would be around $1950.

#3 it's a nicely designed boat, definitely fishing friendly.  I'm a little confused when they say "flip" the hatch over to find the fish finder. not sure how that would work and have transducer cables stay in place?  all of the extra hatches and rod holders and upgraded handles appear to have made the boat heavier than a T15. 

the rod tube looks interesting but not sure how the rods fit in - is that without reels attached?  i guess the reels would sort of be hanging freely inside of the center hatch and you would want to support them somehow to ensure they do not stress the rod to the point of breaking.

#4 - the new hull design - would have to paddle it to see if i like it.

amphibian, one problem with lockdown hatches is their weight.  really heavy.  that would put this boat into the 80lb range.  i personally haven't had a problem with my rod pod and front hatch on my t13, so maybe it was a bad batch from the factory for yours? my hatch cover seems thick enough, and after surf launch and landing i rarely have more than a cup of water in my boat.

can any of our OK guys tell us if there are any plans for this boat to come over?  thanks.

Looks like one sweet yak with well thought design features but a little pricey!  Thanks for the link todaymueller.

Looks really nice. I like the wear strip on the hull idea, and the hull design looks nice. Side handles are great. Nice big tankwell. I'll be very keen to see how things work OTW in the real world.

 I have one problem, and it's with those end carry handles. Grab one in the surf & watch your wrist get sprained/ broken if even a small wave tosses the boat sideways. I added toggles to my Tarpon after such an accident.

freakin' 80 pounds!

Holy crap...nearly 20lbs more than my P15.

loving the wear strip...hating the 80 pounds...guess i better start working out more

Yes heavy , But then I paddle an elite 4-5 and thats 30-4 kg [ 67 lb ] without a rudder . Sure it is difficult to get on top of the car but once you have sussed out a method its not so bad . It paddles [ the elite 4-5 ] like a dream and is very stable in rough conditions .
Apparently the new ultra 4-7 has a lift and twist hinge at the front of the rod pod , through which the echo sounder cables run . Keeping it all neat and tidy . The first ones are coming into the country [ the UK ]  in the new year I cant wait . 

here's a video.

I really like it. The weight would kinda suck but otherwise it looks sweet.

Like I said there are a lot of nice features and hopefully the yak is water tight. I prefer light but I'll take heavy over light and leaky.

Doesn't weigh anymore than my wilderness ride and better equipped

Trying to do a little more research about this new boat but no luck. Will this
model be available for us here in the U.S. ?

Jedmo

A reinforced new rodpod hatch is good. But it looks like you can't access the hull to store rods unless you purchase an extra kit (and even then, it sounds sketchy). They removed the sonar shield--I liked that feature a lot...don't want my FF on the rodpod btwn my knees; that's where fish go. The new hatch behind the seat looks interesting, but it pushes the tankwell back even further from reach. And those side flush-mounts might impede your paddle stroke a little bit. It almost seems like they regressed from the T15 by trying to add unnecessary new features. But then again, this is a boat that we'll never see. Maybe they'll get the kinks out before the Ultra makes it to the US.

I just hope in the future that they will keep that molded handles on the side. Makes it a lot easier to lift the kayak overhead this way. The flimsy handles that
I have on the T13 now always pinch my fingers each time I load and unload the
yak on my truck.

Jedmo