Project Ultra ... (thus far)

This will be my initial review of the Ultra 4.3 after only a few trips.

Before I get started, I want to let everyone know that I am a Pro Staff member of the Ocean Kayaks Fishing Team. I am not paid directly, nor do I recieve my kayaks for free.
Just to clarify, Sponsored anglers get Free goods, where as Pro Staffers get product at special pricing.
Also, this review is my personal opinion and as always it is best to test a product for yourself before comming to any final decisions. 

For the purpose of this review, I will be discussing the Ultra and Trident models only.
http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/angler_kayaks/trident_ultra_series/
http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/angler_kayaks/trident_series/

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to recieve the 4.3 and at first look it is impresive to say the least. The lines are clean and sharp, The deck is layed out in a well thought out plan, and the hull just screams to excelerate. After looking at all she had I tried to think what else I could do to make her a fishing machine, and instantly decided to add a fish locator. As you may or may not know, O.K. is owned by the same Co. as Humminbird, which is why O.K. makes a Ultra FF install kit that just so happens to fit a Humminbird. The kit fits real clean as you can see on my Ultra 4.7 with a Hummin 383ci.

Of course, Lowrance has been a great sponsor of my series and I wanted to share the love so I aquired a new Lowrance Elite-4 Gold. I realized that putting this on my Ultra was like putting Ford parts on a Chevy, But I also needed to do what I needed to do. Well after ordering a scupper mount from Lowrance, I tried to fit the kit like the one I mounted on my 4.7 and woulden't you know it, O.K. had a suprise for me. The transducer scupper in the 4.3 actually was made to fit the Lowrance standard trans. mount
This was some real thinking, and it made for a real clean install ... Thank You Ocean Kayak

Wanted a few extras so attached a piece of webbing to hold pliers and sheath as well as a flush mount to add a camera for recording the journey

I also modified a few things.
First I removed the side ropes from the front half to avoid snaging hooks when laying rods on the deck. Also added a piece of bungy to the rear tank well to help keep the junk in the trunk.

That was about it for the rigging, now about the yak it's self.
The first thing i noticed about the yak is the way it excelerates out of the hole. This yak seems to want to take off with very litle effort, and it also turns on a dime, again with little to no effort (great for the river ... bad for the wind). With the lite weight and easy turning hull, I will be adding a rudder to this yak.
The seating works, but could use a little more space. After a few hours in the saddle, I soon found myself feeling like I was in a sit inside kayak. The seating in this boat is a little deeper than the Trident series and with the seat offered, doesn't allow for much leg movement. This was originally designed for a seat simular to the Necky Vector series. It looks like the Necky seat would hold you up a little higher, which in turn would allow for more movement (Necky seat ordered ... will post my results when avail.).
The deck is laid out as though they actually had a Fisherman's input. Not only is all the rigging bolted with threaded brass inserts, they also added a few extra for you to attach a few accessories. I prefer bolts over rivets anyday.
The new pod cover is great for keeping the inside area dry (unless you open it when there is standing water on the top). I know a lot of anglers like being able to store their rods in the pod, but without modification, that is not an option. I found that with my Tridents, I rarley used the Rod Pod, so this was not a concern to me.
So Far I have really enjoyed the yak, but only had it out a few times. I will try to post my thoughts on this yak after a little more time and a new seat are aquired. Till than, Hope it helps.

See Ya Soon,
Eric / Yakhopper

Forgot a few things
1. It is nice to have a tankwell that fits a hawg trough with room to spare.
2. If you look at the pics above you can see that there is NO restricted flow in the scupper with the
    Lowrance transducer  
3. The camera mount is new from Scotty and fots both tri pod and Go-Pro mounts
4. The 4.7 is a great boat, but is a B#@%h to turn in tight spaces
5. Best cleaner for the money ($1 @ Doller Tree)

Thanks for the review Eric. 

I really like the look of that 4.3.   The one thing that concerns me is having the FF on the rod pod.  One thing that I really like about the Tridents is the sonar shield, where the FF is in a good, safe, forward  position and can be easily covered for surf launchs and travel.  I like having the full rod pod area open to land big SW fish such as halibut, etc. without having to worry that a big halibut flopping around might smack or break-off the FF if it's on the rod pod.  Any concern from your perspective?

The nice part is, The pod flips ove to put the FF sealed inside for launching and large fish landings.
Oh-Yah, That reminds me ......
Here is the latest mod

That kayak accelerates like my race car. It hauls in the first few feet. Very fast. I too got cramped in it. Leg room set up for shorter paddlers in my opinion. I sat deeper in it than in my Tarpon, but was still able to hang my legs over board. It needs a better seat. 8 hours and I was sore. I have never paddled an OK before. I liked this one. The center cover was a nice flat place to lay things down when I was rigging etc. Not used to a shorter kayak, but it was nice to manuver it in the wind compared to my 16' Tarpon. It does sit higher than my kayak so it caught the wind more. A rudder would have been nice, but in decent conditions I don't know if you would need it. We had 25-30 MPH winds when I test paddled. Overall it was a pretty good ride. I do think I like longer boats though.

Thanks Eric for a good day OTW.

Thanks for sharing your review on the 4.3 Eric. I would love to try the new yak and see how it compares to my T13 at CL. See you then.

Jedmo

Eric,
Clearly you have no idea how to rig a kayak. 
Looks like a mean, clean fishing machine.
That bass proves it!

I would love to try the new yak and see how it compares to my T13 at CL.

For those who might have intrest in the Ultra series,
I will have both the 4.7 and the 4.3 avail. for demo at the Clear Lake event.
I will be riding the 4.7 during the event and my brother Darius has first dibs on the 4.3 if he is able to make it.
After the event, just give me a shout and you are more than welcome to take either for a spin.

See Ya Soon,
Eric / Yakhopper

Looking good Eric! I hope to have mine also( fingers crossed).

Cool mods and nice clean install Eric
Being a Hobie jockey, I wish their yaks (other than the PA,which I consider a boat and not a yak) were more fishing friendly
I'm interested in the Dollar Tree cleaning product,
 What is it called and does it leave the yak with a slippery or  greasy feel?
Thanks Eric,
Tad
 

I'm interested in the Dollar Tree cleaning product,
 What is it called and does it leave the yak with a slippery or  greasy feel?
 

My wife brought this home after a mishaps with the BBQ
She told me her friend used it for everything, so I tried it on the yak.
That was about 5 years ago, and it is now all I use.
No residue and does a great job
Awsome .....