Considering a 2015 PA 12 or 14, have a few questions

Believe it or not the Outback and the Pro Angler 14 are both the same when it comes to speed under pedal power. 

The paddling difficulties in the PA can be overcome by using a regular canoe paddle.  I carry the two piece Hobie paddle or my Bending Branches paddle broken down inside the hull for emergencies.  On deck I carry a large bladed wooden canoe paddle.  While not the fastest boat to paddle is does fine even in wind.  I had to paddle from White Slough back to Tower Park on the Delta against a 20mph headwind and an outgoing tide.  It wasn't fun, but I made it back safely.

I don't want to haul my Pro Anglers any farther than I have too.  I certainly wouldn't attempt stairs with one.  If you have someone else with you then it "could" be done but alone it would be near impossible.  The big Wheeleze equipped Hobie scupper cart is the way to go for sand.  It's the Trax 2-30 Heavy Duty Cart.   I once made a 2 mile portage from the truck to a secluded lake in the middle of nowhere Florida down a bunch of hiking trails with mixed hard ground and sand.  It took a while but I had my son (10 years old at the time) to help me.  We made it and the fishing was awesome but I don't think I could have done the trip alone!!



Other than that the Pro Angler is awesome on the Ocean.  Its awesome to be able to fish from such a stable platform that you can "relieve" yourself when needed even on the salt.  Also, I carry a cooler on mine when fishing for rockfish and lingcod so that I don't have to worry about fish spoiling or about anything getting too interested in my catch!  As said before, once you're on the water it's fantastic!!

You have an Outback and a Raptor, so why would you want to shore launch a PA?  Use the best tool for the job is what my Dad would always say!  Not knocking the PA, I almost want one myself.  But use it for what/where it's best at. 

You have an Outback and a Raptor, so why would you want to shore launch a PA?  Use the best tool for the job is what my Dad would always say!  Not knocking the PA, I almost want one myself.  But use it for what/where it's best at.

I got hit by a car on my motorcycle in February. The accident messed up my shoulder and I can't paddle much anymore until it gets fixed. So I moved to a Hobie for the pedals, that works great and I love it but after the raptor I want more stability than the outback offers. The PA seems to give me both the pedal drive I need and the stability that I want. Unfortunately it sounds like surf landing is the boat's Achilles heel. Some people have talked about bringing it into the beach backwards, which seems crazy to me. That's why I came and asked about it. I know once it's out there it's a rock solid platform, it's just getting it out there seems to be the issue.

I know of a guy in Socal that has one and just waits until he's in the break and swims it in from behind. That seems excessive to me but I fish the area where slam down is held regularly and we've all seen those wipeouts.

Stability  wise the pa12 and the outback is neck n neck.both of mine were on a trailer but I mostly  launch from the boat launch.as to have it come in behind you in surf that sounds really dangerous  given the weight of the pa

Stability  wise the pa12 and the outback is neck n neck.both of mine were on a trailer but I mostly  launch from the boat launch.as to have it come in behind you in surf that sounds really dangerous  given the weight of the pa

He had it in front of him, swam it in from behind the boat.

I read a blog awhile back on a long-distance/island hopping/remote AI trip across the ocean (many hundreds of miles) and the AI guys found the best way to bring the boat in through rougher surf landings was getting in the water and hanging off the rear of the boat. That way they could one hand the rudder control to guide it in and use their body as a drag chute to keep the boat in front of them. Makes sense to me although I've never tried it.  The AI guys may be able to exert more side to side control because of the rear aka bar as well. For an AI at least, I like the idea because if bad things happened during the landing there would be less damage to the boat/outriggers without the weight of a person on board.

I would give it a shot in a big PA, but I would want a few practice runs to get the technique down. The other major plus is the ability to keep some weight on the far rear of the boat to avoid/limit a major face plant of that PA aircraft carrier bow.




 

Someday I'll try to swim to shore with a 50ft rope tied to my PA12 and pull it in 

Someday I'll try to swim to shore with a 50ft rope tied to my PA12 and pull it in 

You have a pa now also?man what don't you have

Someday I'll try to swim to shore with a 50ft rope tied to my PA12 and pull it in 

You have a pa now also?man what don't you have

A wife that knows the extent of his obsession?

Why do you think he keeps his collection store at Luis house?

I don't want to listen.  I'm going to get a used PA someday.  I may need to find out the hard way!

Someday I'll try to swim to shore with a 50ft rope tied to my PA12 and pull it in 

You have a pa now also?man what don't you have

A wife that knows the extent of his obsession?

[emoji23]

I like the wooden paddle idea ill give it a shot.... I swim my outback when going out & in... In costa rica.... Works awesome. Norcal water too cold

I have only launched my PA where launch access is easy, never tried a surf launch/landing with it.  I love mine but it is a barge.  I've owned an outback, revo and PA and the PA is by far the slowest and worst to deal with in the wind.  I've heard people claiming they can hit 6-7mph on a PA but that's hard to believe.  For the surf launches, I'd prefer to stick with the outback or revo.

I have only launched my PA where launch access is easy, never tried a surf launch/landing with it.  I love mine but it is a barge.  I've owned an outback, revo and PA and the PA is by far the slowest and worst to deal with in the wind.  I've heard people claiming they can hit 6-7mph on a PA but that's hard to believe.  For the surf launches, I'd prefer to stick with the outback or revo.

At this point I've done a ton of research and watched a lot of video about PA's launching and landing in the surf. I'm thinking it's not going to be the boat for me, which is a bummer because I really like the concept and layout of the thing. For now I'll be pinching my pennies and when I've got enough set aside I will probably pick up a Slayer 13 Propel. My buddy bought one last month and I have seen how it performs both launching and landing through the surf, it's impressive. Not to mention the reverse feature is pretty nice for finding structure and staying on it.