Kayak (which One)

[shakey55]

Good morning.  I hope this is the correct place to ask this. 

I’m interested in having a go at kayak fishing in and around ocean bays etc. I am a boat owner but looking to try something different. 

I live in Sydney 

My questions are

1.     Are there good and bad brands (I’m looking middle of the road)

2.     I’m looking at the sit on top type and weigh 100kgs so what size should I be looking at (length / width)

3.      If buying second hand is there anything I should be looking out for. 

Thanks in advance 

shakey

[benno573]

hey mate,

i am a huge fan of the hobie pedal kayaks. being a larger bodied person, i opted for the hobie outback.  They are extremely stable and have great weight carrying capacity of 180kg so you can run with an esky, as much gear as you want and maintain stability in any conditions.  I picked one up second hand for $1300 - wasn't in perfect condition with a few bumps and scrapes as well as being absolutely filthy but the drive system and all other functional stuff was solid.  being able to fish with both hands on a kayak is awesome, as well as the ability to cover 15km in a day easily if needed.

If you aren't able to go to to that kind of price range, the viking profish is a good paddle option, but there is literally hundreds of options in sit on top paddle kayaks.  look for something with good comfort and also a practical layout for what you want to do - storage areas, hatches, seat quality etc.  weight capacity should be 150kg minimum - you could go less but by the time you add you, clothing, gear etc you will likely be at 110-115kg which is dangerously close to maxing out a 120kg capacity yak which reduces your stability hugely.

good luck, look forward to reading a few reports from down there - boat or kayak based!

[Guest]

10 hours ago, benno573 said:

hey mate,

i am a huge fan of the hobie pedal kayaks. being a larger bodied person, i opted for the hobie outback.  They are extremely stable and have great weight carrying capacity of 180kg so you can run with an esky, as much gear as you want and maintain stability in any conditions.  I picked one up second hand for $1300 - wasn't in perfect condition with a few bumps and scrapes as well as being absolutely filthy but the drive system and all other functional stuff was solid.  being able to fish with both hands on a kayak is awesome, as well as the ability to cover 15km in a day easily if needed.

If you aren't able to go to to that kind of price range, the viking profish is a good paddle option, but there is literally hundreds of options in sit on top paddle kayaks.  look for something with good comfort and also a practical layout for what you want to do - storage areas, hatches, seat quality etc.  weight capacity should be 150kg minimum - you could go less but by the time you add you, clothing, gear etc you will likely be at 110-115kg which is dangerously close to maxing out a 120kg capacity yak which reduces your stability hugely.

good luck, look forward to reading a few reports from down there - boat or kayak based!

The chicken you cooked for the Donnybrook trip will tip him over Benno

[fishinfox]

Hi mate, as MSB mentioned the viking profish 400 is an awesome yak. I weigh in at 100kg and it feels very stable when I have an Esky on board filled with Ice, rods, sounder and the centre well filled with jighead, plastics etc. I've had mine for 4 years now (uded every weekend) and its still going strong. I've taken it on a 3 night camping trip and had no issues. It can take 175 kg so unlikely to have any issues there.  I really like how light it is which makes it easy to carry short distances and load on the car. I attached a picture of my setup. New they area around $1500 but a second hand one with a sounder tends to go for around $800 - $1000. If you have any questions let me know.

[shakey55]

40 minutes ago, MSB said:

The chicken you cooked for the Donnybrook trip will tip him over Benno

?

[kmcrosby78]

Another good paddle option is the Ocean Kayak Prowler - come in a couple of different sizes (Prowler 13/4.1 I think are the same from memory, then there's the 4.5). I've got a Prowler 13, haven't used it much (have a boat ...) but it's a good yak, moves through the water well, nice and stable and good storage. Looking at the picture of the Profish, I like that mine has a large hatch at the front. I have my battery and sounder transducer in there, as well as a cut down flexi-tub that I can store stuff in.  Big part of your decision will be budget - I've never used a Hobie but can imagine being able to use leg power instead of paddle power and have your hands free for fishing would be handy. Length-wise, as you want to use it in bay scenarios, you'll want at least 3.6m but around 4/4.1m would be better - the catch is they're that bit harder to get on and off roofs    Good luck - let us know what you end up with.

[kmcrosby78]

[benno573]

22 hours ago, MSB said:

The chicken you cooked for the Donnybrook trip will tip him over Benno

I think that is saying eating too much of my spicy Mexican chicken will mean you’ll need a 160kg weight capacity as a minimum...

[Drop Bear]

On 20/07/2019 at 5:55 PM, benno573 said:

I think that is saying eating too much of my spicy Mexican chicken will mean you’ll need a 160kg weight capacity as a minimum...

How spicy? Perhaps need to have a hole in the bottom for toilet... 

[Drop Bear]

[Old Scaley]

Can the mods please disable the gif function on @Drop Bear‘s profile 

[Drop Bear]

17 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Can the mods please disable the gif function on @Drop Bear‘s profile 

I'll hold my breath until I get it back!