Official Kayaking/Canoeing Thread

The orange one is 12' and the green one is 11'. I was using a bed extender turned up instead of out previously. Worked well, but I couldn't get into the tailgate. I don't think a shorter kayak would have reached, or had enough to strap to if it did. Here's a pic with the bed extender:

 

Spent this weekend on a 19,000 acre lake. The closest we get to big water around here. Sat morning we had a storm blow in and had 2 ft swells (yes, I know, but I'm 1000 miles from the ocean, so give me a break) with whitecaps all across the lake. The Trident 13 ate them up. I did manage to flip it chasing a 2 lb blue cat but it flipped over just fine and I was only about 50 yds from shore at the time.

 

cool, had mine out grand total of once so far this year. that has to change dammit. now if i just had the time.

 

Got my setup 100% sorted out finally. About 90% happy with it right now.





The only thing Im not happy with is I dont have any load stops on any of the bars, which makes loading the canoe by myself a little bit awkward as it wants to slide from side to side. I think once I fab up or buy some load stoppers, I'll be satisfied

 

Not certain EXACTLY what you mean by load stoppers, but if it's what I think, it might be as easy as fastening some pieces of pool noodle to the Yakima bars with zip ties.
[Edit...nah, never mind...I see on your pics you already have some pool noodle on the bars. Not sure what you mean.]

 

Something to keep the canoe from sliding off the sides of the rack when loading it. Basically little stopper poles that stick up vertical

 

OK...got it...like this


I'd have to observe you actually loading it probably, but would 2 pieces of thick pool noodle fastened to the rear roof bars on the outboard ends function as a guide when sliding the canoe onto the roof? I'm imagining dropping the rear bar, levering the canoe onto the roof, raising the rear bar and sliding the canoe back onto the rear bar.

I guess this may depend on if you drop the rear support bar when loading or leave it up. If you leave the rear bar up, all the maneuvering would be done above shoulder height and I can see where taller load stopper bars would be essential.

Anyway, if this is not helpful, I'll stop.

 

When I loaded it last night, I left the rear T bar up. Its painted steel, so its very slippery. The canoe wanted to slide side to side on it when I was sliding it forwards.

There are little stoppers on each end of the T bar, but I dont trust the because they are about 1/2" tall and I could see the canoe going over the edge very easily.

Up front, the pool noodles worked pretty good, but again, the canoe still slide sideways a bit as I pushed it forward.

I just want to add the side stops to catch it from going off the rack, especially loading it by myself on less than level ground. They really dont need to be more than maybe 2" tall. Just enough to keep the thing from flying off the rack and down the side of my truck .

I was even thinking of just finding a few square U bolts and wing nuts to use, so theyd be easily removed when not in use.

:beer:

 

Good idea.

 

Hopefully the local hardware store has something useable. I plan on stopping after working and checking something out.

I'll update once I do.

:beer:

 

Anyone with a WS Tarpon 120 SOT? Thoughts?

 

Don't have one. It looks a lot like mine. Looking at it, the hatches don't seem very large. The Ocean Kayaks have huge hatches for easy access to the hull, plus the OC is rigged for fishing with surface rod holders & tons of spots for movable rod holders. I don't see anything there that would make me pick up one over my OC Trident. I think the Tarpon is a fairly popular body mold though - lots of kayakers seem to run them.

 

Thanks Poly. Looking for a SOT with enough storage to strap a pack onto for treks and light river or lake camping. The Tarpon looked pretty good and weight capacity of 350 is great. Likely be in rivers and lakes, figured a dry bag would suffice. Dry storage a big need? This will be my first kayak.

 

Not for me. Ive never seen one that actually kept stuff dry. We play rough and sink each other so I added a drain plug to the back and drilled holes through the dry storage bulkhead. Standing up a yak to drain it works much better by yourself then tipping it sideways and I use my "dry" compartment in my yak for road sodas and food in my cooler.

I have a little dry box for smokes, a dry bag for clothes, and a dry box for my medical kit. Sadly last weekend I forgot 2 of the 3 and it rained all day

 

Good info and story lol

You guys have fun. Been lurking in the kayak threads lately and read this thread in entirety. You're a nice guy! Appreciate the no bs down to earth tone of your posts.

 

I've got two of them - kinda. I have a T-120 of the old design that's been my primary boat since around 2005 or so. This year, I bought a Perception Pescador 12 which is simply a rebranded T-120 of the old design - Amazon had them on sale for $460 delivered.

I love this boat because it's relatively fast and maneuverable for a SOT. It's well-engineered and has good lines. I fish primarily rivers and lakes with some surf/bay. It's not tippy - I've never flipped it. It's comfortable and it carries everything I need. I've never camped in it, but I'm confident it would have sufficient storage for a small tent, sleeping bag and supplies for an overnight and perhaps a longer trip if packed carefully. As said, it won't keep everything dry without a dry bag - no kayak would.

The true new model WS T-120 available now is rather pricey and is slightly different than my boat as it's been redesigned. However, the Perception can now be had at a much cheaper price point and is a very similar boat. WS and Perception are both brands owned by Confluence.

My old T-120 is still my favorite boat. I punched a hole in the stern on the river once, but I've patched it successfully with a plastic weld and it's holding strong. If you want, you can add a rudder to them - I have one of one of mine.

If I were to get another yak, it would probably be the Jackson Coosa since I'd like to do some stand-up fishing - not something I'd be comfortable trying in the Tarpon. The Coosa also has nice seat setup that several other brands have since adopted. But they start about $950 and I can't drop that kind of cash.

If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll try to answer.

 

The lower you get the gear, the more stable you'll be. Plus it's convenient. I keep an extra paddle in mine, plus a fish finder transducer/battery, dry bag, fleece and a PFD in case it gets choppy. I don't know if the tarpon's hatches would allow for an extra 2 piece paddle, but maybe.

Definitely not trying to say my SOT is the best, but $1k gives you a whole lot of options so I'd do some research before you buy. Sounds like you're doing that.

I think my next kayak will be the Jackson Killroy, if that matters.

 

>> The lower you get the gear, the more stable you'll be.
^ This.

Given that Polymerhead has an OK Trident and is considering the Kilroy, he appreciates a bigger boat more than I do. Perhaps a bigger boat is what you need for camping. Personally I don't prefer moving that much plastic through the water if I can avoid it especially when I venture far out on lakes or bays. I carry a 2-pc rescue paddle around in my hull and I have a fishfinder, but it's a portable with 8 AAs inside so I don't need the bigger battery in the hull. And I wear my inflatable PFD - I don't have to store it.

For $1K you can get a lot of boat if you need it. Or you can get 2 boats if you don't. Or you can get a yak and a new tonneau cover for your Tacoma.

Definitely paddle one if you can. The true characteristics of each boat will reveal themselves to you. If you can wait until late fall/winter, you'll likely find good used boats for much less on Craigslist. More and more since everyone and his brother seems to be buying a kayak these days.

 

Been keeping an eye on CL since my area is pretty thick with waterways (empty now with the drought) and people with expendable income that have nice yaks and nowhere to use them. I have some reading to do! Thanks

 

Keep in mind Craigslist is full of yaks in the fall/winter and many outfitters and rental places sell off their models in fall. I know a guy who makes a living buying used yaks in bulk from outfitters/rental spots then resells them on Craigslist. His entire two car garage is like a kayak store and his backyard is filled with them. Last time I was there he must of had 30 yaks.

Also you don't need a fishing kayak to go fishing. Yakgear.com is in Texas and has everything you need to turn a normal yak into a fishing yak. I added all the rod holders to both my yaks.