Portable Tandem Kayak

[WarrenP]

Mike,

I have no experience with the model you are asking about, but, I can relate to what you are going through with trying to find the craft for you to use for what you want to use it for. I have been there and have spent money that I wish I never spent. In my opinion, you should first decide exactly what you expect the craft to do for you and what you want to do in that craft and then use that info to find the craft that comes the closest to providing those needs. There is nothing worst than owning a craft that you do not like something about it and it spends most of it's time stored instead of used. Just for instance and maybe be of some help to you. I first bought a 13' canoe and was thrilled with how light it was, how easy to load and unload. I did not like the stability of the canoe. It was not the best craft to stand and stretch in without having good balance. I hated paddling it up river against a current. So, I sold it and purchased a 10' Landau flatbottom boat that had a 60" width. I was impressed with the ease of loading and unloading. Pleased with the extra room. It had oars, but, they are only an advantage in open ponds or lakes and were a safety hazard in a river with deadfalls and boulders due to them getting hung up and causing problems. I ended up putting an electric trolling motor on it and it would travel upstream against a current great. I got tired of loading the battery, keeping it charged and paying for registration of the craft since it was powered by a trolling motor. Sold it and purchased a Hobie Cat 75 pontoon. Once again I was happy with the ease of loading and unloading. It had oars and it did go upstream fairly well but did require a little effort on my part but a lot easier to oar than paddling a canoe. I liked that I did not need to keep constant check on the inflation of the pontoons due to the pontoons were hollow polyethalene (sp?). Overall I was pleased with this craft and still have it although it is stored and has not been used for 4 years now that I have what I was looking for in a craft. I did remove the seat it came with and installed a swivel seat which allowed me more freedom to fish from either side. I was not impressed with the limited area for storage of equipment and the fact that you need to get use to your feet being in the water which in the winter is not fun. When I fish I will spend no less than 5 to 6 hours on the water whether that is wading or in a craft and that craft needs to provide comfort for me and I decided I would not be comfortable in a kayak since I would only have one option for seating and that is with my legs straight out in front of me and having to twist from the waist up to fish either side or reposition the craft. I also was not comfortable with the stability of the kayak for me. I am going on 65 and do not wish to be dumped into moving water.

Sorry for the long winded response, but, I feel it is important for you to consider what you want out of your craft and then look for that craft. Advertisement will only tell you the positive things about the product. The best advise I can give is to seriously write down the things you want to be able to do with your new craft and keep those things in mind when you shop and if there is any way at all to demo a craft before buying, do it. A demo will let you know the negatives about a craft as well as the positives.

All the above is offered as a friend to a friend and trying to keep you from going the route I did and wasting the money I did. No craft will do everything you want but one might do more than another one. Weigh this decision carefully or you might end up with a craft that you do not enjoy and will not use it.

Demo, demo, demo before forking over the money is the best advise I can give.....