Maiden voyage of the new yak.....

[Skyler]

Well, I finally got out on the water in the new tahiti HF. Hit Jenks with a single rod, a small tackle box full of lures, an anchor (which I didn't use all day), and my daughter in the front seat. All i can say is DAYUM SON! This thing hauls *****! I was using a pair of crappy coleman raft oars duct taped to a broomstick, and I was actually keeping up with the hard body kayaks! My wife and brother were there too in float tubes, and was literally circling them all day, lol! I could cover the entire width of the lake in less than a minute at full speed!

I did a good 20+ laps of the lake, trolling kastmasters and power worms outside the weedlines. Caught like 10 trout throughout the day, though i honestly spent more time zooming around the lake than I did fishing, lol. Half the time I didn't even have a line in. Yakking is FUN stuff! Way funner than kicking a float tube around.

As for the craft itself, I am impressed. For the price, I wasn't expecting it to handle too well, but I was immensely suprised at how stable it is. I didn't even come close to tipping it once, even with my squirmy 4 year-old daughter in the front, lol. And with the tracking skeg, i run true and can pick up some nice momentum without spinning, though it does slow my turning radius a bit. And I had the skeg on a bit crooked too. I'm sure it will track better now that I've installed it properly. Anyways, I picked up a new paddle yesterday with far more pushing power. Now I'm ready to cover some serious water, he he. Thinking about perris next weekend. Anybody gonna be out there on saturday? Or anywhere else for that matter? I'd like to get out on the water with some experienced kayakers and learn the ropes.

Anyways, all in all, this way better than my float tube for big water, and a total blast to paddle. You're never gonna see me kicking to allesandro island again, he he. Thanks for all the help and input guys, especially you, Sky. Here comes yet another addiction to take up my time and money, lol. Tight lines...

-Skyler

P.S. I still haven't named the boat yet. Any ideas?

[vanillagurilla]

Lil Dingy Lol

[Skyler]

Lil Dingy Lol

Ha! I was thinking of something a bit less cute, lol. Lord knows the boat isn't, lol. Not too little either at about 11 feet. I kinda wanted to stick with an Irish theme. Been thinking about the "S.S. Cernunnos" (The Celtic god of nature and animals), the "Latis" (goddess of water and beer, funny how we Irish think of them as almost the same thing, lol) or "An Bradán Feasa," which refers to a mythological Salmon from celtic folklore, lol. Been leaning towards the Latis though.

[steve092]

Good to see you had a successful maiden voyage.


A little off topic, but can you launch pontoons at Jenks?

[Skyler]

Good to see you had a successful maiden voyage.


A little off topic, but can you launch pontoons at Jenks?

Yep, you can launch anything that floats, but you can't have a trolling motor or outboard. Only non-powered crafts are permitted.

[Skyler]

For a minute there I was thinking you were bionic doing 20 laps around the lake.....until I looked up Jenks Lake on the internet: Jenks Lake is a small mountain lake of 10 surface acres.

I am glad you had a fun time Skyler!

I think you should name your boat "Skyler". It has a nice ring to it like sky!:Envious:

Yeah, I chose Jenks as the maiden voyage as there are no jetskis and power boats there to mow me over, lol! Plus if the wind kicks up I'd just get blown in, instead of blown into open water. The wind did actually pick up a bit, but the boat handled it just fine. I even paddled directly into the wind for awhile to get a feel for it. It doesn't track quite as well into the wind, but I can still get to where I want to go no prob. Not as fast as normal, but still cooking compared to what I'm used to in my float tube, he he. On another note, I actually found myself trolling TOO fast several times on saturday. Any tips on how to maintain a good trolling speed?

BTW, think I'm gonna name it Blu Sky, since you were so helpful, and since my middle name is Blu, he he! Have fun, Sky.

[tacklejunkie]

Sounds like you need a drift sock or something.
Glad to hear you like it. Jenks is goin off on trouts and bass about now.. gotta love that lake.

[Skyler]

Sounds like you need a drift sock or something.
Glad to hear you like it. Jenks is goin off on trouts and bass about now.. gotta love that lake.

Yeah, I saw your report from the other day. Armand spent half the day nailing those little bass. Erin caught a few as well. She sat there at the weedline teasing them and pulling her worm away from them when they bit, lol! I was content to just haul around the lake in the new yak dragging a spoon. The trout were just a bonus.

What exactly would a drift sock do? Just drag me around slowly with the current? Once I start paddling, I sort of get carried away and end up going way too fast to troll, lol.

[tacklejunkie]

I think they use drift socks to slow down boats that are too fast on the troll.

[rocklee]

hey skyler,
man so you got a kayak too, don't you just love it!
I remember when I first got my kayak and was surprise about the speed of it,
I'm surprise that your inflatable is fast as regular kayaks, maybe I should have
got one, because my 15 feet kayak does take up alot of room.

Also cool name for your kayak, Blu Sky

Have fun out there!

[one_leg]

I love the song Blue Skies by the Allman Bros.

Blu Sky works for me!!!


Nice report too, although it could have used more fish pics. ;)

O_L

[vanillagurilla]

hey skyler,
man so you got a kayak too, don't you just love it!
I remember when I first got my kayak and was surprise about the speed of it,
I'm surprise that your inflatable is fast as regular kayaks, maybe I should have
got one, because my 15 feet kayak does take up alot of room.

Also cool name for your kayak, Blu Sky

Have fun out there!

his yak is inflatable :).

[LBSea]

A KAYAK drift sock is used when the wind is blowing you around not the current. It is not recommended to drop a drift sock into a steady current unless you want to go for a ride or get flipped. You will find that on a kayak you are on top of the current and will not drift as fast as if you were in the water.

Hope that answers want a drift sock is for.

Doug

[sky]

hey skyler,
man so you got a kayak too, don't you just love it!
I remember when I first got my kayak and was surprise about the speed of it,
I'm surprise that your inflatable is fast as regular kayaks, maybe I should have
got one, because my 15 feet kayak does take up alot of room.

Also cool name for your kayak, Blu Sky

Have fun out there!


I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if I were to paddle an inflatible, a SOT (sit-on-top) and a sit-in kayak - the speed in which I would paddle would vary considerably due to the designs of the boat. While I can keep up in my SOT with sit-in kayaks, I have to paddle a lot harder than they do, because of the way the different kayak hull's slice through the water. So if Skyler is keeping up with other kayaks, in his inflatible kayak, it is most likely because they aren't paddling as hard as he is. The other variable could be the people in the sit-in kayaks or SOT's are out of shape, whereas Skyler may be in good physical condition. Different models of SOT also vary greatly in the speed due to their design.

Sky http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/Smileys//Lots_O_Smileys/006.gif
http://www.eyeyak.com/graphics/canoer.gif

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[Skyler]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if I were to paddle an inflatible, a SOT (sit-on-top) and a sit-in kayak - the speed in which I would paddle would vary considerably due to the designs of the boat. While I can keep up in my SOT with sit-in kayaks, I have to paddle a lot harder than they do, because of the way the different kayak hull's slice through the water. So if Skyler is keeping up with other kayaks, in his inflatible kayak, it is most likely because they aren't paddling as hard as he is. The other variable could be the people in the sit-in kayaks or SOT's are out of shape, whereas Skyler may be in good physical condition. Different models of SOT also vary greatly in the speed due to their design.

Sky http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/Smileys//Lots_O_Smileys/006.gif
http://www.eyeyak.com/graphics/canoer.gif

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Yeah, I'm sure they could probably smoke me outright if it weren't for all the weight lifting and martial arts I have done over the last 20 years. I was definitely paddling more than the hardshells to keep up. But I was also using a smaller paddle blade, and a shorter handle which required me to shift my grip from stroke to stroke. But I could go for longer without slowing down, so i was able to keep up with, and even pass a few hardshells. The funny thing is, after paddling all day, I wasn't even really sore the next day. The motion of paddling is actually very similar to using a staff or spear. One thing I did find that helped with the overall speed of the boat is to keep the boat's floor inflated to a very hard level. Much faster than when it's a bit soft, and the i-beams help it to track better as well.



Anyways, we should get together again, Nam. I haven't fished with you in awhile. I'll let you take it for a spin and see if you like it. It's hella stable, and definitely compact, he he. Speed is just a bonus. Tight lines.

[Skyler]

his yak is inflatable :).

Umm, yeah, I think we already established that, lol...