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Kayak advice


Wellzy94

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Hey kayak crew!

I went and had a look at a kayak yesterday (second-hand, I'm poor) and I was hoping for some advice.

It's a 2-seater, with seats that attach to the kayak for a bit of comfort and back support, and comes with 2 paddles, 2 life vests and a rod holder that mounts in front of each seat.

The owner has also offered to throw in her SeaK soft roof racks (the ones with straps that close inside the car doors).

It's dirty and has a snapped handle on one side (both easy to amend), but doesn't remember how much she paid for it. She's asking for an offer.

The kayak also has no branding on it, so I can only assume it's not expensive. Anyone able to guide me in the right direction in regards to price?

Cheers,

Wellzy

 

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Hi mate, one thing to consider, my mate and his wife almost divorced because of a 2 seater kayak, (jokes) better off with x2 singles i reckon as it seemed quite difficult from where i was sitting in my x1 seater lol

id offer $200 and see what she says.

could always upgrade to singles later and sell double for what you paid.

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Wellzy,

I bought the same kayak for the kids a few years ago! They weigh 40kg and are bloody heavy to move about. I paid $550 brand new! They are fairly sturdy on the water but not real good to use solo. Just something to think about. I think considering condition, $200 the lot is a fair offer! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

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I agree with Scratchie

Unless you are going to fish with partner  - I would consider single kayak  - just easier to operate  in wind/swell/currents conditions and even load onto car .

$200 is rather cheap if she agrees, and would be probably easy to resell it if you decide to move to another kayak. However if you can stretch your budget to $300-400 now then fishing would be more enjoyable.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Wellzy94 said:

I plan on exclusively fishing out of it with my partner, which is why I was looking at the double!

Thanks for the advice guys!

Cheers,

Wellzy

Wellzy, my mate has the same kayak. Its a bloody heavy unit and on a windy day gets blown all over the place. But having said that if you can get it for$200 or less like most Raiders have been saying I'm sure you'll get a lot of fun out of it.

Mark.

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$200 is a good price for the seller, looking at the condition it's in I'll bet she will even take $150 just to have it out the door. When something doesn't get used and takes up valuable garage space people will take almost any price. 

The life jackets might not be kayaking jackets so consider that before you make an offer, you'll want jackets that fit and also offer freedom in arm rotation as well as torso movement as you'll be in a sitting position 95% of the time. You don't want a jacket that slides up and smacks you in the chin when you bend forward to grab a loaded rod ?

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Lungfai they are kayaking jackets. Slim profile, designed to fit and not slide around.

Ended up settling for $250, which I'm happy with. Considering your advice but also the fact that even though it's dirty, it is in very good condition (minus the broken handle). Picking it up next weekend, might even get it on the water! Thanks everyone for the help.

Cheers,

Wellzy

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Definitely get it into the water, it'll give the Yak a prewash and test to see if the seals are still holding up or there are any needed patch work required.

Bring a scoop/cup along and pour water over the hatches and moulded rod holders. Check stability and image test casting a rod. See how comfortable you are and what modifications you'll need to do to make the Yak a fully yours ?

Plenty of DIY kayak mods out there to make the Kayak a fishing vessel to be gawked at.

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Was looking at some kayak mods, and one mentioned was the bungee rigger on the back. What sort of things would you attach to it to tow behind you? 

Is it safe to drill holes into the sides of the kayak to mount things? Obviously water could get in if it's not sealed (would silicon be a good enough seal?), but will it affect the integrity of the craft at all? 

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My advice would be to think long and hard about any modifications you make. Get it out and go fishing, all you need for bass is a small backpack and a rod. Maybe two rods at most.You need a landing net, Berkley make the most awesome yak net with a bungee cord and lanyard clip. Apart from that you need bugger all. In fact the less you take and the more you spend your time fishing the better you'll enjoy it. Things may change if you start using it as a more general fishing platform but even then try to keep it simple. 

Matt

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Just now, macman said:

My advice would be to think long and hard about any modifications you make. Get it out and go fishing, all you need for bass is a small backpack and a rod. Maybe two rods at most.You need a landing net, Berkley make the most awesome yak net with a bungee cord and lanyard clip. Apart from that you need bugger all. In fact the less you take and the more you spend your time fishing the better you'll enjoy it. Things may change if you start using it as a more general fishing platform but even then try to keep it simple. 

Matt

I plan on keeping it as minimalistic as possible for starters, but I was considering J-hooks to hold the paddles while we're stopped and flicking lures. 

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I fish in a sit in, I do use a paddle strap but I don't bother with j hooks for the paddle. I would almost bet you will install them and never use them. They could be useful for portage in a sit on top. With a sit in you just chuck it in the cockpit or carry it in your free hand. Rod holders are probably more important in the sit on top. vertical rod holders need to have some way of keeping your rods secure and are hopeless for small creek fishing because the rods catch on everything. Most of the bass guys either use a single rod or have horizontal rod holders. CHoose wisely before you get carried away with any installs as ther is a bit to consider before you do any mods. 

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Looks to me that it's a paddle keeper too. Although i never use it when i'm actually fishing, only for moving the yak around on land. Paddle usually sits on your lap nice and no need to worry about having to unhook it if fighting a decent fish and it's pulling you straight into the trees. 

Id take it out before doing anything and you will get a better idea of what you would like to do. I haven't done a single mod to mine.

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11 minutes ago, Rah said:

Looks to me that it's a paddle keeper too. Although i never use it when i'm actually fishing, only for moving the yak around on land. Paddle usually sits on your lap nice and no need to worry about having to unhook it if fighting a decent fish and it's pulling you straight into the trees. 

Id take it out before doing anything and you will get a better idea of what you would like to do. I haven't done a single mod to mine.

Hmm.. I was under the impression they were rod holders. I'll have to take a better look when I pick it up.

I do know 100% there are two rod holders that mount in front of the seats, so if the side ones are paddle keepers that's still alright.

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The bungee V shape in pic 3 is your paddle holders, they sit behind your side rod holders. 

You already have a bungee rigger, basically a storage keep area where the bungees secures the cargo. I use mine to hold my food and drink esky.

You also have eyelets which can be used to attach leashes, which are rethered to your equipment so if heaven forbid they go over they are recoverable. Landing nets, rods, and pliers seem to like going for swims ?

Keep the mods simple but don't be scared of drilling a few holes. The integrity of the Yak will be fine and using marine goop to seal the finish will give you peace of mind.

The first mod I'd recommend would be a fishraider decal down the side of the Yak ? Then probably a hatch bag or tackle box to go into your hatch. Then a few leashes with carabiners at the end to clip onto gear you'll always need at hand, lip grips, landing net etc. Can be all done dirt cheap.

Pick up the Yak, take it out and get a feel of it, then adjust it if it needs adjusting to make fishing for the both of you enjoyable.

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Yeah, the carabiner leashes will definitely be on my list! Im looking at installing some waterproof containers inside the underhull so I can put things that aren't so water resistant in them and also won't slide around too. Other than that, I'll definitely be getting some time on the water before I decide on any major mods!

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To update: I picked up the yak yesterday evening! To my surprise she threw in all four life jackets she had (2 different sizes, 2 of each) and even two tie-downs for the soft racks. Hoping to drop it in the water this week to make sure it's in good working condition (no hull holes/cracks) and on Rah's advice I'm taking a rod "just in case".

Cheers,

Wellzy

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