Go Back   Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum > Main Category > Fishing Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 09-16-2018, 09:10 AM
RancheroMan RancheroMan is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Sherwood Park
Posts: 262
Default Pedal Kayak, Or something else?

My wife and I are looking to replace out 16' aluminum fishing boat for next year. We are on a lake lot now and didn't want the drive down the road to the boat launch and a dock and boat lift did not interest us at all.

We area about a 2 min walk down the water edge with enough sandy beach area to launch a small boat without trouble, so that is what we are looking for. A light boat that can be carted (wheeled) by hand down to the water and launch from the beach.

I am very heavily leaning towards a Hobie Pro Angler 17t, but haven't really looked into too much else.

Is there a different direction I should investigating? Jon boat, inflatable? I really like the no motor aspect of the pedal kayak.

Thoughts?
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 09-16-2018, 10:45 AM
RavYak's Avatar
RavYak RavYak is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: West Edmonton
Posts: 5,174
Default

I personally would rather have a Tandem Island although it depends on what you want to do. I would like to have the sail to just go sail around some days and to more easily cover ground when fishing. Get the trampolines and you can sit/lay on them, take kids or extra gear etc. If I lived on a big lake or the ocean I would probably own an Island or Tandem Island.

For smaller lakes that you don't need to cover that much ground and your primary goal is fishing then the tandem Pro Angler would be a better choice but it is a more one dimensional boat.

Both will be a bit of a bear to cart down to water over sand so that is something to consider. Dragging a normal 12 or 14 ft pro angler through sand up a slight slope is already a workout for 1 person and the tandem version weighs twice as much and are more awkward. At least with the tandem island you could pull the amas and sail off and do multiple trips to lighten the load if necessary. Remember with fishing gear you are talking a 300 lb boat and you have to be able to lift the one end up and get the cart under it etc, something you won't be able to do very easily solo. That is why most people with tandem islands and pro anglers usually use trailers.

An Outfitter or an Oasis would be much more easy to handle but you lose a lot of storage space. I prefer the Oasis hull but the Outfitter is set up better for fishing. Individual kayaks like Outbacks or Pro Anglers would be good especially if you often end up going out on your own but that comes down to whether or not the wife is willing to pedal herself around lol. Although if she isn't you are going to get a good workout in the Pro Angler 17t.

As for other options I wouldn't consider a jon boat for a lake, a small v bottom tinner would be better. If you built yourself a decent little trailer with the right tires it would be no harder to launch one of them compared to the Pro Angler 17t and then for the same price you could have a 12 or 14 fter with a trolling motor, a small outboard, fish finder etc.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-16-2018, 03:08 PM
thumper's Avatar
thumper thumper is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Canmore
Posts: 4,740
Default

^^ What RavYak said.

Except you can get balloon tires for the Hobie cart that make it much easier to cross sand.

I use a ProAngler 12', and my wife loves her Outback. Either of us can go out solo, with friends, or both as a couple. My wife prefers two yaks rather than a tandem, as we can cruise along side by side, (and with a peddle yak, you can be very close together), and she can talk and talk and talk and see me nodding so she thinks I'm paying attention, rather than yelling over her shoulder and waiting for a 'yes dear' response. For her, kayaking is primarily social, and secondarily - exercise. For me, it's all about fishing.

If your wife is of a smaller stature, she may prefer the much lighter Hobie 'Sport' - very easy to wheel down to the lake. My wife started off with a Sport, but ..... grew out of it.

No doubt there will be lots of other people of all ages kayaking on your lake. Meeting other yakkers on the water, and arranging kayaking dates is common. It's a great way to make new friends in your neighbourhood. Not so much with regular boats.

We also have an Adventure Island, but I use that only for sailing. I used to get annoyed at those winds that come up every afternoon on the lake, but now I look forward to them! My home-made Adventure Island cart is easy to load/unload with one person and is made with skinny bicycle wheels so it transports very well over hard surfaces, but not too well in sand.
__________________
The world is changed by your action, not by your opinion.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 09-16-2018, 11:58 PM
ddddd05 ddddd05 is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 236
Default

Freighter canoe with a electric motor is also an idea. Great if you want to fish lakes in the National Parks as well
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-17-2018, 05:08 PM
RancheroMan RancheroMan is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Sherwood Park
Posts: 262
Default

The social seating option on the PA 17t was another big plus for that boat, however I'm getting a little concerned about my ability to cart it down to the water.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-17-2018, 08:26 PM
RavYak's Avatar
RavYak RavYak is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: West Edmonton
Posts: 5,174
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by RancheroMan View Post
The social seating option on the PA 17t was another big plus for that boat, however I'm getting a little concerned about my ability to cart it down to the water.
What I can tell you is that I have pulled a solo pro angler on beach tires up a sandy beach and it sucked. On flat ground it was tough enough, once we got to the slope we had to do one kayak at a time(one person pushing one pulling). If it is actually sand you have to pull it over I don't think you would be able to pull a tandem pro angler yourself on flat ground let alone any sort of slope. As mentioned it will be a 300 lb boat once you put some gear in it.

If it is hard level ground you would probably be ok. If you have to go up any sort of hill it is going to be really tough even on hard smooth ground like at a boat launch.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:47 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.