I am new to the sport and trying to decide which kayak to purchase. I’ve narrowed it down to the Hobie Quest, Heritage Redfish, WS T140 and WS Ride. I’ll be fishing marshes of SE Louisiana. Any help greatly appreciated!
All are good kayaks, can’t really go
wrong with any of them, except if the Quest has the Mirage drive, it won’t do much good in water less than 18". The Ride is a bit of a barge. I’d go with the Tarpon 140 myself, but if you can get Yak-A-Lou to respond, he fishes the same type of waters and may have some good thoughts on your choices. One thing in favor of the Tarpon, it has great resale value and attraction.
Phoenix
The Huricane Phoenix 140 is almost a clone of the Tarpon 140 but made from polcarbonate and only 52 lbs. They are currently revamping it for better fishablilty and will be coming ut with a 16’ version. The Ride is a barge and noisy. It has a lot of wave slap.
You’re in luck!!!
You MUST be at the public launch in Port Fourchon on 4-22-06 at Noon. It’s time for PaddlePalooza III - our semi annual fishing rodeo! If you can bring a pirogue, canoe or other paddlecraft you can participate. E-mail me for details.
Anywho… At noon on the the 22nd you’ll be able to paddle all four of those boats (I think) and talk to people who fish from them. Warning: Each owner is usually biased toward his own boat.
I fish from a T-140 (among other boats). I’m pleased with it and would buy another one.
The Quest is a masterfully designed boat. Great layout. I think the only negative I had on my list for it was the price.
The Heritage gained some popularity after I made my choice. All I know is it’s fairly popular and very suitable. I think it’s the most affordable of the ones you listed. Is that correct?
The Ride has the most shallow draft and the most stability of any of the boats you listed. There’s a guide service that operates down here and they use Ride’s. The tankwell is not well suited for a tackle junkie like me. It doesn’t accept a standard milk crate.
I’m curious… any particular reason you’re not considering a OK Prowler?
Top three on my list were the T-140, Prowler 15 and Quest. Had price been equal I could have flipped a coin and been happy with any of those three (or many others).
I really hope to see you at PaddlePalooza. No doubt you’ll have questions. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail.
Welcome to the dark side!
The Phoenix is a great looking kayak
and, by all reports, a quick one. I’d go for the 14 footer, though. Heritage is coming out with a new 12 foot Redfish that is supposed to be a great boat. It’ll take a rudder.
From
that bunch id get the Quest.I dont think it’s available with the peddle drive.
Buying first Kayak
Thanks for the responses. Anyone know if you can stand up to cast in the Quest or Tarpon 140?
Thanks!
T-140, one of the most popular kayaks on
the coast, great resale and almost everyone who has one likes it. The Prowler 15, fast and stable. The two complaints I hear aabout Ocean Kayak is about the slotted foot wells, if the fit, fine, if not, oh well, and the hull on the stern bottom appears to be thin on some. Oh, some complain about the scupper holes leaking. But, the scupper problem can happen with any SOT, partly because they are built in two halves and then “welded” together. The Quest may be a great kayak, but it doesn’t appear to be as popular…price?
Scupper holes …
Actually, roto molded boats are built as one piece, but the actual mold is in 2 halves (like a clam shell) - no post-mold welding going on.