@KayakMac, we’re similar in size, weight and share an interest in the same boats. I started kayaking in rec boats. I’m 6 ft tall and approaching 72 yrs old this month. When I first started kayaking around 2000, I was around 255 lbs. The 140 Pungo was my first long boat. It served me well on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, but I needed an enclosed cockpit for open water trips.
The 125 Tsunami seemed like a good compromise with it 26 inch width. It proved as stable as the 28 inch wide Pungo but was more seaworthy. However, the short length made it climb and plunge when paddling into higher waves. At 255 lbs, I was overloading the 300 lb max capacity (the point where the boat is on the verge of flotation). A better estimate is using 60 to 66% of the maximum capacity for safe load calculation (180 lbs to 198 lbs total). With the 125 Tsunami riding deeper in the water, high waves from the rear quarters would slap occasionally on my kidneys.
I stepped up to the 145 Tsunami. The 24.5 inch width gave plenty of room in the cockpit, and it still felt as stable as the the Pungo. Although the 350 lb maximum capacity increased the safe load to between 210 - 231 lbs, I still overloaded the boat. The ability to handle conditions improved significantly when I dropped from 255 lbs to around 230 lbs.
By reducing my body weight, the 145 Tsunami now performs similar to the 175 Tsunami. I bought the 175 for harsher conditions - the 24 inch beam offers ample width without any change in stability; the cockpit is drier in heavy waves because it bridges the peaks; the 400 maximum capacity also increases the safe load to 240 - 265 lb; the increased waterline length give it about a .4 mph speed advantage on similar trips compared to the 145. However, the advantages of a longer waterline comes with a handicap - the extra weight of the longer boat displaces more water adding a slight drag penalty. Although the length helps with tracking in flat water, high winds and cross currents exert greater forces on the 3 feet of additional length. In the past, I resorted to using the rudder during about 20% of the trip. The drawback is that the rudder reduces speed by about .4 mph.
My preferred boat remains the 145, especially now that I’m 25 lbs lighter. I want to take the 175 out of mothballs but haven’t had a need, because the 145 now offers several advantages - the load waterline is now where it should be, consequently, it doesn’t take on water as easily as it did when I was heavier (equivalent to 3 gallons of water). That makes edging more effective, which negates the need for a rudder. The weight difference between the 145 (56 lbs) and 175 (68 lbs) is 12 lbs, so I’d rather not transport the additional weight with my worn out knees.
A word about rudders. My grand daughter is using a 12 ft x 21 inch SP Tsunami with rudder and has not deployed it. My other grand daughter uses a 140 Tsunami with rudder and hasn’t used it. My older sister has used her 140 Tsunami with rudder and has never used it. I’ve included these pictures in previous posts, but it shows typical conditions I encounter in 10 to 15 mph winds on the Bay. The wave picture is my 12 yr old grand daughter in a 12 ft SP Tsunami with her mother following in a 140 Pungo. The attached tracks for my 145 Tsunami were recorded under similar conditions. The red track shows the effectiveness of edging to stay on course, while the blue track relied only on straight paddling, with corrections using paddle strokes only.
