re: Researching Kayaks is harder than researching a car.

I haven't yet demoed one. I have been on a hobie pro angler with mirage drive. I really liked it. People say you just flutter the pedals to hold the fins close. I saw a guy marooned on a mud flat in one. he got off and had to get in the mud.

I don't think it is 100% effective. Think you need to pull the drive in a slayer and a hobie when going real shallow.

It came down to Slayer 12 and Ride 115 Max. I have to say though, the Tarpons are nice and if I knew for sure I'd never want to stand, I would have left with one. Final decision came down to the fact that I just don't use in-hull storage and I liked the design of the Slayer hull a bit better than the pontoonish design of the Ride. Also, Native now installs flush mount rod holders and the paddle clips come with it. Still not sure how I will stow the paddle because my preferred way is the bungee deal. That really isn't a good option here. I may try the tackle holders since i will not be using those for a plano box.

Anyway. Pics? It's just a normal looking Slayer 12 in Grey Storm. I took a quick pic in the bed of the truck, then drove from Shreve to Kincaid. I wanted to paddle right away. I then paddled from Tunk's to a friend's house. I took a pic of him standing in it. Got home late and stowed it.

The truck pic shows the color more accurately.



So, paddling was very different from the 14.5. Some good, some not so good. It's way more nimble and responsive. Better acceleration. OTOH, it does want to rock a bit(node back and forth), but that may be my form. Once up to speed, the 14.5 is a tiny bit better experience, but I'll take the 12 all day long considering my uses for a yak. I doubt I list it for sale before Fall.

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Oh, and I need to figure which plugs to remove since leaving them all in defeats the purpose of having a SOT

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I would just pull them as needed to drain water but leave all of them in.

VERY nice kayak. I love the grey storm color.

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I doubt I list it for sale before Fall.

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I got dibs

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For holding my paddle I have one of the cam clamps on the front gear track, and one on the rear and just use that to hold it in place.

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Now that I have flush mounts and will not have to use the rear rail for a rod holder, that may be my best option. I bought one of those yak attack roller ones. I think they are a better design than the Native.

You're probably right, sometimes when I pull my paddle out the Native cam holders they don't flip "open" so when I go to put the paddle back I have to reach back and open them up. Not a big deal but can be more of a pain in the arse than it should be.

Slayer 14.5 and a Cuda 14 Illuminati.

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Cuda 14 Illuminati

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WUUUUUT

Even better, I put 30'+ of LED strips inside the hull so now it looks like this. I don't think anyone can use the "I didn't see you" excuse.

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I bought one of those yak attack roller ones.

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To hold the paddle in my Propel, I bought two of the roller holders but I found that storing the paddle parallel with the boat blocked either the rod holder next to the seat or the rudder control. As a solution, I only use one roller positioned in front of the rod holder, stick the front of the paddle under the bungees, and angle it so it clips in the roller. I bought the cover for the front hatch so it slides in/out easily.

I haven't needed to remove a scupper plug yet to drain water. I guess that's because I don't paddle much.

Thats a good looking kayak. Here's a tip for Propel owners-take the time to replace the cover that goes around the Propel drive if you remove it while fishing. The gap, even with the Propel drive in place, is the perfect escape route for a fish that gets loose in the kayak.