1st Kayak, big and tall

[Mike MLM]

I'm 6'6 and 250 and buying my first kayak. I've read several posts on similar topics but would like input specific to my needs.

 

I have a reservoir down the road that is my primary fishing spot. I need a kayak I can throw in the truck bed with an extender and carry or wheel @ 100 yards to launch. I'd like to keep my spend under 2K, closer to 1k preferably. Padding is fine, I can use the exercise.

 

Nothing in the used market stands out at the moment, a $1200 Jackson big rig came and went in less than an hour. I'm considering buying a new Old Town Sportsman 120 or FeelFree Lure 11.5. With my circumstances, anyone have other options that may be better?

[Dens228]

With you being 6'6 I'd think the bigger the kayak the better. Or a complete open deck. 

You may want to look into the SS127 or a Nucanoe also. 

[Mike MLM]

Update, a used WS 115 was just posted for sale for $1000. This or new OT, FF, Nucanoe, SS127?

[michaelb]

At $1000, that hardly seems like a good deal, unless basically new. Given your height, I would really prefer to see you in a boat over 12', even though the shorter boats are better in your truck bed, I think you can still make 12 or longer foot boats work there with the extender. So the 115 is just a bit short to me. For Wilderness, the Recon 120 is a big big boat at 38" wide. Given your price, you can pick the best paddle options. The big rig is on sale at austin kayak?

 

https://www.austinkayak.com/Wilderness-Systems-ATAK-140-Kayak/ACK22229P.html

[Mike MLM]

ATAK 140 in my cart, added the rudder option for $269+ $199 shipping. Comes up to $1667 + tax delivered.

 

Is 14' pushing it for a F150 with 5 1/2' short bed and extender? I see they have the Nucanoe's as well in my price range.

 

Opinions most welcome. 

 

 

[Dumbbassanglr]

I’m not a big guy (6’ 200lbs) but the kayak I have is supposedly made for big guys, it’s a perception outlaw 11.5. The seat is super wide.

[Dens228]

I have a Bonafide SS127, more stable than most, some say it's a pain to paddle. I have a Bixby motor but no issues paddling either.   I have mine in a 6 foot bed with an extender, no issues, a 5 foot bed shouldn't be a problem. 

I have friends with Nucanoe's.  Probably even more stable than mine but they are WIDE and even they say they wouldn't want to paddle it all day fishing.  I also agree that you should get a 12 foot minimum.  

[Fishingmickey]

You'll have more hanging out then hanging in.  If you go with the ATAK14.   I'd think about a bed rack and put it on top.  At 95lbs it might be tough to get it up on top without devising a system to do it. 

FM

[Boomstick]

18 minutes ago, Mike MLM said:

ATAK 140 in my cart, added the rudder option for $269+ $199 shipping. Comes up to $1667 + tax delivered.

 

Is 14' pushing it for a F150 with 5 1/2' short bed and extender? I see they have the Nucanoe's as well in my price range.

 

Opinions most welcome. 

 

 

I think you should be okay. I have a 6.5' bed and I can fit a 12' kayak in the back without a bed extender, either with the tailgate open or simply propping it over the tailgate. You might want to look at a rack that you but in front of the bed that lets you put the kayak in the bed and on top of your roof as well.

 

The ATAK 140 is one of the three I would suggest for a bigger person along with the Bonafide SS127 and the Old Town Sportsman as well. I have the SS127 myself.

[Mike MLM]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I think @ 12' is my sweet spot. If it you were in my shoes would you go SS127, OT Sportsman 120 or Nucanoe Frontier 12? Again, advice most appreciated.

[michaelb]

How big is this reservoir and how far to fish are you paddling? I like all those boats. My guess is that the SS127 would paddle the "best" out of that bunch, meaning go farther/faster, and the reviews and descriptions over the years describe it as very stable. The nucanoe is a really unique boat in terms of design, and at 41" wide it seems like that would be super stable. It may be that the OT is the smallest of the three boats (and is still a big stable kayak)?

[Mike MLM]

A small reservoir. Paddling efficiency not a big concern. Stability and transportability are 1 and 2 on my list. I have an OT dealer pretty close by. Going to see if I can get a demo before deciding. No option to demo the Nucanoe or SS127.

[Boomstick]

57 minutes ago, Mike MLM said:

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I think @ 12' is my sweet spot. If it you were in my shoes would you go SS127, OT Sportsman 120 or Nucanoe Frontier 12? Again, advice most appreciated.

I have direct experience with the Topwater 120 (Sportsman with a different seat) which my youngest son has and the SS127 (my personal kayak). I outweigh you and I have no issue standing in either kayak.

 

The Sportsman 120 is a great buy for the price. It's almost as stable as the SS127, but the way it sits on the water it rocks you in choppy water less than the SS127. And it comes well equipped off the bat, three rod holders - one is designed to hold your rod when you change baits but you can't paddle with it. Add an anchor trolley, a Blackpak or Wilderness Systems kayak crate and it's ready to fish! If you go this route and add a fish finder, I saw a pretty cool mod someone did on Youtube where they made they own side handle and mounted their fish finder right on the handle on the side of their seat.

 

The SS127 is probably harder to flip, but the rudder or at the very least the flex wings are an absolute requirement otherwise a little wind will blow you all over the lake. If you don't put a motor or power pole on the back, go for the rudder which is an aftermarket part (you will want the one made by YakAttack, there's some cheaper ones but they're not nearly as good). The best thing about it is the customizations you can do with it, but of course that means you're spending extra time and money to get it how you like it too so there's a trade off. The center mounded dry pod lets me comfortably run a 9" fish finder without getting in the way at all and places it dead center in front of me and when I'm done, I take my dry pod and lock it in my truck. The seat in the low position is maybe slightly higher than the Sportsman seat in high, but the SS127 seat in high position sits you really high. I usually use the low position because I cannot find a paddle long enough for the high position, I would want at least 280cm but I think more like 300cm would be ideal. 250cm works perfect in low (I'm 6'3").

[Mike MLM]

Wow, thanks for the detailed response. I'm going to demo the OT Sportsman 120 on Wednesday. They also have a demo unit Sportsman 132 Big Water from last season for close to the same price as the 120. going to demo that as well. 

 

From what I've read the 132 is the same as the 13' Predator. I like the idea of getting a more expensive boat for a discount but I saw some conflicting reviews knocking the stability of the predator compared to the 120. Looking forward to demoing each. If anyone has opinions on the better choice between the 120/132 in my situation I'm all ears. 

[Allen Der]

1 hour ago, Mike MLM said:

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I think @ 12' is my sweet spot. If it you were in my shoes would you go SS127, OT Sportsman 120 or Nucanoe Frontier 12? Again, advice most appreciated.

call your local dealers and see what they actually have available.   If they dont have a specific boat in stock you'll be waiting until the fall to get it.

[Mike MLM]

Great advice. My dealer has 2 120s.  in stock with no ETA for additional. I put a refundable deposit on 1 to hold until Wednesday 

[Boomstick]

10 hours ago, Mike MLM said:

From what I've read the 132 is the same as the 13' Predator.

I don't think that's right. Typically the Sportsman has a flatter hull design which makes it extremely stable where the Predator is specifically designed to sacrifice some of the stability for extra speed. It's possible the 132 is different, but I'm pretty sure it shares the Sportsman hull design, and as a big guy myself I prefer that.

 

I believe it does share some of the features of the Predator, which is a slightly more upscale model.

[Allen Der]

2 hours ago, Boomstick said:

I don't think that's right. Typically the Sportsman has a flatter hull design which makes it extremely stable where the Predator is specifically designed to sacrifice some of the stability for extra speed. It's possible the 132 is different, but I'm pretty sure it shares the Sportsman hull design, and as a big guy myself I prefer that.

 

I believe it does share some of the features of the Predator, which is a slightly more upscale model.

old town rebranded all of their fishing kayaks to "sportsman".  predator 13/sportsman big water 132 hull is different than the topwater/sportsman 120.  there's also a solo canoe under the sportsman name

[Bluebasser86]

I've got a Sportsman 120 PDL. I've been very happy with. It's very stable and handles rough water way better than my last kayak. I've paddled it a little bit along with the peddles and it paddles pretty easily. I'm significantly smaller but I bring a lot of gear also and have never felt overloaded in the least bit. 

[VolFan]

I have a Nucanoe Frontier 12.  I am also not your size but that boat paddles better with 3-400ls in it. It’s like a mini bass boat and really ridiculously stable. You will fall out before you turtle it.  You do give up some paddling speed, but properly load balanced with your seat set correctly you can paddle all day.

[Boomstick]

9 hours ago, Allen Der said:

old town rebranded all of their fishing kayaks to "sportsman".  predator 13/sportsman big water 132 hull is different than the topwater/sportsman 120.  there's also a solo canoe under the sportsman name

Oh I didn't realize that the Predator was included in the rebranding.

[Allen Der]

2 hours ago, Boomstick said:

Oh I didn't realize that the Predator was included in the rebranding.

 

[Mike MLM]

On 4/20/2021 at 6:24 AM, VolFan said:

I have a Nucanoe Frontier 12.  I am also not your size but that boat paddles better with 3-400ls in it. It’s like a mini bass boat and really ridiculously stable. You will fall out before you turtle it.  You do give up some paddling speed, but properly load balanced with your seat set correctly you can paddle all day.

This is a tempting option, I like the idea of having

Thanks for the advice folks, I took a Sportsman 120 for a spin today and it was a great fit, very comfortable and stable. It's home and in the garage, looking forward to getting off the bank this weekend.

3 minutes ago, Mike MLM said:

This is a tempting option, I like the idea of having

Thanks for the advice folks, I took a Sportsman 120 for a spin today and it was a great fit, very comfortable and stable. It's home and in the garage, looking forward to getting off the bank this weekend.

Had a little issue here with merging replies. Thanks all.