My hunk of junk kayak

[LowRange]

Didn't see a "post your ride" type topic. Anyway this the the thing I have been fishing out of when not in the boat. It's my 1st yak to test the waters and I really like the premise. I can head out for a few hours, drag it off the roof on the daily driver and do a bit of fishing in the local state park ponds, toss it back on the roof and head home. The kayak is an Asend DT10. At $400 it is a nice buy but the plastic is thin and flexible. Not something I care to stand up in. If you're looking for a cheap and stable fishing kayak then this one is worth considering. I've had it for almost 2 seasons and have grown to like fishing out of a kayak. I'll likely pick up a higher end yak down the road to replace it.



Chair is from an inflatable pontoon that I cut up. Fits nicely. The lack of a real chair is stock form is kinda crummy.



On the roof of the rice and oil burning daily driver.

[Brad in Texas]

Nice report!

And, it's likely best to start out this way with an inexpensive kayak, then try a few out when you are on the water with friends or at demos over several months or even a few years. You can't know what you don't know.

Three things you MUST determine, I think, take precedence over all other considerations: 1) Do you prefer to stand and fish? 2) Do you prefer to pedal or paddle or both? 3) How do you plan to get to the water? These three will eliminate a lot of choices, help you narrow things down, avoid buying mistakes.

For standing, there are several kayaks of both the pedal and paddle versions that will do the trick. Most will not. Yes, you can stand in them but where you are constantly in the process of balancing. Many claim their kayaks are stable enough to stand in. Get on the water and what you will see is most kayakers in their seats all day.

For pedal versus paddle, it will affect how you get to the water because the pedal yaks are almost always heavier, a bit more plastic rigidity for the drives . . . the drives themselves are moderately heavy. It was here I had my first "ah ha" moment after convincing myself I needed pedals, that they held position on the water better, were faster and fished better. Today, I'd greatly prefer the simplicity of a paddle kayak. No mechanical maintenance is a really big deal. And, I actually prefer to paddle over pedal. Old School.

For how you will get to the lake, the water, you can forget buying a Hobie PA 14 if you plan to car top. Yes, I suppose someone does it, but it is a chore. Here again, I'd prefer to not pull a trailer for a kayak. I use a truck with a bed extender. That'll still allow for a big kayak, but if you don't have a truck, be certain to find a vessel that makes it easy to get on the water.

There are likely thousands of motor boats that sit in garages, rarely used, that WOULD be used if they could wave a wand and the boats were magically floating in the water, after a day on the water, wave the wand a second time and it magically ends up back in the garage. But, it's the maintenance and the various grinds that keep an endless supply of boats, including kayaks, in the "for sale" column where it reads: "used only three times."

More ideas to share if others want to discuss it more in depth. Brad

[johns]

thanks for the post. I was looking at that model but didnt know if it was to small. My son has an ocean which is nice. You dont get wet and it handles the waves good. I bought my 2 grandsons job lot 12' sot fishing kayaks. They arent to bad either and weigh a little less. Weighing in around 200lbs I wasnt to sure if the 10' would be to small for me. I like the stadium seats that you can get on the ascend. Dont want to get to wet and want to be able to handle waves when the boats go by. Also the longer yaks seem to paddle faster and straighter. The 10' would fit in the back of my van with the door closed and since im getting a litte older lighter. thanks for any comments

[LowRange]

thanks for the post. I was looking at that model but didnt know if it was to small. My son has an ocean which is nice. You dont get wet and it handles the waves good. I bought my 2 grandsons job lot 12' sot fishing kayaks. They arent to bad either and weigh a little less. Weighing in around 200lbs I wasnt to sure if the 10' would be to small for me. I like the stadium seats that you can get on the ascend. Dont want to get to wet and want to be able to handle waves when the boats go by. Also the longer yaks seem to paddle faster and straighter. The 10' would fit in the back of my van with the door closed and since im getting a litte older lighter. thanks for any comments

The DT10 is 65 pounds and is easy to move around. I have no problems loading/unloading off the car. It is short but it is wide making it very stable. I was able to add the elevated seat with no problems to stability. It does not track all that well and takes some effort to get it moving. As a pond hopper it is great but I don't recommend it as something to trek miles in. It tracks too poorly and take too much effort to move for that application IMO.

[LowRange]

Nice report!

And, it's likely best to start out this way with an inexpensive kayak, then try a few out when you are on the water with friends or at demos over several months or even a few years. You can't know what you don't know.

Three things you MUST determine, I think, take precedence over all other considerations: 1) Do you prefer to stand and fish? 2) Do you prefer to pedal or paddle or both? 3) How do you plan to get to the water? These three will eliminate a lot of choices, help you narrow things down, avoid buying mistakes.

For standing, there are several kayaks of both the pedal and paddle versions that will do the trick. Most will not. Yes, you can stand in them but where you are constantly in the process of balancing. Many claim their kayaks are stable enough to stand in. Get on the water and what you will see is most kayakers in their seats all day.

For pedal versus paddle, it will affect how you get to the water because the pedal yaks are almost always heavier, a bit more plastic rigidity for the drives . . . the drives themselves are moderately heavy. It was here I had my first "ah ha" moment after convincing myself I needed pedals, that they held position on the water better, were faster and fished better. Today, I'd greatly prefer the simplicity of a paddle kayak. No mechanical maintenance is a really big deal. And, I actually prefer to paddle over pedal. Old School.

For how you will get to the lake, the water, you can forget buying a Hobie PA 14 if you plan to car top. Yes, I suppose someone does it, but it is a chore. Here again, I'd prefer to not pull a trailer for a kayak. I use a truck with a bed extender. That'll still allow for a big kayak, but if you don't have a truck, be certain to find a vessel that makes it easy to get on the water.

There are likely thousands of motor boats that sit in garages, rarely used, that WOULD be used if they could wave a wand and the boats were magically floating in the water, after a day on the water, wave the wand a second time and it magically ends up back in the garage. But, it's the maintenance and the various grinds that keep an endless supply of boats, including kayaks, in the "for sale" column where it reads: "used only three times."

More ideas to share if others want to discuss it more in depth. Brad

I kike this whole kayak fishing thing. When it comes time to upgrade I have some thinking to do. I'll likely trailer whatever bigger yak I get and car top the DT10. Not sure if I want a peddle drive or paddle. I think it will be determined by the bodies of water I fish and how far I have to go to reach the "hole". Currently I'm shoving the thing into very small electric only bodies of water and getting to fishing right away but that could change in the future.

[Brad in Texas]

You are "wide open" if you plan to trailer and back down ramps to float a kayak. Then, since size is no longer an issue, you have to decide whether you want to stand or not. If so, to be really stable, it cuts down choices quite a bit.

Pedal or paddle??? The Native Ultimate FX Propel looks like it'd do well in both cases owing to its slender width (for a fishing kayak) and pointed bow and stern.

But, there is nothing quite as "old school" as just going all paddle. No, for fishing paddle kayaks, you lose a little top end, but they glide better across the water, no greasing, less maintenance, weight, etc.

Agreed . . . after the 3 basics, it all depends on where you fish!

Brad

[LowRange]

Discovered a hole. I guess I shouldn't have been dragging it across the ramp. The concrete ground down the skeg and exposed a hole. I'm going to try patching it with JB Water Weld to get by for the rest of the season.

[Schlag]

Discovered a hole. I guess I shouldn't have been dragging it across the ramp. The concrete ground down the skeg and exposed a hole. I'm going to try patching it with JB Water Weld to get by for the rest of the season.

I've fixed a couple of kayaks in the past. Would recommend contacting the manufacturer and asking for a couple of pieces a scrap plastic. Jackson kayaks sells them on their website.

Purchase an 80w iron plastic welder from Harbor Freight.
https://www.harborfreight.com/80-Watt-I ... 60662.html

Once you get the plastic welded on the kayak, I would recommend covering the spot with West System G Flex 655-K epoxy. They recommend heating up the plastic before applying the epoxy. Not sure what stinks more, the melting plastic or the epoxy. Even if you upgrade to a better kayak, you'll still have a spare yak to take friends out on or sell it for a couple of hundred bucks.

[LowRange]

Thanks I'll give that a try. I've seen the colored plastic stock use for kayak repair but wasn't sure what to use as a iron.

[Houndfish]

Yea, a concrete or gravel ramp will eat through a kayak very quickly. A cart is a must unless you are willing to carry your yak from car to water. The "through the scupper hole" style of cart is cheap and pretty easy to dyi out of plumbing pipe. However, the scuppers are not meant to take any force so it is a risk, especially on yaks with thinner hulls. A cart like a C-Tug that cradles the hull is far safer and easier to use, as you can just float the yak on and off with no lifting required.

[LowRange]

I've started strapped a hand truck to it to prevent tearing up the skegg any further. As a temporary fix the JB Water Weld did make a water tight seal. Not bad stuff to keep around for an emergency considering that it adhears well and cures in water. The water weld is like a clay you knead and stick on but wear gloves.

[Slazmo]

Before trying to weld that hole up, get some stainless steel mesh / gauze to make a platform to build the plastic weld up over. Use a decent size soldering iron with a plastic welding tip and it'll do the job really well.

I picked up a $50 kayak over here and did a few cosmetic patch up jobs on some scrapes using some excess i trimmed off the side moulding and from drilling around the kayak and putting stuff on it.

Best thhinh i would suggest is finding zome machine grade slide plastic and form it over the skeg once fixed, the plastic will act as a buffer flr any future scraping - and will outlast PU due to its higher density & quality.

[JBcrankaddict]

Those kayaks aren't bad at all, a lot of guys using them around here. The plastic is a little thin, but will get you where you want to go. Pick up one of the cheap carts on Amazon or at Academy, and they make life a lot easier. They fold up and don't take up much space in the car which is a plus. I agree though, kayak fishing is a lot of fun, great exercise, and really puts you on some fish. I use my kayak more than my bass boat these days.

Fixing a hole is very simple, just need a heat gun or torch, and some HDPE plastic. 5 gallon buckets work well for repairs, though the color would be a tough match. A little mesh implanted in the area of the hole, and then you want to weld the plastic to the kayak. Lots of videos on YouTube that will give you some ideas. I've fixed a couple grooves the straps made on my Predator PDL, and there's no evidence of any repairs, looks good as new. If you don't want to go into that much work, try G-flex epoxy. That stuff is the real deal and works great for kayak repairs. Would still use the mesh, but the G-flex will hold up very well in the long run.

[LowRange]

Thanks for the mesh tip. That should make building up the plastic a lot eaiser. I was wondering how I was going to patch that hole