Ride 135
 

Anybody out there have experience with the Wilderness Systems Ride 135? I need a yak that will support my ample length and girth. I'm 6'2" 325lbs. Also, the yak needs wide footwells. My Trident 13 is just too small, both in capacity and the footwells are too narrow. The ride seems to fit my needs, but i've never talked to anyone that's actually used one.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ad.php?t=30343

This guy is selling.

BTW, have you ever considered using a longer kayak, like the trident 15? It might be a better ride especially with the seat upgrade.

Longer won't solve the capacity issue and the footwells in most yaks now days are too narrow for me. My feet angle outwards pretty severely and forcing them parallel hurts after as while.

As far as the one in the link, I want to go new. More so I want the slidetrax.

I've paddled the last two generations of the Ride 135 and LOVED them.

Super stable, and fantastic stability in choppy lake conditions (a windy Lake Havasu can get NASTY.) I can't speak of their capabilities in the salt, but for just about any lake condition, its almost unmatched (Hobie PA still gets my #1 vote.) The only real gripe I have about the new model of the boat is it's a wind sail on flat water. You really do NEED a rudder and anchor/drift chute rig with this boat if its at all breezy.

The other "larger paddler" boat I can think of is the Old Town Predator. We used that boat as our "Big Man" boat for the AZ chapter of HOW. Not exactly the most nimble or quick boat, but for a paddler your size and wanting a more open cockpit, it might be worth looking into.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions on the Ride.

Great input, thank you. If I go with the ride I will definitely be getting a rudder. Based on your suggestion, a new drift shute too. I just looked at the predator and it's out of my price range. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Btw, I like how you've handled the whole blem thread. I hope it all works out for you.

The Ocean Kayak Big Game 2 is claimed to be rated to 600# and looks to have a fairly nice seat. Little shorter and a little wider than the Ride 135. Probably not very fast!

I see. Well shoot, go with a PA then I say if you want some leg room. :D

Thanks, I appreciate it. :cheers1:

The Pro Angler is still the best boat in all of Kayaklandia. BUT, if you can't afford the entry fee, or need to throw the boat on a roof and don't have the ability to store a trailer then the PA is not an option for a lot of people. It's a bummer for sure as I've seen first hand just how capable those boats can be. I'd LOVE to have one out here in these waters...

Ed, I think the radar is the same size and you can upgrade to peddles later if you want to. Brent from BWE tells me the ride handles the surf fine and the radar is similar

Does the Radar have the same Pontoon style hull (I haven't looked into it yet)? That's the secret sauce of the Ride series and why its so bloody stable......

yes, I believe it is the same hull or an improvement, looks almost like a tri hull underneath, long keel and pontoons on both sides. I have pretty much decided I will go with the radar 135. When I do therapy I spend a lot of time on the recumbent bike so I like the peddles.

Thats awesome. Something to look into for my eventual next boat.....

Thanks for the info!

Radar is out of my price range. Plus it has abeach chair seat. Not a fan of those. Going to test paddle the ride on Friday. Hopefully all goes well.

I don't like a wet seat so the beach chair works good for me. The radar is $400 more than the ride but I think it will be worth it to me. I don't like that there is no rod tip protection though. The Pescador Pilot actually looks better to me but I don't know how it is to paddle and I know the radar is designed to paddle and then add peddles to it later.

Hope the Ride works for you. We have one in MB shop, Midnight. There are not a lot of options out there with a regular clip in style seat. We have the Radar here but probably not a good choice for your size as the seat sits up a little higher. Other option would be an XFactor.

Going to Andy's on Fri to check one out. Radar is out due to the chair. Xfactor is out due to the narrow footwells. Thanks though.

I hated the narrow footwells in the Malibu yaks I've owned, and the boats were so wide that it was almost uncomfortable to hang my feet over the sides. The kraken I owned had narrow footwells as well but the boat was narrower so hanging the feet over the sides was comfortable. That Ride 135 doesn't look to have wider footwells from their picture, but hope it works out. At least it seems narrow enough to hang your feet over the sides comfortably when you need relief from the footwells.

I have a 2013 Ride 135 and love it out on the Big Water. I have borrowed my NorCal friends 2012 ride 135 for some NCKA tourneys on the Sonoma coast and loved the stability. So, I picked up a 2013 model. I have had it out in 11ft swells(which suck!)and it did fine. The rudder is a must, because of the pontoon style hull it is hard to turn in the swells, current and wind. Also, when I have used my buddy's (which doesn't have a rudder) up north trolling for salmon the drag from trolling the bait, flasher and deep six made me have to paddle on one side to keep from going in a circle. The higher profile does catch the wind too. I bought mine for the stability as I was 250lbs when I got it and everything else was too unstable for me when conditions got bad. I have since changed my diet and lost 50lbs. in the last 6 months. I like my Jackson Cuda 14 for freshwater and bay fishing, but don't like sitting up that high out in the chop. PM if you have any questions.

I want to hear more about the diet to lose 50lbs in 6 months :you_rock:

Thanks for the input. I tested a 2014 today and liked it a lot. Going to get it, with the rudder, as soon as I sell my Trident 13.

I lost 140lbs in six months once, it was called a divorce.

Now that's good for your health, pocket book and gives you a lot more time to go kayak fishing. Ha ha ha ha..........