SHORE LAUNCHING AN OUTFITTER?

[SeaEagle_1]

hi there guys, i have been getting some invites to head down to la joya but i am a little apprehensive about shore launching my outfitter. i have an inflatable Sea Eagle that i started kayak fishing with and shore launching that is a breeze! but as the outfitter is a tandem all the weight is is in the back. so i am hoping someone has had some experience launching an outfitter.

[fishinkid2010]

Prior to the Revolution I have now, I fished from the Hobie Outfitter. Launching it from La Jolla was extremely easy, I little wet at times, but with its width I never felt like it would flip. I have found that having the weight in the back made it easier to come in through the surf. You've got way less of a chance of the nose pearling. If you use a bait tank and put it in the empty from seat like I did; be sure to empty the water out of it before you come in.


If you look really closely you can see my Outfitter and I going through the surf. (If you even want to call that surf)

[-scallywag-]

welcome to the redneck yacht club!!! seriously though the outfitter is an AWSOME boat for the surf/ocean...i have had two outfitters now for around 2 years and after owning a scupper pro (which i still use in the bays) the outfitters have taken me places most kayaks cannot go...like this past week for example....san diego was getting some 3-4ft 5-8second period waves that made getting in/out just about anywhere pretty ruff but in the outfitter, no problem, i even launched at big rock (south of wind'n'sea) a couple times...then there are the trips from lj to mission bay in the summer, or from shelter island to pt loma (i also made a PVC rack that goes in all 4 rod holders to bring along a longboard), i have even spent the night on the thing out in Pt.loma!!!

[-scallywag-]

The new pro angler don't have nuthin on us!!!

SURF LAUNCH TIPS: this is the easy part
1. tie everything down, especially stuff in the front seat
2. pull the yak into knee deep water and put in the drive fins, and strap them back in landing mode
3. Keep the rudder UP!!! use the paddle to steer while peddling through the surf. don't get sideways
4. dont panic and peddle to fast, your boat will handle even 4-5ft waves breaking right on your lap (D50 seen me do it last weekend!!), the only time ive lost stuff was from peddling to fast over a cresting wave only to launch of the top and come slamming down on the other side which catapulted a rod out of a holder.

TRAVELING:
1. Trim, these boats are back heavy so as soon as im clear of the break i will usually re-distribute as much of the weight to the front as possible, this will make the boat more level in the water and it will "glide" much better.
2. Profile, if i think wind is going to be a factor I will try to stay "low-profile" which simply mean i try to keep stuff from sticking up above the deck. Instear of one big cooler, I will use two smaller ones that sit about level with the bow (one for bait, the other for beverages) using a small cooler for a bait tank is easy cheap and very light, i just use a hand bilge pump to change the water every couple hours, and the extra weight up front also trims the boat out nicely and lowers the profile.

LANDING: fun time!!!!
1.Wait until you get just outside the break (15-20ft deep)) to tie down, this will give you a chance to get a feel for the sets while you tie down, remember that big sets usually come thu as much as 15min apart...this will give you a chance to see what ur up against.
2. Empty coolers/tanks. Stoe and tie down eveything...
3. You want as much weight to the rear as possible
4. Pull up the rudder, rudder down in the surf is always a bad idea (trust me!!)
5. 90% i also pull up the peddles and strap them down between my legs, the onlt time i leave them in is when the sets are huge and i need to speed thu the impact zone.
6. Confidence, your on a giant almost un-tippable boat. The ONLY way to spill is if you try to catch a large cresting wave and you get sideways on it while it is breaking, if you find your self on the steep face of a wave that is getting ready to break use the paddle as brakes to keep the nose pointed at shore, hopefully the wave will pass under you and then you can follow it in and the next wave will break behind you....
7. White Water, the main goal is to get thu the impact zone and catch a altready broken wave, at this point its all gravy (on an outfitter at least) even with the largest walls of white water (ive lost hats catching head high foam balls) just use the paddle as a brake to keep the nose going twards the shore, but even if you do get sideways lean into the wave and as long as your peddles are up you can ride it sideways all the way in, peddles down=flip.

All these tips are for large heavy surf which the LJ launch rarely sees, my point is that you have what is most likely the most capable ocean fishing kayak out there, which mean that you have the ability to launch and land places most people would not even think about...put in the time scowering your local beachs/ocean front and find your own little secret launch spot, then reap the rewards!!!! don't forget to post pics!!!

[SeaEagle_1]

hey guys thanks for all that info! i have had my outfitter for 2 yrs now and never new it was so good in shore launching. infact i always assumed that the weight in the rear was a liability. NICE TO LEARN OTHERWISE! and thanks SCALLYWAG for the detailed list from start to finish shore launching and landing. that really helped me a lot and gives me the confidence to try it!

FISHINKID - thanks for the post of LJ. nice to see that the surf is almost nonexistent. waves that small didn't worry me but more like the 4+ footers.

[wbrewski]

Doug, I think I am going down to LJ if the weather is good on the 14. Call me .