New ride finaly arrived

[SoCalEDC]

Welp, ordered her 10 months ago and I finally took delivery on 9/6.

Stealth Fisha 500
16'4" Long
26" wide
about 50#

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by SoCalEDC

Welp, ordered her 10 months ago and I finally took delivery on 9/6.

Stealth Fisha 500
16'4" Long
26" wide
about 50#

Wow, looks badass, all the way from Sth Africa! How much did that $et you back? I guess that is the more stable version of the Pro Fisha? Now you can launch off the beach on the no go days for the Hobies.

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Wow, looks badass, all the way from Sth Africa! How much did that $et you back? I guess that is the more stable version of the Pro Fisha? Now you can launch off the beach on the no go days for the Hobies.

You know your kayaks! Yep this one is supposed to have a lower center of gravity than the pro fisha resulting in a more stable ride.

The yak itself was around $3300 when it was all said and done. Only downside is that I can’t put anything longer than 7’8” in the hatch, so jig sticks gotta stay home if I plan to stow everything for a nasty launch. Then again, fishing with shorter rods beats not fishing cause of the conditions

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by SoCalEDC

You know your kayaks! Yep this one is supposed to have a lower center of gravity than the pro fisha resulting in a more stable ride.

The yak itself was around $3300 when it was all said and done. Only downside is that I can’t put anything longer than 7’8” in the hatch, so jig sticks gotta stay home if I plan to stow everything for a nasty launch. Then again, fishing with shorter rods beats not fishing cause of the conditions

I think the pro fisha probably has a very similar center of gravity, but because the fisha is wider, the righting moment is greater which increases stability for the same center of gravity. 7ft 8" is plenty long, and to be able to keep your gear completely protected from the elements is awesome! Congratulations!

[FISH11]

Congrats. It look BAD ASS! The price is lower than I expected. It also looks fast.

[Harry Hill]

That looks fast and tippy I wish I had the nerve to try something like that, congatulations

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

I think the pro fisha probably has a very similar center of gravity, but because the fisha is wider, the righting moment is greater which increases stability for the same center of gravity. 7ft 8" is plenty long, and to be able to keep your gear completely protected from the elements is awesome! Congratulations!

Thank! I cant wait to get her out, hopefully tomorrow.

Originally Posted by FISH11

Congrats. It look BAD ASS! The price is lower than I expected. It also looks fast.

Thank you! I thought it was pretty reasonable as well considering they're full fiber glass and hand built with a pretty intricate design with dual hulls (the fish hatch inside the main hull is a separate compartment, the live well between my legs is a separate compartment, and the dry storage behind the cockpit is a separate compartment), and even with a carbon fiber wing paddle, a lithium ion battery, and a new 7" ff, I am probably in it for less than 4500 bucks.

However if one were to opt for the same model in carbon fiber, that price will jump by about 2 grand .

Originally Posted by Harry Hill

That looks fast and tippy I wish I had the nerve to try something like that, congatulations

Thanks Harry.
These kayaks are surprisingly stable due to the cockpit position and the hull shape. Lots of rocker, and the paddlers butt/hips are actually below the waterline when in the seat.

[Salty]

It FINALLY came!!! Congrats! That thing looks absolutely insane.... love the colors too. Can't wait to see all the fish you get on it!

[the dude]

that thing looks like a rocket, let us know how it paddles!

[skrilla]

How many cup holders on that thing?

[BenCantrell]

Super stoked for you! Can't wait to see the reports!

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by Salty

It FINALLY came!!! Congrats! That thing looks absolutely insane.... love the colors too. Can't wait to see all the fish you get on it!

Thanks Eric!

Originally Posted by the dude

that thing looks like a rocket, let us know how it paddles!

Thanks, I took it out on Sunday morning for a couple of hours. Some of my first impressions from the paddle will be posted below.

Originally Posted by skrilla

How many cup holders on that thing?

1 less than 1

Originally Posted by BenCantrell

Super stoked for you! Can't wait to see the reports!

Thank you Ben!

[SoCalEDC]

Made it out Sunday morning with a buddy. We hit Newport due to the familiarity and the proximity of the launch (a little under an hour from home). First paddle review/observations (wall of text sorry guys)

The kayak is very light. Obviously given the actual weight its light, but it feels light, carries easily, and is over all a breeze to handle from the truck to the waters edge. I carried it down to the sand about 20 feet, set it gently down, loaded it up and dragged it using the "drag handle" thats the one that is clocked at about 45 degrees, and located halfway up the bow on the port side. Ergonomically this handle is positioned well. I was able to drag the kayak with my right hand about 50-60 feet across the sand full loaded (rods+reels, water bottle, tackle boxes, etc.) with no problems at all. The angle of the handle and positioning also allows the kayak to lay over at such a degree that the fixed rudder does not hang in the sand enough to add any notable resistance to the pull.

However, the rudder being fixed does make entering the kayak in shallow water a little more difficult and it can stick into the sand like a stake in water less than probably 8 or 10 inches. I pulled the ski out into knee deep water and swung a leg over to straddle the kayak and sit down. The angle and depth of the seat coupled with the ergonomic contour of the deck between the gunwale and the center hatch make for a very solid and stable position for paddling, although I scraped my leg on something on the outside face of the gunwale and slice it from knee to ankle when I pulled my leg up and into the kayak to sit down after straddling it. I dont know hat it was but I hve to find it because it was a pretty nasty slice.

As for the on the water feel, the kayak is absurdly stable due to the center of gravity. There is no space between the seat and the hull of the kayak, so the paddler is sitting with butt/hips below the water line. While this lends itself to a strong paddling position as mentioned above (think surf ski), and tons of stability, it does cause an issue if you take water over the side or get into the kayak wet because it does not drain. Before we left the harbor I practiced self rescue/re entry, getting back into the kayak wet left me sitting in water for the rest of the day. All of my previous kayaks had scuppers in the seat and were not so low that water wouldn't drain. Not the case with this one. It wasn't a big deal on Sunday because it was hot outside, but in the coming fall-spring months I am going to have to wear my paddling pants or wetsuit bottoms so I don't freeze sitting in a puddle.

The paddling and ride of the kayak was nice. The kayak is fairly narrow and I use a pretty short wing paddle (rpc3 full carbon fiber mid wing for anyone wondering), I had to shrink it from 218.5cm to 217cm because it was a little long, I still need to figure out where I like the length for my new seating position and kayak width tho. The kayak itself is capable of pretty fast speeds I was able to get it up to 6.4mph on the way out of the harbor, while I was trying to adjust the paddle to the proper length and testing it with sprints. I thin I can propel it faster once I adjust the rudder pedals so I can brace on them, and get used to the width of the kayak and where my stroke needs to be along side it. Open water was slower, but still relatively fast at about 3.5mph trolling a 140mm nomad rated to dive about 28 feet. These things create a ton of drag. Once I pulled it up to avoid the boats in the area I saw my speed bump up to about 4.5mph in open water without having to work too hard (but still more than a "cruise" I would compare it to "power walking or jogging pace", i.e. more effort than if I was just relaxing, but not a full out sprint, and it was pretty lumpy out there after about 10.

Overall I would say that based on the limited time I have in the seat thus far this is kayak is probably the most stable I have been in, easily the lightest and easiest to handle (although I am terrified I will have a mishap and drop the kayak and break something since its fiberglass rather than plastic). It is also the fastest.

Its not as feature rich as most of the kayaks on the market here. There are no gear tracks or H-rails or anywhere to even mount them, the entire deck is thin fiberglass and there are no trays or recesses built in, and the rod holders are narrow and many of the butt caps on y heavier conventional gear do not fit in the tubes, BUT it does have a (small) gravity fed bait-well built in to the deck in front of the paddler which I find to be optimal after having the bait tank behind me for the past couple of years. The hatch lid is rigid and stout enough to mount my fish finer to with no issues. It also has the large fish hatch/rod storage/paddle storage in front of the paddler, albeit a bit too short on this model for "long" rods (7'8" max), while the trident series kayaks I had would all accept 8' rods without an issue and seal up tight for surf launches, but those weighed significantly more and were made of plastic rather than fiberglass so they didnt perform as well on the water.

On my Hobie I couldn't put any rods inside while maintaining the ability to retrieve them by normal method (I tried a few times to no avail), but it had tons of pockets and trays and buckets in the hatches so that was cool and made organization pretty easy especially for fishing stuff like the harbor where one may want to fish with many different techniques on the same say.

All in all its a pretty rad fishing platform for trolling and bottom fishing, probably not ideal for bass fishing docks or any small bodies of water or rivers.

Thanks for reading!


BONUS: I got stopped 3 or 4 times by other people on the water to ask questions about the kayak and compliment me on it. That was pretty cool.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Congratulations on your maiden voyage, and appreciate the well-detailed critique. Sounds like a nice fast kayak! I hope that cut was not from the kayak? In Florida, it's too hot for a wetsuit, so sitting in water would get old pretty fast. I look at Stealth Kayaks as a rougher weather quick trip possibility. There is a Stealth rep not too far from where I live. I need to take the time to do some test uses of the various yaks he has in storage. Thanks.

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Congratulations on your maiden voyage, and appreciate the well-detailed critique. Sounds like a nice fast kayak! I hope that cut was not from the kayak? In Florida, it's too hot for a wetsuit, so sitting in water would get old pretty fast. I look at Stealth Kayaks as a rougher weather quick trip possibility. There is a Stealth rep not too far from where I live. I need to take the time to do some test uses of the various yaks he has in storage. Thanks.

Thanks for taking the time to read the post. I think the cut was from the handle or one of the fittings or something. I couldn't find anything shark or abrasive coming off of the kayak but it for sure happened as i was getting into the kayak as described. and other than water and sand there was nothing else that would have been able to cut me in that instance.

[BenCantrell]

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

Congratulations on your maiden voyage, and appreciate the well-detailed critique. Sounds like a nice fast kayak! I hope that cut was not from the kayak? In Florida, it's too hot for a wetsuit, so sitting in water would get old pretty fast. I look at Stealth Kayaks as a rougher weather quick trip possibility. There is a Stealth rep not too far from where I live. I need to take the time to do some test uses of the various yaks he has in storage. Thanks.

Let me know if you do. I'll make the drive down and join you!

[SoCalEDC]

Clocked 7.5mph per my garmin instinct watch on saturday morning. Paddling in the harbor, low traffic, no fishing gear so load was pretty light. I had my fish finder with me just for the speedo and gps and that registered 7.2mph as the fastest speed.

Both were recorded during a sprint. 4.5-5mph was a reasonable cruising speed with a good duration of glide when I stop paddling.

Height 5'10" weight 212# athletic build

full carbon RPC3 mid wing paddle set to about 218cm with a +15° feather

Still getting used to paddling a relatively narrow kayak i may have to shorten the paddle down to maybe 216 or 217cm and I need to find the right feather. I always mess with it on the water and after using that paddle for a year I cant ever remember exactly how I like it.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Stoke!

[Baja_Traveler]

I had a Pro Fisha some years ago - there used to be a dealer up in Sacramento. It was super fast, but not as stable as I would have liked. Nearly rolled it several times out off La Jolla when I was concentrating on fishing and not watching the swell. You reminded me of the skeg digging into the sand at launch and landing when shallow - definitely needs getting used to. I also hated the narrow foot wells on that boat, so narrow I could not wear deck shoes and was forced to wear neoprene booties or go barefoot. And oh yea, having a wet ass all day - remember it well. It looks like they still use that crazy over complicated double over strap to get into the hatch. If I always did surf launches it would have been an awesome boat besides the shortcomings, but traded it off for something more useful to me.

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by Baja_Traveler

I had a Pro Fisha some years ago - there used to be a dealer up in Sacramento. It was super fast, but not as stable as I would have liked. Nearly rolled it several times out off La Jolla when I was concentrating on fishing and not watching the swell. You reminded me of the skeg digging into the sand at launch and landing when shallow - definitely needs getting used to. I also hated the narrow foot wells on that boat, so narrow I could not wear deck shoes and was forced to wear neoprene booties or go barefoot. And oh yea, having a wet ass all day - remember it well. It looks like they still use that crazy over complicated double over strap to get into the hatch. If I always did surf launches it would have been an awesome boat besides the shortcomings, but traded it off for something more useful to me.

What is the point of this post?

Did you share something similar on the facebook thread regarding the fusion 480 when those came out?

I Vaguely remember the same complaints from someone who had previously owned a pf525 and posted about it there. I just assumed it was someone who had poor paddling/kayaking fundamentals and was probably too large for the kayak they were using.