Ride 135

[goldenglory18]

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.

[Amish Ed]

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.

[Dave Legacy]

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!

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

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.

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

[goldenglory18]

Originally Posted by Harry Hill

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......

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

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.

[goldenglory18]

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

Thanks for the info!

[Amish Ed]

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.

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Amish Ed

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.

[OEX]

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.