New kayak on the block...

[peguinpower]

Posted January 13, 2008 08:33 PM I went out with the Phoenix 160 today. Did 7.5 miles. I didnt like my 210 cm BB splice paddle. Too short. Tried my Hobie 230 cm paddle, a little better. Then settled on a 230cm Harmony touring paddle with long narrow blades. It made all the difference. Caught a calico bass and some cuda. Fishing was slow, but I was glad to be out for the paddle. This is only my second time out since early December 2007. Swells were huge today. I dont know if youve heard, over at Mavericks, the surf was peaking at 70 feet. At Venice beach, I saw a few good ones, easily 10 feet. I did a harbor launch With the new paddle, it was effortless to cruise at 3.2-3.6 mph (GPS used). Paddling at a good clip, I could cruise at 4.2 mph for 30 or so minutes. That took some effort, but it nice to know I can chug along at a good clip if I needed to. The hull hits a wall at a little over 5.1 mph (or maybe its me). The amount of energy to cruise at 5.6 mph is not something I can sustain for more that 5 minutes without pain. I am pleasantly surprised that I can cruise at the same speed as my Hobie Revolution with minimum effort. After a year of owning the Revo, my average speed has been 3.2 mph in varying conditions (open ocean, windy, choppy and harbors). After my basic mods, the Phoenix was a pleasure to fish in. All I need now is another eyelet inside the cockpit to attach my leash for the "rod in hand". I did have a "whoops" moment. I wasnt actually close to falling in, but after a drastic manuever to reach for something in my tank well, well suffice it to say I will be more careful in reaching over there from hereon. Rough water handling was superb. Despite relatively huge swells, waves did not wash over my bow. I did catch one wave which broke broad side. My seat got soaked But I was still pretty impressed at how the Phoenix handled in semi-rough water. A surprising trait of the hull is that it occasionally lands with a thud after a wave. The sound and sensation is similar to when a light PB lands back in the water. "pubh!" I found myself looking back to my trolling rod, just in case something hit it until I realized it was the kayak. In the end, Ive got to say, I like this plastic tub. Despite it lacking fishing accoutrements, I 'm glad I own it. Is it fast, YES IT IS. And what good is that you may ask? My intention is to be able to fish farther with a casual effort. Middle age, you start to question whether you can get back to the launch (sometimes) I sure I can confidently launch out of the hand launch in Redondo and fish the kelp beds 4 miles south and back with a casual effort. Maybe, I'll even make it to Cabrillo from Redondo someday. I guess I cant really figure a 1 mph speed advantage by feel alone. The GPS told the tale. Cruising at 3.2 mph with a healthy heart rate on the Hobie Revolution is effortless on the Phoenix. That very day, my friend in a Hobie Outback went back into the harbor a good 15 minutes before I did. When I did paddle in, I was looking at him and talking to him on the radio. For I minute, I really thought he was stopped as I was getting to him pretty fast. I blew past him and had to wait for him on the inside (which is when one of the outrigger canoe blew past me too ) I cant wait to take it for an even longer trip. /bing