What size kayak for the sound?

Hey all,

Been out a couple of times in a borrowed kayak and caught the bug pretty bad.  Wondering about the right size of kayak to get for fishing out in the sound?

I had narrowed my wants and desires list down and landed on the Ocean Kayak Trident series, and am having a hell of a time deciding between the 11 and 13.

Any insight on this would be much appreciated.

Get the one you're happier in.  I have an Elie Gulf 12 paddle boat and a Native Propel 13 and they both do fine. 

Jim

My wife and I have two Trident 11's and two T-13's. To tell the truth, I forget which one I am in sometimes but we have used the 13's for salt water mostly and the 11's for fresh water. One thing nice about the 13's is the little hatch for the fish finder that the 11 does not have. I'm aware of a couple of guys on the forum here who use T-11's in the ocean with no problem.

I'll most likely be going the 2017 model which looks like they have identical spots for the transducer/finder if I am looking at things right (looks like they got rid of the flip-up shield thing).  The 13 does have a track up there the 11 does not however...

Mine are older now and I'm not up to date. It looks like they made a number of changes.

I have a Trident 11 and IMHO it's not the better of the two - but only because it takes more effort to keep it on track than a longer kayak requires.  Other than keeping it on track - which is pretty common with all short-ish kayaks - it's great in the ocean, even in sporty conditions.  YMMV.

Don't be a Tinker!  Don't look at the different features but pay attention to the differences between the two hulls.  You really need to try both on the same day and get a feel for how each handles and tracks with you in it.

If you test them and can't tell a difference between the two, that's when the features attached to each hull get to be important to making a decision.  You can add all kinds of bling and things to a kayak, but there's not a lot you can do to improve how it paddles.

Second the demo idea. That said go with the 13. It's still smallish and maneuverable but there is more room If you want to use it to camp or anything like that. The longer hull is really nice when on the water but heavier and requires more thought for storage.

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Really good point about the extra space.  I never think about that.

My suggestion:  12-14 feet.

Don't forget to take into account your own weight plus that of your gear, plus  that of potential catch.  Have seen too many who get the smallest thing they can find just to discover the weight limit is too low. 

my first kayak was a manta ray 11.  I love it, thought it was the bomb. very stable, and as far as i knew, paddled well. Until i bought a WS Tarpon 120. Its night and day. Can easily paddle twice as fast as the manta ray, and tracks so much better. that is, it actually tracks. The manta ray's bow just swings back and forth...I would second the 12-14 ft recommendation. Only thing on a larger kayak to consider, is if you're going to putting up on top of a tall vehicle by yourself. Even my tarpon takes a little finessing by myself on top of my ranger, and im 6'2". 14 ft yak up on top of a full sized truck.....Id need help

The 12-14 foot length will also start getting you into true ocean going yaks, tho I know we have a few very experienced members here who make very good use of a 12-13 footer on the surf of PC and a few other places. Matter of fact, kardinal84, and I think wetwhopper, both used, a mini x  on the big water when they first started. 

If you look at the Wanted section, you'll notice Tinker is looking for a 13 footer, and there have been a lot of used 13-14 foot Hobies passing across the forum this past year.  All of them in the range I mentioned,  so that should tell you plenty about the versatility. 

Get the 13 the 11 doesn't track as well. Trident 13 is one of the best saltwater paddle kayaks on the market. 

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Get the 13 the 11 doesn't track as well. Trident 13 is one of the best saltwater paddle kayaks on the market. 

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+1 What he said. /\

Get the 13 the 11 doesn't track as well. Trident 13 is one of the best saltwater paddle kayaks on the market. 

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+1 What he said. /\

And hence I'm searching for one.  Pre-2017.

Having fished the California open water areas, I can say the longer hull will allow you glide more, and require less effort, and in the chop can be a little more stable.  Each has its pro's and con's.  A longer hulled boat will track better when trolling. Both boats will want t6o pull to the side you are trolling off of, but the longer one should be easier to counter with either a rudder or good paddling skills.  I never saw too many salt water users down here use a short boat in big blue.