Any thouthts on Native's Ultimate 12 "canak"?

Greetings....has anyone spent time in the Native Ultimate 12?  http://www.nativewatercraft.com/

BTW, this is not me.  (copyright http://www.chesapeake-angler.com/storyoct06-Ultimate12kayak.htm)


The hull is a hybrid canoe/kayak/pontoon design that seems very stable and pretty fast.  I don't know however how people feel about these kinds of boats (not self-bailing) in an ocean environment.  While most of my time will be in the lakes, I do intend to get out onto the puget sound ocassionally but kayak fishing is new to me.

Any thoughts appreciated.

The nice thing about a sit-on-top kayak with scupper holes is that if you do find yourself in a situation where you've fallen out of your boat and it has flipped over you simply flip it back over, climb aboard and you're good to go.  With a sit-inside kayak you can do a roll (if you know how).  However, with a canoe or kayak/conoe hybrid you don't have that luxury.  Your choices are to either have a buddy with another kayak to help you empty your boat on the water or you can climb back in and start bailing/paddling for shore.

With that in mind, why would you want a kayak/canoe hybird? Am I forgetting some benefit to canoes other than increased storage capacity?  I think on flat water or any place you'd normally take a canoe, you'd be fine.

Brian

I agree w/ B on this. Flat water should be fine.

Z

I don't like the lack of scupper holes for the reasons mentioned.

What about a hybrid design is it that people find appealing, other than it is different?  Same question bsteves had ...

-Allen

I don't like the lack of scupper holes for the reasons mentioned.

What about a hybrid design is it that people find appealing, other than it is different?  Same question bsteves had ...

-Allen

I don't find it appealing.. Not with the amount of water coming over the bow of my Yak today

I just got one, and I'll let you guys all know how it goes when I spend more time in it. So far I really like it. I can stand and paddle in it, and I stood and fired off a short cast with my fly rod while drifting through some slow water in the creek. Floor was a bit slick for standing in with my old worn down felt wading boots (I was wearing my breathable waders). But I'll get some grippier soles and should be fine. 

Sometimes my lower back bothers me (I do landscape maintenance and some landscaping...self employed) and I wanted a comfortable seat and paddling posture. The U-12 certainly has that.
 
I needed a cartopper for fly fishing from to replace my old sq stern canoe that I used in flat water. I had limited my selections to boats 50 lbs or less, as I do not want to lift or portage anything any heavier than that. That really cut down the selections available.
For example the Malibu Mini-X is light, looks like a fun boat, but looks slow to me.
The Wilderness Systems tarpons look sweet, but are over 63 lbs. 
I'm not sold on the OK Prowlers, for a few reasons I won't go into here now.

I'll be doing 8 to 12 mile round trips regularly to get to my favorite cutthroat water, and I need to be able to make some good time on my way back out, yet have something that can handle small rivers and creeks, as well as lakes. The reviews I read led me to conclude the U-12 was a decent compromise.
At 48 lbs with the seat removed, the U-12 is still portage-able for an old dog like me. Its mainly a day-tripper.

And I plan to eventually get a longer, ocean capable SOT once I am convinced my shoulders will hold up to all this paddling. ( I don't want to own two identical boats!) For bigger water, I will dolly a heavier boat to the water, or drag it over the sand, etc, but in rivers and creeks, I carry my boat over rocks when portaging.

My back felt better after a 9-mile paddle in the U-12 than it did before I left. With the comfortable (adjustable) seat and foot rests, I was never uncomfortable while seated and paddling it, even at the end of the trip. After emptying the boat and making one trip back to my truck with all the gear, I grabbed the rail of the emptied U-12 and slung it up on my shoulder to haul it back to my truck, no problem. I might get a dolly and use it on that particular trail, though, to make things even easier.

And last, having been a lifelong surfer until a few years ago, I've spent half my life in a wetsuit already, and don't want to have to wear one in a boat all the time. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

One more item. I can capsize a canoe in deep water, right it, shake a good deal of the water out of it, and get back into it and bail out most of the rest of the water. Anybody who canoes should learn how to do this.

I've never had to do this except while practicing, though. I've yet to capsize accidentally.