Trident 11 and 13

Any word as to whether OK might implement the flat foot wells in the Trident 15 as well?

Paddling the Big Game and Prowler 13, might biggest dislike in the 13 are the molded foot wells. 

I don't have an official answer for this, so will refrain from conjecture.  I'll ask and get back to you if I get an answer.  Sometimes the answer comes back "we don't know" or something similarly vague.

-Allen

Fishing is good and usually gets better as the year goes on, until it gets cold. Since it's hopper time, the fishing doesn't get much easier.

I'm busy the next couple of weekends (one long weekend on Lopez ) but should be free from the 23rd/24th on.

Any word as to whether OK might implement the flat foot wells in the Trident 15 as well?

the answer I got was no, the Trident 15 will continue to have the footwells. My Trident 13 and 11 showed up yesterday, so my son & I neglected duties to get a bit of paddling and fishing in.



To sum it up quickly, I'm impressed with both boats. I've always been a big Prowler 13 fan, so was hesitant on any changes to its design. Anyway, it felt just like my old boat, only with nifty new features, and my butt stayed a bit dryer. The 11 was fun as well. doesn't track as well as the 13, but more maneuverable. It's also much drier than our old Caper, and the larger stern well was nice. Aiden actually liked the 11 more than the 13 since it's easier for him to move around. that & he's stoked he can fit a milk crate in the back now. I'll be gone this weekend, but if anyone wants to check these boats out & go for a paddle, just drop me a line.

Brian

PS - if you're interested, you can see more pictures and stuff here:

http://www.alkasazi.com

OK ... I'll do a little bit of conjecture here, but this in no way represents the views of my sponsors (OK!).

When has OK ever changed any of the footwells on an existing design.  Not in the Prowlers, that's for sure.

Why is this?  It takes quite a bit of work to change an existing mold.  A mold needs to run enough units to re-coup the costs of it, so just designing a new one can be financially prohibitive.  Structurally, how the footwells are done is important.  Just getting rid of the molded footwells can have a drastic effect on the structural soundness of a given design.  Other parts of the design need to be modified to compensate for any structural changes that a mod to the footwell might introduce.  It starts becoming a bigger and bigger modification to the mold.  Sometimes a manufacturer will tweak a mold, especially if it affect manufacture-ability or addresses an issue of sorts.  But a footwell change is much bigger than a tweak.

BTW, a lot of people like the molded foot wells.  So there are 2 sides to the coin ... as usual.

-Allen

Slightly off topic, but I have a new (to me) P15 on the way. As this thread has attracted all of the resident OK experts, are there any particular traits or rigging tricks for the P15 I should know about?

even more off topic (well sorta)

 Allen mentioned structural considerations in keeping the footwells wrinkled. Heritage has a couple of kayaks with flat floors and I've seen 3 out of 4 (literally) that developed cracks at the point where the deck meets the gunwale.

Having both the OK Prowler 13 and Big Game, I'd say the grooved foot well set up makes more sense in warm water areas.  Not so good here in the balmy Pacific Northwest.  Lake fishing in the summer, I like to be able to go in just shorts and sandals, but in the Prowler I'm not going to be able to do that (bare feet sitting in 55 degree water all day is not fun).

Still, not a huge issue, just a suggestion.  I'd still love a Trident 15!