W/S Tarpon 120 Anyone use this boat in the surf or Depot bay?

Now that I am officially without a kayak, just sold the Axis 12.0.
I am looking for another new (not used) kayak for a specific purpose.
Criteria is12-14 foot 29 - 31 inches wide and SOT with one last thought; I'd sure like to see an under 70 pound kayak.
I weigh 210 and will use the boat to catch Rockfish and Lings. I have a Werner Camano in 240cm.
I do not want a peddle kayak.

The next I am looking into is the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120. Heroes On the Water just acquired three; they must be reasonably stable and capable or they wouldn't have made the choice to put Veterans on them.

Anyone use the Tarpon 120? Launched at Pacific City or Depot Bay?

Used to run a Tarpon 160.  Decent boat, good mounting options and paddled pretty well.  Not as good as an X-13 for example.

Friend had a Tarpon 120 and he managed to roll it all the time, but I think that was just his problem.  Remember, the shorter the boat, the less efficient it is and the more work you'll have to do to move it.

I run a 120 with no rudder. It's a good little boat; it's easy to load and is perfectly stable, but it tail walks like crazy when paddling against any tide or current.

I haven't surf launched it yet, but I've run it on the strait side of Neah Bay a number of times and was very comfortable in moderate swell/wind conditions. I wouldn't want to paddle more than 3-4 miles from the launch in one, though.

I went out at Pacific City a few times in my old Tarpon 120. I didn't have any problems, except that I felt it rode a little low in the water with all my gear loaded up (I'm ~170lbs). I know another guy who's paddled a 120 who is heavier than me and had no issues with the weight capacity.

I recently upgraded to a new Tarpon 140 because I wanted the higher weight capacity, new seat, new rails and hatches, and a little faster of a boat. I have no reservations about taking it out this year through the surf. It's about the same stability as the 120 was but feels better overall to me. I don't have a rudder on it yet and so far don't feel the need (we'll see if that changes).

If I didn't own a Tarpon 140 I'd own a Trident 13.

Have you considered the Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3?  This is a sick kayak with some great salty manners. 

LENGTH: 14' 1"
WIDTH: 29.1"
WEIGHT: 68 lbs
MAX CAPACITY: 325-350 lbs


http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/angler_kayaks/trident_ultra_4.3/

Very helpful folks!

I'm really not sure a 12' boat is appropriate, I'd like to go longer, but don't want the weight.

So far I've bought three kayaks and not settled on one. It is so hard to pick the right kayak. Well, maybe that's the wrong way to put it. It is difficult for me to pick a kayak I'm happy with; there, that makes more sense.

I'll be at the HOW Sturgeon event on the 25th. Maybe that will give me some good ideas. If I get real fortunate I'll visit with Alder Creek folks when they have their event on the 25th & 26th at Vancouver lake; not sure what they have that may be of interest, but I'll try to paddle a few; might be something that fits.

If I do not buy before, I'll looking forward to Next Adventures Demo Day, May 30th (yet to be formally announced). It will likely be at Sellwood Park like last year. Show up early and paddle anything that floats... LOL! Got to be one boat that will be the best for me.

Well, I'm buried with projects for the next few days getting ready for vacation.

Insayne, yes I've looked at the 4.3 and been very impressed; have not yet paddled one though, it is on the list...

Bill

NoYaks, just curious why you have a dead limit on weight?  Do you have to carry it a long ways, up several flights of stairs, no cart? 

I'm sure with all the crap I've glued and screwed down on my Revo, I've got a 90lb kayak now.  Then when everything else is attached for a day in the salt, it's gotta be closer to 130lbs.   

The weight issue came up when I tried to pull my Old Town Predator 13 up a (loose) gravel bar (when tired). After unloading the boat I still had 90+ pounds and instead of the cart riding over the gravel it dug in. I thought I was going to keel over from exhaustion ( hot day) by the time I made it up the 300 plus feet of gravel and this is a is a scupper cart with large, wide floating type, low pressure tires.

Later when I had to do the same feat in a 57 pound SINK, the Dagger Axis 12.0, I shoulder carried that boat with hardly any effort up the same beach. I know a SINK and a SOT are two different worlds. I also know I wont be able to shoulder carry a SOT. It is possible another scupper cart could be better. Or, another gravel bar could be easier.

To really confuse the issue for me; I've recently gone to a trailer to carry my boats so the problem may be lesser than my perceived concern, except to say I have Pacific City and Sunset Bay in mind and I know those are a pretty good distance from the parking area. As usual, going to the water is not a great concern, however after a day of fun to make it back to the trailer when tired is always an issue for an old guy. Seems when we get older we forget to quit before we get tired... meaning the return is always much harder than the entry... it is just a rule we live with - LOL!

I paddled canoes in the Bill Mason style (kneeling) for many years; my all time favorite canoe was an Navarro Osprey 16' in fiberglass/carbon fiber that weighed in at 46 pounds. I would love to have a capable, hybrid SOT that's 40-50 pounds, 13-14' long and 28-30" wide.

With that criteria in mind; I hope to test paddle the Eddyline Caribbean 14 at one of the up coming demo days; I like the specifications of the boat, but do not have any references to say if it is a good craft, or just a bunch of hype; not too many owners yet; is my guess. Imagine a 14' SOT that weighs in at just 50# and is a fast 29" wide, with a shiny and slick hull and a pointy bow... sounds great; we'll see...

Take a closer look at the Ocean Kayak Prowler and Trident series. All are about as salty as it gets when it comes to surf and rough water paddling. They are on the lighter side of things with the Prowler 13 Angler at 56# and the The Trident 13 at 67#: both have 400#-475# of capacity. The Trident Ultra 4.3 is 68# but a weight capacity of 325#-350#.

I feel you about heavy kayaks as I've been schlepping around an Adventure Island (102#) and Pro Angler 12 (123#) for the last year. I have a trailer for them but when you need to get to hard to access areas it can be tiring. I feel you as I'm actually looking for a much lighter kayak as well.

Thanks ZeeHawk,

The Prowler was not, but is now on my list; thanks for that, I thought they were lots heavier.

Prowlers are sweet boats

The Prowler 13 is a FANTASTIC boat! I have taken mine out in every type of conditions. 

I visited the Ocean Kayak Website and they are showing just two colors available for the Prowler 13 Angler and both are in camo.
Didn't think to mention it, but I'm leaning toward #1 Yellow, #2 Red and possibly #3 Mango like my past Dagger kayak.

I'll call Next Adventure in the morning to see if the boat is available in something besides camo.

YumYum Yellow,  it's what all the predators like

Instead of calling NA and asking them about available colors I called Ocean Kayak this morning to find the Prowler 13 is only available in the two camo colors of brown tones and gray tones as shown on thier Website.

The Trident 13 Angler does not show yellow on the Ocean Website. Customer support says yellow is available and one of the most popular colors for the Trident 13 and the Trident Ultra 4.3.

It may be just me, but I cannot see any reason to go into the ocean and try to hide from the fishes or SAR for that matter. Regretfully the Prowler 13 Angler is scratched off the list for that reason.