Native Ultimate FX 12?

[Bill B.]

While we're talking about solo watercraft, has anyone here had a chance to fish from an Ultimate FX 12? If so, what did you think?

[timinmo]

Bill I have an original Ultimate 12.  The FX looks like a nice improvement.  My only complaints with the original is getting in and out, at 62 I am not as nimble as I once was.

 

[Bill B.]

That's why I'm interested in the Ultimate FX. My canoe is murder on my knees. I also have a couple of SOT kayaks, which are easier on the knees, but are kind of awkward to fish out of, I think.

[Kcdude-24]

Curious about this as well.  I am just looking to get in to a kayak/canoe to extend my wading options.  I like to fish mostly streams (Niangua, Current, etc) but am usually in some rental canoe.  My problem is that at 6'2" and 265lb it is tough to find something in the style, length and weight I want.  I usually travel light, couple of rods, little tackle, cooler.  I am also going to put it on my SUV rack and the FX15 just seems way to big to load and maneuver.  

Any of you similar size or able to comment on others that have used a FX12?  Maybe a Slayer 12 is a better option with the larger 400lb capacity.

[Moswimb8slinger]

Check out Nucanoe. Its a sit on top style kayak, elevated seating (and 360° swivel), and wide open deck for all types of rigging.

OEO stocks the Diablo Paddlesports Amigo that can be purchased with the "Larry Chair". But it's weight and highly defined belly rocker may penalize it on the river.

[Al Agnew]

Funny how different seating arrangements affect different people.  I far prefer the seat in a canoe that allows you to sit more like you're in a chair.  However, this might be because I raise the seat in all my canoes.  The slight difference in stability of sitting in  the higher seat is more than compensated for by the comfort level and ability to see better while fishing...plus it makes it easier to get my battery box lure container under the seat! After canoeing for 50 years I'm not bothered by a slightly wobbly feeling of sitting up higher.  

Everybody probably knows that I'm not a fan of kayaks for fishing, compared to canoes.  However, lots of people love them.  I simply don't like the extra weight, and the decreased storage area of kayaks and the hybrid craft like the Nucanoes.  Holy crap, the Nucanoe fishing designs weigh 80 pounds, and the design makes lifting the thing above your head to put it on a vehicle a lot more difficult than a canoe even if it didn't weigh that much.

I guess I'm just too old and set in my ways.

[Bill B.]

An elevated seat helps a lot. That's one of the reasons I'm interested in the FX--hi/low seat positions. The FX weighs about 55 pounds, which is a bit on the heavy side, so I'm also considering another solo canoe, at least for stream fishing. The Wenonah and Bell fiberglass/Kevlar hybrids look interesting.

Al, have you ever paddled the Royalex Bell Wildfire/Yellowstone?

[timinmo]

 

Without weighting it I think my Ultimate is 50lb with the seat out.  I also have a Vagabond and it is lighter, I think about 40 or 43 pounds.  I did not mean to gloss over the getting in and out part as the seat in my Ultimate it is awkward at the very least. Once seated it fishes very well and I can have multiple rods within easy reach, it paddles fine and probably tracks as well as any 12ft craft.  The seat is more comfortable than most chairs and the foot pegs are great  While I love paddling the Vagabond the stability is a issue for me.  Storage in the Ultimate is fine and we have used it and the Vagabond on overnites without having to limit ourselves.  My choice of the Ultimate had a lot to do with weight as I wanted to be able to go by myself.  I also did not want to deal with a trailer as many of the spots I go to have no ramp and the trailer just complicates things.  While the Ultimate is a long way from perfect it is the choice I made and one that I am not sorry about.  It will carry alot more than sit on tops and weights less than most of them.  I would like to think with the higher seat getting in and out would be easier but I have not tried one of the new ones.

On another note we have also been discussing fiberglass as a canoe material and I have had a fiberglass Madriver Explorer for decades.  Nothing is perfect but it has been down many Ozark rivers and is still going.  I have hit rocks hard enough I could feel them with my feet inside the canoe. Just this past summer I put a new strip of fiberglass on it but use it several times every year.  When I bought the Explorer I could of gotten it in Royalex but it was a new material to me and the lines were not nearly as clean as the fiberglass.

 

[Al Agnew]

I have paddled the Wildfire.  It tracks a bit less well than the Royalex Vagabond; I'd call it more of a mild whitewater solo rather than a flatwater solo, which in reality the Vagabond is.  For most Ozark streams, I'd give the Vagabond the slight edge, but that's mainly due to the way I run fast water, with a lot of ferrying techniques.  The Vagabond ferries better--holds an angle to the current better.  It also stays on line better when you put down the paddle to fish.  But the Wildfire (or Yellowstone--same thing) is a nice canoe and would serve well.

Everything is a trade-off.  The hybrid kayaks have advantages over solo canoes, such as much more initial stability and less wind resistance, while the canoe is easier to stow gear and rods (in my case, since I carry and use 5 rods almost all the time in the canoe, I highly doubt that any kayak type craft can hold that many rods with tips protected and all right at my fingertips), lighter, easier for ME to get in and out of, and easier to load and unload on a vehicle.  Those are all things I personally value more than any of the advantages of the kayak.  You may feel differently.

[Gavin]

Hard to manage 3 rods in a Jackson Coosa. Floats great but limited tackle in comparison to my solo canoe. Need to replace the wood gunwales on the solo this winter. Miss floating that boat. Wife can keep the kayak. Works great with her and the dog on the back. I take the kids in my tandem after they get tired of paddling their little sit on tops. Tie their boats on back with a rope and proceed when they are done.