Well Said. I think I could put 2 deer on mine and paddle home w/o a problem. I feel way safer in my 12' Nu Canoe than I ever did in a 14' canoe. I've had well over 200# of carp in mine multiple times. I think it all starts w/the money you invest in the yak to begin with. A cheap Sit In is a lot of fun, just don't take your high dollar bow with you and you'll be ok.
yeah love my nucanoe, its an exception to that 14' rule as they trek alot better than other 12' models i have paddled and even some 14' ones. The other kayak i absolutely love just for reference is the jackson cuda 14'. super stable and cuts through the water with ease, but the open deck on the nucanoes cant be competed with if you're using it for dual purpose like hunting.
another win for the nucanoe...already has a flat transom on back for a trolling motor or small outboard.
Hunting season is not the time to start with any of them, but would think the sit on top kayak is likely the "easiest". That said for most of them (unless you go up in price point s bunch) you WILL get wet and they aren't that easy to turn. Particularly the cheap ones. I have very little pirogue experience but a bunch of sit in and sit on kayak experience so can speak to the two of them somewhat. Sit ons are designed for primary stability, so don't have a lot of lean to them but are generally wider and more difficult to turn. Also generally are "unsinkable" as you're sitting on a large enclosed rotomolded plastic tub (assuming it doesn't get a hole) Sit ins are generally designed to have better secondary stability, you're lower down to the water (sitting in it, not on it) and easier to turn/control but feel a bit more "tippy" to the novice paddler. They are designed to be used with a skirt and if you don't, you can swamp them and sink. Each has their benefits and my description is very reductive. Thr vast majority of big box/"beginner" or cheap kayaks these days are rotomolded sit on tops. in my opinion most aren't really good at anything, your butt gets wet and they aren't great to paddle. Going up to a sit on top that has a chair and a rudder (like my Hobie outback for example) is significantly more $$ but definitely improves the experience dramatically. Would also make the gear hauling/potential deer hauling more possible, sit ins aren't really designed for bulky gear, you can slide dry bags down inside them but not most hunting gear.
good points,especially the one i forgot....you will 100% get wet no matter the option. maybe not soaking wet, but wet none the less so consider that for colder weather.
thats why i wear chest waders in my yak from October to May lol
if im dealing with shallow water, ill wear waders in colder weather...deeper water and those waders turn into anchors if you flip
That's what wading belt and PFDs are for.
most, not all, waders are less of an anchor than you would think. Neoprene waders provide some buoyancy for example
Same, I use NRS bibs and a dry top when I'm going out in this kind of weather. Dry top feels like it's trying to strangle me lol but it's worth it in case of an accident. Though since I've discovered deer hunting I don't do nearly as much winter kayak fishing any more.
They can fill with water and make swimming more difficult though. Best way to know is to put em on and jump in a pool/shallow water in the summer. I tested my bibs/dry top that way, get a small amount of leakage but nothing that would cause hypothermia. (It's like the winter kayaker version of treating a platform/saddle at the base of a tree the first time instead of at height)
mine has a skeg wheel, i grab it by the front handle and drag it on the skeg wheel. i dont need to portage it very often, but sometimes i do when duck hunting
Depends on the weight/balance but yes, sometimes. My Hobie outback is... Heavy. It's like 80+ lbs so I have a two wheeled cart that packs up and stows in the front hatch. Back when I had a car I did pick it up overhead and put it on a roof rack inverted but wouldn't want to carry it around like this too much. My "ocean" sit on tops tandems (kid haulers) have handles on the sides as well as front/back so I can carry them one handed at my side as well as overhead, but to be honest if on grass/dirt I usually drag it by the bow handle. Can't really portege overhead because it's too flat but I have done it short distances balancing on my head (I have a pretty strong neck but likely not reccomended lol). I don't currently own a sit inside, but when I did I could portage like a canoe, used the back half of the shirt lip on my shoulders and held the front half with my hands.
i like that cart, that looks like a dream to haul a yak around
