Cameron Mortenson
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Mike Lewis…if you have another other questions please feel free to email me at thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com.
Mike…looks like a neat board. I’ve been paddling a Native Ultimate 14.5 Tandem, Liquid Logic Versa Board, and Diablo Paddlesports Chupacabra and have found they all have a place as a fly fishing depending on where and what you expect to do with them.
A few photos of the Versa Board and Chupacabra in action this summer.
The most versatile of the lot is the Native Ultimate which works in solo as well as tandem, easy to stand up from, very stable, and tracks well. The Ultimate seems to do great on all types of water except open water where you might have to be careful of waves washing into the boat. We did a trip on Lake Michigan around Mission Point and I was happy the lake was flat. It might have been a problem if it was choppy at all. Kayak and two seats push the empty weight on this boat near 80 pounds.
The Liquid Logic Versa Board is really a great play boat, unreal stable, tracks very good, and comfortable to paddle standing up or sitting down. This is my wife’s kayak and she’s very happy with it. I like it as a stripped down kayak to use with just a gear bag strapped to the deck, fly rod, and stand up paddle. The Versa Board weighs just over 50 pounds.
The Diablo Chupacabra is almost four feet shorter than the Versa Board but a little wider. This makes for a very stable SUP kayak but it’s slow to paddle in open water and doesn’t track all that well. There is a skeg in the works which should help. I did 13 miles of the Au Sable River in Michigan in it a couple weeks ago and was very impressed. It’s a great river boat and handles great in the current. Dry storage under the front hatch is a neat feature and the area in the back of the kayak holds a YETI Roadie cooler or gear bag no problem. Empty weight on the Chupacabra is just over 50 pounds.
Finally, I’m learning that just like with fly rods no one kayak does it all.
Oh…and they are great too if you have children. Our kids love being in the kayaks and are really comfortable in them.
Well…I had to run home and check on something at lunch and decided to give the Nikon a try again since I’m impatient and if it’s fried I’d have the weekend to look at my body options.
Pulled the Nikon from the rice, put in a freshly charged battery, and card and it seems to be working perfectly.
