Submitted: 08-05-2009 by JM
This past weekend I took my tarpon 160i out in the Chesapeake Bay and it handled some pretty rough conditions. The waves from large boats were coming from many directions, and the wind was blowing around 15-20 mph, yet the boat was stable in all of the confused waves. Additionally, the boat tracked REALLY well and I did not even use the rudder. My biggest concern was that cockpit would fill up with water if I opened up the drains, since I weigh 220 lbs and the boat sits pretty low. But to my surprise the boat drained out even when I took multiple waves over the side.
This is probably one of the most stable boats I have paddled. One thing that I don't like about the boat is that it is not as fast as my touring kayak. The boat is 28" wide and it is a lot slower that my sit in kayak. I really had to tug on the paddle to keep the boat moving in the rough conditions. The other thing I don't like about the boat is that it is really heavy and very difficult to put on top of the car by myself. I am 6'4" 220 lbs so typically it is not too tough to lift a kayak overhead to put on the car. But the Tarpon really gives you a workout probably because there is no good place to grab the boat to lift it overhead. |