Submitted: 09-24-2012 by OldFatMan
After many things got in the way for the last couple of months, my new Tribe 11.5 got a nice try out this afternoon. It has been from Rockport, TX to Alabama and back across to the mountains of New Mexico and now back to Rockport, TX. I am 5'8" and 200 pounds.
The yak can best described as moderate in all things. The foot well stayed wet the whole time. The only thing onboard besides me was a liter of water. No fishing equipment or other things this time. It paddled well. I tested it for turning over. It was not touchy at all. It seemed that I would fall off before the boat came anywhere close to turtling. A hint of wind cocking but not enough to really cause trouble. It was quiet going into the one foot waves. The turning was easy and reasonable.
Being a high boat it notices wind a bit more than some. That same higher sides keeps wave splash out of the boat. The seat is a wet ride. the drains are slightly higher on the back of the seat than the bottom of the seat area. Thus a seat puddle of about a 1/4 inch.
Over all it seems to be a very good general purpose boat. |