ad-closed Oddball wtb.... Specific kayak.

[Handsome Rob]

I'm looking for either a Nucanoe Classic 12 or Freedom 12. Literally nothing else will do.  Doesn't have to be pristine, doesn't need to be rigged, just need to be under $8-hundo.

Anybody? 

[MacGyver]

Seems like you ought be be able to find a classic for less than that new - maybe not with tax.

Have you paddled one?  They’ll go skinny - and with those hard chines they’re pretty stable. The classic can get pretty wet without scuppers.

I’ll keep an eye out.  

[Handsome Rob]

3 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Seems like you ought be be able to find a classic for less than that new - maybe not with tax.

Have you paddled one?  They’ll go skinny - and with those hard chines they’re pretty stable. The classic can get pretty wet without scuppers.

I’ll keep an eye out.  

Thanks man, I appreciate it. I know I can get a Classic for waaaay south of that, but it's really the F12 I want. The classic is more of an 'it'll do' option. 

I haven't paddled one, but several friends tell me that, being used to classic canoes & kayaks they're just awful. However, I'm far more interested in stability, portability & space than their ability to track clean. 

[MacGyver]

Yeah, they don’t track worth anything.  It’s not unlike paddling a small jon boat. They are stable - they do heel a bit until you get some water on the chines - but all boats that size are going to do that. That said, it shouldn’t be a problem in skinny water because you’ll likely be poling anyway.

I wouldn’t look sideways at something like a Wilderness Systems Recon 12 if I came across one.

Some of the Old Town stuff sits up high and is made for folks who may not be sized for the typical kayak - thus they’re pretty stable.

Really stability in a paddle craft is all about beam width - you need something close to 40” for the average person to be comfortable standing.  I think NuCanoe offer that leaning bar - which really does help you feel more confident.

Where are you fishing? I was further south in Tampa bay a few days last week and the red tide has killed a ton of fish. I’ve never seen such a kill. My uncle is in Panacea and makes me laugh. He has his “milk run” for sea trout and oysters - he can head out in the kayak or his Kenner and be back with a limit on the smoker before you even realized he was gone. 

[Handsome Rob]

Lol! I'll be out near the ICW in Jacksonville, FL mostly. I was in Grand Isle, LA last week & I have a really close friend on the Texas gulf coast. I'm going to be in 90% salt marshes & grass flats, probably within a mile of my truck. 

I seriously considered a Freedom Hawk. With the rear deployable pontoons? But a friend had one & he tells me that it's basically un-paddleable. The nucanoe has the beam, buoyancy & portability I'm looking for.