Kayaks

The reason i am leaning towards pelican is the weight and i can throw a 10' er in the back of my truck
Its not something im sure i want to get into yet. I was at pelee wings and liked the atak140 and theres others that are well equipped for 1600$+
My nucanoe bruchure came in the mail today and the fronteir 12 looks appealing

Pelican Kayaks aren't particularly fun for long trips, they do not track well and the seats in my experience are lacking. Those are the primary objections I have to them coupled with their very low resale value. The redeeming feature is that occasionally they can be found for dirt cheap. If I only used a kayak for 3 or four 2 hour paddles a Pelican would serve.

I want it for duck hunting and fishing small ponds amd creeks in northern ontario and for bowfishing around southern ontario. My buddy has a pelican boost he bought really cheap. He likes it but wishes it was bigger
So far each store ive called or gone to recommends their brand and says all other brands are garbage
I admit im leery of a canadian tire brand but the catch 100 offers everyrhing i need.
Im planning on attending several kayak tryout days around swo

Rarely do you you wish for less boat as a general rule. Old town kayaks are fairly comfortable and worth looking at if the price suits in my experiences with recreational kayaks. I can say having local retailers offering tryout days is great. The few local to me that do only stock recreational kayaks and paddle boards neither of which satisfy what I want.
 
I just saw a Canadian Tire commercial and the Pelican Century fishing kayak is on sale... if cheap is at the top of your priority list, there ya go.
 
although they are not cheap, take a look at jackson kayaks. they have an open top 12 footer that I have hunted birds from. can handle a dog and decoy bags as well. even in rough water. usually I don't have a dog with me.
 
And for the record, prior to purchasing these Pelicans, I scoped out, checked out, compared features weight, dimensions and yes price, on every comparable kayak to these.

Name cachet, is all the more expensive kayaks really offer.

But I recommend you go on Youtube and watch some videos/reviews, on all the different brands. Then go to various shops and look at the different brands... make up your own mind... don't take my word for it, or anybody else's.
 
We have 2 Pelican Catch 120 kayaks. They are an awesome product, anyone who thinks different has not tried one.

Anyone who thinks that a Pelican boat is "great" has not tried a better boat... I have tried Pelican boats purchased by friends and neighbors in cottage country and they are made of inferior materials that mark, peel & shred and they are sluggish in handling and don't hold their shape...

A Pelican vs Quality is like comparing Night vs Day.
 
If weight is of concern....

Check out Wilderness Systems Puungo 120 ultralight.

Very large cockpit (3xl) and 40 lbs.

It will set you back $1500 but is 10x the Kayak you will get from Pelican.

P.S

There are ultralight canoes as well.

Novafraft makes 17ft Canoes that weight only 50-60 lbs used high tech materials.
 
Light and open deck and stable are my top priorities. Ive spent about 9 hours watching youtube videos
I wont be making any long trips in it
If i find i do enjoy it ill likely buy a top end model. I just dont want to spend several grand to have it sit in my garage

Has anyone brought one back from the states? 3waters bigfish 105 seems perfect. I havent found a pic of their army camo yet just their white urban camo which is a nice look but not great for ducks
 
Light and open deck and stable are my top priorities. Ive spent about 9 hours watching youtube videos
I wont be making any long trips in it
If i find i do enjoy it ill likely buy a top end model. I just dont want to spend several grand to have it sit in my garage

Has anyone brought one back from the states? 3waters bigfish 105 seems perfect. I havent found a pic of their army camo yet just their white urban camo which is a nice look but not great for ducks

My boost 100 is pretty light (44lbs I think?) stable enough for me to stand and fish (or use it like a SUP) and they don't come any cheaper.

I see CT has the pelican sentry 100 on sale right now. Comes with fishing rod holders and adjustable foot rests (the foot rests on the boost are kinda terrible). I'd check that out in store before I spent $1000+ on something better.
 
Hoyt, I don't doubt your expertise in any way... just laughing about this.

Btw, if I was going into a river/lake system, like Hoyt does, I'm not sure how these Pelicans would fare. A freighter canoe would be a better choice almost certainly.

We've made a lot of river trips with our Pelicans, and for what we do, they are great.
 
The biggest drawbacks of the Pelican boats, other than design, is their lack of structural rigidity and the soft material use in the hulls... both of these make the boats very "sticky" with lots of drag in the water... so you work much harder with every movement... comparatively speaking, they handle like pigs. Better quality boats have much better hull rigidity and harder hull materials allowing them to cut through the water much more easily. Some day, just for fun, try a slender, gel-coat boat... they are pure joy to paddle, but not suited to the OP's intended uses.
 
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P.S

There are ultralight canoes as well.

Novafraft makes 17ft Canoes that weight only 50-60 lbs used high tech materials.

50-60 lbs is better than average but I wouldn't call it ultralight. My H20 Boundary is 17' 6" will carry 900+lbs and weighs a whopping 36lbs:

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