Anyone have a Straitedge Angler kayak?

[Bob Richey]

I'm thinking about getting one, mostly for the south fork and main stem of the Shenandoah. I'd be interested to hear from people who have one on their durability and ease/quickness in the set up. Thanks

[Jeff Cook]

I had two, and they are wonderful. I never fished in them, only light recreation. You've got five bladders to hand pump, making sure not to overinflate. Cool water will make it shrink, but do you overinflate before you launch or top it off mid-trip. Obviously avoid any rocks at any time, which is more of an issue than I had hoped.

Packing up is a bit more athletic. You reverse the pump so it sucks the air out, and then fold it as squarely and flat as you can to cram it back into the large suitcase shaped bag. Athletic. I carried the seat parts separately as I could never fit them back in.

You must be extremely vigilant about drying it out to avoid black mold and corrosion of the steel fittings, and this is not easy. With all the creases and corners it simply will never dry out on its own, you must use sponges towels and make a project of it, at least when you get home. If not, you'll start noticing pretty quickly.

But they are soooo comfy. It's basically a giant shock absorber, so it handles ripples and waves very well. I would take a rest, unclip the seat back, lie back on the rear airbag like a pillow and just rock on the waves. Wonderful. You can get a small anchor as well.

I just sold two of them (and cheap - sorry, no for-sale ads on this list), and I think if I buy another kayak it would instead be a simpler hard shell. The reason for an inflatable is if you simply have no way to transport a hard shell. Inflatables need more work and maintenance, and eventually repair.

> On Dec 18, 2015, at 6:08 PM, Bob Richey <bob.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm thinking about getting one, mostly for the south fork and main stem of the Shenandoah. I'd be interested to hear from people who have one on their durability and ease/quickness in the set up. Thanks
>

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[TurbineBlade]

Yeah, we have 2.  They work just fine, are durable, stable, and about as good as you can get for an inflatable fishing kayak.  Set up take a moderately long time with the hand pump, but is about 10X faster if you have an automatic pump.  

I just prefer a canoe over any kayak -- I think kayaks are probably most suited to rough water, but became "popular" and began to be the #1 choice for fisherman who would otherwise be much, much better served by a canoe. 

Just my opinion -- 

Gene

[Bob Richey]

Thanks for the comments. I live in a rowhouse in DC, so space is an issue. I'm looking for something that my wife can drop me off on the river, go to her parents house in Winchester for a visit and pick me up later in the day after catching all the smallies. The straitedge seems like a good fit for for my needs.

[Jeff Cook]

Yep, it sounds like you're the perfect candidate. You'll be carrying a few things in the boat with you (unless she's going to wait for you to launch) such as the pump (get the little yellow one), and the carrying bag, but that's not a problem.

I stored both of mine, packed, behind the couch. Invisible. Just keep it dry.

The Straightedge also has a...straightedge, a partial keel piece (internal metal bent bar) at each end that absolutely helps it track. I've also paddled the basic red Advanced Elements inflatable, and this is 1000% better in every way. Enjoy!

> On Dec 18, 2015, at 7:13 PM, Bob Richey <bob.r...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the comments. I live in a rowhouse in DC, so space is an issue. I'm looking for something that my wife can drop me off on the river, go to her parents house in Winchester for a visit and pick me up later in the day after catching all the smallies. The straitedge seems like a good fit for for my needs.
>

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[Howard Abramowitz]

I had one, and sold it for all the reasons Jeff listed, and I would not recommend it. It was fun to be on, tracked well and made a decent overall fishing platform, but it took a good 30 minutes to get it inflated and again deflated. Then you had to either actively dry it or get it home and let it bake in the sun to dry, which meant unpacking and repacking again, which I think Jeff's description of as an athletic process is spot on. All in you are looking at 90 minutes or so of active labor every time you use the thing. So maybe I'm just lazy, but with limited time on the water as is that was too much of a hassle for me.

Also I had the front and rear bladders fail on me once, which I of course didn't notice till I'd already gotten to the river and was inflating the thing for the day. AE sent out a new set for free, but still a hassle.

Anyway, if your only option is an inflatable and you are itching to spend ~$600 (or look for a used one on craigslist) it's a good boat.

But IMO if you could swing keeping a kayak or canoe at the wife's parents you'd be better off.

Howard

[Clever Knickname]

I also have one. There are a few things I really like about it - it's very comfortable, the layout and open deck helps avoid tangles with my fly line, it tracks very well, and I really like the accessory rail, I've set up a fish finder on mine. Mine also fits very comfortably in the trunk of my Honda Accord.

Set up and take down are a minor hassle but durability is the biggest annoyance for me. I've had mine for 2.5 years and end up repairing the inner bladders every couple of months or so during the season. Granted I'm rough on gear but I don't think I'd be repairing a traditional hard shell nearly as often. You also can't stand in it, which is a nice feature for fly fishing.

It's a great solution for those of us that live in tiny urban boxes, but if you have the storage space get a hard shell.

[Bob Richey]

Bummer, it sounds like if I use it on the very rocky south fork, I'll be spending a lot of my time repairing it.

[Andy Rheuban]

I should clarify - I've never had any issues with the outer "skin" ripping or tearing, and I've taken it all over the place. Its the inner bladders that seem to wear out quickly and require frequent patching. 

On Sun, Dec 20, 2015 at 11:59 AM, Bob Richey <bob.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

Bummer, it sounds like if I use it on the very rocky south fork, I'll be spending a lot of my time repairing it.

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[Jeff Cook]

I think the most dangerous time for rocky abrasion is actually launching & landing. You're going to get in & out at the shore, and that's when you'll scrape bottom if you haven't decided to push in further and just get wet doing it. But yeah, you'll be fishing near the banks and invariably scraping over some tree stumps and rocks. 

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