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Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Dec 2018, 10:21
by clintos
Hi all,

last week I picked up the new Kayak and thought I would share some initial thoughts, granted I'm new to kayaks so don't really know what to look for or what I'm talking about...

The Pedalfish 10 is a Chinese clone of the Native Slayer 10, it is now I believe in it's 3rd different design model with pedal system has changing from chain driven to belt (legal issues) and a further recent change to the drive body as there was previously a flaw in sizing stopping unit from being able to rotate when hinged in.

What attracted me to the kayak:
Cost - while I would have loved to have jumped into a Hobie, the cost point was just too much especially as I'm not sure how much I will use it. I think cost was $1200.00.
Weight - As I will be transporting on the top of my car I wanted something that was manageable, being under 30kg there is no issue with getting it up and down, while I would have been able to do the same with a Hobie, the extra in weight may have made going out seem like more of an effort than it should have, also have no room for a trailer.
Warranty/store reviews - 5 years on hull/2 years on drive unit. While there is not a heap of reviews out there on the kayak itself the Melbourne store has a very good reputation, this was further evident when I picked it up. Andrew the manager took me through everything on the kayak before helping me load up.

So with it home now I got an opportunity to take it out on the water. Noting the advice received from other board members I made sure the first paddle was in safe water with no fishing gear, I live in an area called Sanctuary Lakes which is built around a man made and quite large retarding basin. Unfortunately the 'lake' is full of weed (an apparently some decent bream) this restricted me to only limited use of the pedal drive. Obviously it will be a different story away from the protected lake but I found the Pedalfish to be really stable, I was able to stand, felt comfortable getting into the front storage and rear hatch and even jumped around a bit to really get a feel for the wobble.

The pedal drive was quite good although pretty stiff - I'm guessing this will just need use and some lube to improve, the reverse pedal stopped the kayak almost on the sport which I think will come in handy if fishing structure. The steering was only average, I did purchase a rudder upgrade but haven't yet fitted it and this should dramatically improve it. Speaking of the rudder this is one big negative for me - the rudder actually hangs lower than the base of the kayak - as you can imagine this is an issue when the kayak is out of the water, both for transport and storage, the rudder upgrade I purchased is a metal rudder and hangs even lower - this will increase the change of damage to the hull I fear.

So that's it for now, the next chance I'll get to go out will be post Christmas down in St Leonards, again based on advice from these pages I'll again go out without any gear and I'll then have an opportunity to capsize and practice re-entry.

I've now purchased a Garmin Striker 4 so will give installing that a go in the new year also.

cheers

Clint.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Dec 2018, 12:04
by peatop
Thanks for the good write up Clint, it's a long road ahead, being your first kayak take your time thinking about how best to set it up, it's a good time to look through the diy and safety threads, and practice re entry. St leonards is a pretty good area for a variety of species, i launch from behind the tennis courts there and head out towards the red marker for squid, flatties and whiting, further south you have swan bay, here again you have a big variety, i usually only fish there at night, chasing gummies, heading in the other direction there are the 2 reefs near indented heads boat ramp which should produce some good fish, from there heading towards portarlington there are some very interesting reef and rocky structures as you get close to portarlington, all good areas very close to shore.

There is a boat ramp at steels rocks easy to miss if you dont know it's there, best to visit this at low tide the first time to take note of where the reefs/rocks are, when the wind gets up a bit this area can be difficult to navigate if your unaware of the path needed to make a safe landing.

Enjoy yourself, get out there and explore, but most of all stay safe :up:

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Dec 2018, 12:57
by parki54
Hi Clint
I also have a pedalfish 10, but the earlier model. I have not had any issues at all I find quite stable and easy to car top, only thing I do is remove the rudder when transporting and storing just need an allen key to take the screw out.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Dec 2018, 14:23
by laneends
rudder works better if it hangs down, when the nose dives after cresting a wave the rear comes up and you can loose rudder control if it all comes out of the water altogether. Not an issue on flat water, but could be on the bay.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Dec 2018, 15:41
by clintos
laneends wrote:rudder works better if it hangs down, when the nose dives after cresting a wave the rear comes up and you can loose rudder control if it all comes out of the water altogether. Not an issue on flat water, but could be on the bay.
Yep - the upgrade one I bought is longer and has a piece that drops down.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 02 Jan 2019, 14:55
by clintos
Hi all, quick update now I've had the chance to get out on the water a couple more times.

After fitting the new fishfinder (garmin striker 4) I had my first pedal on the bay (st leonards), weather conditions were great and water was warm so after testing the limits with trying to tip over and then practicing re-entry I decided to go for my first fish.

Caught 3 fish over an hour, one whiting 40cm, a small flatty and of course a toadie. Unfortunately most of the other days I was down the winds were up a bit so didn't get out as much as I would have liked.

The pedalfish has been great fun, but I found the pedaling to be hard going. I've now taken apart the pedal unit and applied a heap silicone spray, after given the internals a good clean, it seems to be much better now but time will tell.

When pulling apart the unit I did notice the screws were quite cheap (easily threaded) so I'll look at replacing those also.

The steering on the water was not as bad as I thought, it does take a second or two for the rudder to do its thing but once turning it's not too bad, still very impressed with the rate in which the reverse kicks in.

I'm planning on heading out again tomorrow from Campbells Cove mid morning as the weather looks ideal, will hopefully have a pic or two then to share.

Cheers clint

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 03 Mar 2019, 23:35
by greg--maka
Hi Clintos,im aiming to get a similar kayak 10-13 foot,but just want to add a motor as i have no intention geting a boat licence .How is the pedafish 10 going for you.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 20 Mar 2019, 01:58
by DariusNic
greg--maka wrote: 03 Mar 2019, 23:35 Hi Clintos,im aiming to thoroughly test these rangefinders for hunting to get a similar kayak 10-13 foot,but just want to add a motor as i have no intention geting a boat licence .How is the pedafish 10 going for you.
Could Pedalfish 10 easily handle a motor?

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 17 Jul 2019, 17:24
by clintos
Hi all,

apologies for not responding as I haven't been very active on here. I can't really comment on adding a motor to it, the Pedalfish is a clone of the Native Slayer 10 propel so you would have more luck researching that model for anyone who has used a motor - if it fits on the slayer it would fit the Pedalfish.

An update on the Kayak - after some time on the water I decided to change the drive over to a native style shaft drive - the belt drive the yak came with just wasn't as good quality and was alot more work - new drive is a dream to peddle.

cheers

Clint.

Re: Pedalfish 10

Posted: 08 Nov 2019, 10:17
by Steeeech
clintos wrote:Hi all,

apologies for not responding as I haven't been very active on here. I can't really comment on adding a motor to it, the Pedalfish is a clone of the Native Slayer 10 propel so you would have more luck researching that model for anyone who has used a motor - if it fits on the slayer it would fit the Pedalfish.

An update on the Kayak - after some time on the water I decided to change the drive over to a native style shaft drive - the belt drive the yak came with just wasn't as good quality and was alot more work - new drive is a dream to peddle.

cheers

Clint.

Where did you get the drive from mate?