Chev's PA14 review
Posted: 14 Jan 2013, 18:53
With several reviews already posted on here in regards to the PA14 I figured I wouldn't bother however after finding out a few things during the safety course on Sunday I found a few things that others may not be aware of I thought I would bring up.
Firstly the PA as a fishing platform is awesome straight out for the box. It handles well in most conditions (had it out in some pretty decent chop) and the built in tackle system is a god send. After looking at a few brochures I discovered the moulded tubs next to the seat fit the larger Plano plastic organisers and the elastic rod straps that extend out of the grab rails, my tackle bag isn't a Plano but the organisers are the same size so I just throw a couple of tubs out of my bag on the yak and hit the water, makes life really easy. The other thing that really shocked me was the turning! This is a 14ft yak and with a little forward momentum from the mirage it turns remarkably well
The mirage drive system is amazing, this is the first yak I have had with it and I'm not looking back, an experience yak instructor on the weekend even commented of the power when headed into strong winds, he commented they defy physics, sure a good paddler in the right gear is faster but the torque is amazing, kinda like a truck vs a Ferrari.
Mine is a 2011 so it has the old seat, I think it has been modified because it is no longer adjustable back (might have to change back) but I find it more than comfortable and the ability to stand and move around the yak alleviates numb bum anyhow so trips into the future are defiantly getting extended.
Now a little feedback from the safety course. This is from my experience and comments from the instructors, being the only PA there we found a few things that will help in emergency situations. The first part of the course was paddling, the guys in the outbacks found this quite easy however I only took half my paddle (as like most PA users) I found paddling with this great to get out into water deep enough for the mirage system but out in deeper water we found the paddle to be far to short to be effective. After darting back in to grab another paddle I found it quite easy to paddle, sure it's big, heavy and slow but should the mirage drive stuff up out on the bay, it's still big heavy and slow, you still have to get back. We found a paddle of approx 2.6m will make it easier still. I was using a 2.4m paddle to paddle it with and without the rudder. I found the tracking to be all over the shop without the rudder but with the correct technique it's actually quite easy to move through the water. Also found that with the rudder up you can turn it on itself. Probably not really that important but handy to know.
As a part of the course we capsized and righted our yaks. I was more than nervous about this due to the size of the PA so the day before I watched rhinos videos a few times so I could see it done before trying. Probably a good thing but it was actually hard to capsize. Getting it back over wasn't easy but defiantly manageable. Rhinos videos reveal how easy it actually is but without knowing I could see someone getting quickly worn out trying. One thing we found makes the job quite easy it a strap looped around one of the grab handles. By throwing the strap over the upturned hull, mounting the yak and pulling back on the strap, it's back on its feet in a jiffy. Getting back in is the easiest part, slide up on the tail, lock the seat forward and jump in. I found in a capsize situation the front hatch takes on a lot of water, modifications will hopefully sort this out.
There are plenty of photos on here already of PA's so more ain't needed but once the pimping begins I will start a new pimping thread for her
Firstly the PA as a fishing platform is awesome straight out for the box. It handles well in most conditions (had it out in some pretty decent chop) and the built in tackle system is a god send. After looking at a few brochures I discovered the moulded tubs next to the seat fit the larger Plano plastic organisers and the elastic rod straps that extend out of the grab rails, my tackle bag isn't a Plano but the organisers are the same size so I just throw a couple of tubs out of my bag on the yak and hit the water, makes life really easy. The other thing that really shocked me was the turning! This is a 14ft yak and with a little forward momentum from the mirage it turns remarkably well
The mirage drive system is amazing, this is the first yak I have had with it and I'm not looking back, an experience yak instructor on the weekend even commented of the power when headed into strong winds, he commented they defy physics, sure a good paddler in the right gear is faster but the torque is amazing, kinda like a truck vs a Ferrari.
Mine is a 2011 so it has the old seat, I think it has been modified because it is no longer adjustable back (might have to change back) but I find it more than comfortable and the ability to stand and move around the yak alleviates numb bum anyhow so trips into the future are defiantly getting extended.
Now a little feedback from the safety course. This is from my experience and comments from the instructors, being the only PA there we found a few things that will help in emergency situations. The first part of the course was paddling, the guys in the outbacks found this quite easy however I only took half my paddle (as like most PA users) I found paddling with this great to get out into water deep enough for the mirage system but out in deeper water we found the paddle to be far to short to be effective. After darting back in to grab another paddle I found it quite easy to paddle, sure it's big, heavy and slow but should the mirage drive stuff up out on the bay, it's still big heavy and slow, you still have to get back. We found a paddle of approx 2.6m will make it easier still. I was using a 2.4m paddle to paddle it with and without the rudder. I found the tracking to be all over the shop without the rudder but with the correct technique it's actually quite easy to move through the water. Also found that with the rudder up you can turn it on itself. Probably not really that important but handy to know.
As a part of the course we capsized and righted our yaks. I was more than nervous about this due to the size of the PA so the day before I watched rhinos videos a few times so I could see it done before trying. Probably a good thing but it was actually hard to capsize. Getting it back over wasn't easy but defiantly manageable. Rhinos videos reveal how easy it actually is but without knowing I could see someone getting quickly worn out trying. One thing we found makes the job quite easy it a strap looped around one of the grab handles. By throwing the strap over the upturned hull, mounting the yak and pulling back on the strap, it's back on its feet in a jiffy. Getting back in is the easiest part, slide up on the tail, lock the seat forward and jump in. I found in a capsize situation the front hatch takes on a lot of water, modifications will hopefully sort this out.
There are plenty of photos on here already of PA's so more ain't needed but once the pimping begins I will start a new pimping thread for her
but thats another story