With all the hype and talk of everyone upgrading to a PA i will try and tell you what i've found during the last month, living with pus-nuts the Papaya PA.
I sold my much beloved Outback to Deano's in early may, and prepared for the arrival of the new beast, on arrival everything was how it should be, but being me i checked everything out and fitted a sounder and a white light, by then i couldn't wait to go for a fish and test her out.
First thing i noticed when i got it, was its initial weight, its heavy but everything is well balanced and the wheels are a huge improvement over the old version of wheeleez. All the rods and tackle boxes have a place and can be stashed to the yak at home and makes setup a breeze. At the water, i took out the trolley and got in, without getting my feet wet
, pedalling out i thought i was doing a higher cadence (more pedals) than normal but when i noticed i was keeping up with a walker on the beach i knew i was doing about 5kph +. There is so much room on these things that i could easily take four rods, all my tackle, lunch, jackets, etc, for a full days fishing no problems, being able to stand was the reason i wanted a PA, for one sight fishing is a huge advantage and makes accurate casting easier, two as i suffer a bit of lower back pain, being able to stretch my legs is awesome, on the subject of standing the PA'S are extremely stable but standing in 10kn plus winds i reckon it would be easy (for me anyway) to fall out, not from kayak stability but from me overbalancing. Fish ability is unreal and as you can stand and walk up to the front hatch to get tackle etc, it makes the old shimmy, shimmy forward to get stuff or take a leak a thing of the past.
The steering is good once you get used to it, and the turning circle is good for a big yak, i did notice that the mirage drive, hits the hull underneath at full stroke, its not a huge issue but the fins lay parallel to the ground and could be damaged more easily once on the beach.
All in all i'm rapt with the pa, they are a big, heavy yak, pretty quick through the water and a great platform to fish out of, the seat is awesome, the freeboard is high and a very dry yak. I couldn't think of anything that would make them any better, except for having more colors to choose from (three is a bit rough).
Cheers Bilby.
UPDATEOK well its been 9 months with Pus-nuts the PA, I thought i would put a few pro's and cons of the beast i have found so far.
As everyone knows the PA'S are a big, heavy and hard to manage yak on the beach, anyone who reckons they are on par with an Outback or Revo have rocks in their heads. The newer Hobie trolleys are a huge improvement but over soft sand they are still very hard to pull / drag / push, I've tried a few different wheel ideas and reckon if Hobie used the 30cm Wheelez wheels it would make lugging the heavier yaks in the range PA, AI, TI so much easier, why they use such small wheels has me stuffed. The fish ability of the PA'S is awesome, i've had some great days standing and casting lures around Mallacoota, The Wallagaragh river, Lakes Entrance, PPB, the Patto, it does take a bit of getting used to standing and fishing but after a few minutes your confidence grows and grows, as the yak would be near impossible to flip (in smooth seas anyway), by far the worst feature on the Pro anglers is the steering, it is crap in anything but smooth conditions (you are always adjusting the trim) but they do handle following, bow and off the nose swells with ease, you just need to always be on the steering lever, but most yaks will vary off course a bit in lumpy seas. I've never had a wave break over the side and I've been out in some bad conditions, a wet arse is not a problem as the seat drains any rain, wave sprays through the scuppers under the seat. The seat is great, its comfy and gives plenty of support, it doesn't get hot and breaths well, i've got a bit of a stuffed lower back and i can do 6hr stints no probs, the peddle position is good and the ergo's are spot on. The Hobie livewell's are another awesome piece of kit, these things can hold up to 8 US gallons (approx 35litres) which equates to 35kg and you wouldn't even notice that its there, the livewell is great for comps but its also awesome for keeping your catch fresh until the end of the session, the battery lasts for ages and i've yet to have it run out during a full days fishing. The side mounting boards are a great idea and can accommodate a lot of gear ie sounders, rod holders etc. One tip i highly recommend is to cut out the bottom edge of the seat the edge of the seat is too low and really restricts opening the lid to the tackle box, i jigsawed an extra 15mm out of the height and about 20mm each side and its made a heap of difference, (if your unsure i can send some pics of the mod).
Anyway apart from the weight issue these are an awesome yak for serious fishing.
Bilby.
