My Kaskazi Marlin

[westmantooth]

Gorgeous!!!

[Jordo]

Today i made a last minute decision and headed down to patto river boat ramp to have my first run in the marlin. bit of context to the conditions down there; windy, wet and bloody rough! That was fine by me though, a good chance to test out what this yak was really made of.
Initially getting into it, coming from a 2.95m plastic yak, its primary stability felt tippy. The glass yak won't do all the stability work for you, but after about half a dozen paddles I met it half-way by chipping in my core muscles and after that not a single wobble. The rudder, despite some reports from online, was easy to deploy. It was super sensitive, however coming from a kayak without a rudder the foot controls are something that may take a couple more trips to get use to. The marlin was sleek and noiseless through the water, and I made easy ground into a strong head-wind.
After a bit of a play in the river i made my way up to the bridge towards the mouth. I started to encounter a few waves under the bridge but the marlin sliced through them as if they weren't even there. It looked really rough up at the mouth but I decided I would push on until I felt in anyway uncomfortable, so as to get a feel as to what the marlin can handle. At the mouth I got engulfed by wave after wave, and despite how unpleasant it sounds, I've never enjoyed horrible weather more. The marlin pierced the waves like a needle, the only resistance was my chest and face hitting the waves. It was great fun! After not long I wondered how much head way I'd made, thinking that I was probably just outside the mouth. When I looked around I was surprised to see that I could barely make out the mouth behind me! The marlin had had no problems making good head way it these conditions.
What I hadn't fully anticipated was that it was much harder making my way back in with the waves. The bay waves didn't give me any break between them and made it very hard to track straight. Still the marlin held up very well and recovered easily from any nose dives. Back inside the mouth of the patto river I continued to play around and test the marlin out. despite the rough conditions the deep seat didn't hold nearly as much water as I thought it would, my bum was soaked but I didn't feel as though I was sitting in a paddle. I could easily access the rear hatch, and with a bit of a bum shuffle the marlin's stability enabled me to easily access the front hatch as well. A down side that I did find was that the seat was so deep that I felt like the rails were up in my armpits a bit. This is of course an exaggeration, but they were high enough to make me self-conscious about hitting my elbows as I paddled. I don't think it really limits my strokes at all, I think it's more a mental thing having come from a yak with a high seating position. It cruises at a good speed with minimal effort. Back at the ramp the rudder was easy to bring back up, and I had no problem getting out of the low seating position, having youth on my side no doubt aims in that .
Back at shore I inspected the hatches, the front was bone dry, however the back had let in about 50mls, not bad considering what I had just put it through! I will be improving the seals in the future though. It was a bit of a struggle putting the yak back on the roof racks though. Once wet this thing is really slippery, so despite well positioned handles I had a bit of trouble positioning it on the J-racks. I think this problem will be solved once the kayak carriers I ordered arrive, they should be a bit easier to load the yak onto than the J-racks, not to mention that they'll be better for the yak.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the marlin's capabilities. I feel that it's a yak that will get me there and back when I start going offshore, provided I don't do anything stupid. I'm looking forward to a few more runs and practicing my re-entries next time. Then I'll be taking the rods with me to get serious .

[Seasherpa]

Sounds like you had a blast. The deep seat is what got me too, but it will give you better primary stability as a trade off especially when the marlin is a good 7cm narrower than the stealth it will come in handy. They do get slippery when wet - I recommend re-entering from the side because trying to shimmy up the deck from the tail to the seat is fun on a wet one

[Jordo]

Sounds like you had a blast. The deep seat is what got me too, but it will give you better primary stability as a trade off especially when the marlin is a good 7cm narrower than the stealth it will come in handy. They do get slippery when wet - I recommend re-entering from the side because trying to shimmy up the deck from the tail to the seat is fun on a wet one

Yeah I did
yeah I was planning a side entry, i went and had a good talk to andrew at C-kayaks after my session, he also said that side entry was the way to go. Can't wait to get out there again .

[Nello]

Nice report jord, keen to have a go in it next time you go out if I can tag along. Wouldn't mind comparing it to what a stealth evolution is like, but that'd probs be difficult unless someone stuck their hand up to let me have a go on their evolution(I'd be gentle with it)
I'm looking at getting either a kaskazi or stealth towards the end of the year or when I have enough $$$
Would be great to get a feel for what these glass yaks are like!
Anyway back to the point, nice review on it jord, glad you're happy with it!

[Seasherpa]

Nice report jord, keen to have a go in it next time you go out if I can tag along. Wouldn't mind comparing it to what a stealth evolution is like, but that'd probs be difficult unless someone stuck their hand up to let me have a go on their evolution(I'd be gentle with it)
I'm looking at getting either a kaskazi or stealth towards the end of the year or when I have enough $$$
Would be great to get a feel for what these glass yaks are like!
Anyway back to the point, nice review on it jord, glad you're happy with it!

We will have to organise a glass crew day somewhere to test out a couple of the stealths Vs kaskazi's.

[Jordo]

Nice report jord, keen to have a go in it next time you go out if I can tag along. Wouldn't mind comparing it to what a stealth evolution is like, but that'd probs be difficult unless someone stuck their hand up to let me have a go on their evolution(I'd be gentle with it)
I'm looking at getting either a kaskazi or stealth towards the end of the year or when I have enough $$$
Would be great to get a feel for what these glass yaks are like!
Anyway back to the point, nice review on it jord, glad you're happy with it!

We will have to organise a glass crew day somewhere to test out a couple of the stealths Vs kaskazi's.

I like the sound of that! !

[Nello]

Nice report jord, keen to have a go in it next time you go out if I can tag along. Wouldn't mind comparing it to what a stealth evolution is like, but that'd probs be difficult unless someone stuck their hand up to let me have a go on their evolution(I'd be gentle with it)
I'm looking at getting either a kaskazi or stealth towards the end of the year or when I have enough $$$
Would be great to get a feel for what these glass yaks are like!
Anyway back to the point, nice review on it jord, glad you're happy with it!

We will have to organise a glass crew day somewhere to test out a couple of the stealths Vs kaskazi's.

I like the sound of that! !

This all sounds pretty great guys, keen as for it!

[cheaterparts]

We will have to organise a glass crew day somewhere to test out a couple of the stealths Vs kaskazi's.

Sounds like a great idea -- I'll come !! ( might need something faster myself to keep up with you Owen now days )

[Jordo]

Just finished my first mods on the marlin:
installed two RAM tubes and a railblaza rodholder, all with aluminium plate backing. I also improved the seal around the back hatch. Pictures below.