I thought she looked nice from the time I first laid eyes on her. Nice lines, sleek and fast. I just wanted to get my hands on her. I dated her little sister briefly but that didn't work out. She was put away wet a few too many times. Then I got into a relationship with her "big boned" cousin and I will still keep her around as a back up. This new girl though; she maybe a keeper. Get your minds outta the gutter I'm talking fishing kayaks here not a bunch of dirty legs from my early 20's.
Seriously I've always liked the way the Trident Family looked and I've heard nothing but good reports from the field about them but my only personal experience with them was a little over a year ago with a loaner Trident 11. That particular kayak while not abused, it was left outside all the time exposed to the elements and just not in good condition. It paddled ok but was too close to being more of a river boat than what I was looking for. The T11 paddles well and tracks alright for a shorter kayak but is very susceptible to paddle input. Not what I was looking for.
The next kayak I mentioned is my Big Game II. This is a great kayak. Super stable excellent in big water. Has an nice seat, is really comfortable and one thing that has surprised me the most about the BGII is how much I like to just float in it. This thing floats down stream like a dream. It's a great river boat. Just not fast and I wanted fast or at least faster than the BGII.
Which brings me to my new fling.
The Trident 13.
Let me explain what I was/am looking for in a fishing kayak.
1. Stability, it needs to be stable enough to stand and fish from.
2. Comfort, the seat needs to not kill my back or let my bum go numb.
3. In hull storage, I like to transport as much as I can in the hull. Especially my fishing rods.
4. A decent cockpit layout or at least good enough for me to expand on to make it my own. Gimme a somewhat Plain Jane and let me rig it myself.
With those thoughts in mind I knew the 13 was stable enough to stand and fish from because I did it in the 11. The seat in the 13 I knew was going to be an issue because every kayak I've been in where the seat pad is directly on the deck of the boat hurts my back and my @$$ goes numb. It has as much to do with my body as the seating position itself. This isn't a knock on the Trident, that seating position is uncomfortable for me. So I added padding from the get go. Although I wish I could get my paddle in the hull, more important to me though I can stow my rods and that was the most important part of having in hull storage for me.
OK. Now here's where we are in our new relationship. My very first thought when I dipped my paddle into the water was, "Wow this thing is easy to paddle". And she is. These boats paddle well, track great and are pretty light weight. As it turns out that was some of what I was looking for in my next kayak. What I didn't mention earlier is I wanted something I could cover water in and I can definitely do that in this boat.
More to come.....
