It got great mileage on the water, around 15mpg. Rode nice, drew little water, and was easy to handle. That's the good stuff.
Why I sold it came down to a couple of factors: 12mpg towing mileage and ease of fishing. Launching and retrieving it was a little hassle, but not too bad. Only had to climb in and out 3 or 4 times each way.
What really did it for me was what it took to fish out of it:
- Get to the fishing area, drop the anchor or trolling motor
- Catch a fish
- Land the fish, usually on the floor of the boat
- Bend over, unhook the fish
- Open the ice chest, put the fish in
- Stand back up, cast
- Repeat
- Tides or current changing, pull anchor, move boat either by trolling motor or motor
- Set anchor
- Fish some more
Not a really big deal, but hey I'm old!
Kayak fishing:
- Hook up trailer to my VW diesel, 40mpg towing
- Launch kayak, usually off side of the road - Slayer has a wheel on the back
- Paddle 10 - 150 feet
- Maybe stab the stake out pole, maybe not
- Cast, catch fish
- Land in between legs
- Turn around, put fish in bag
- Repeat
- Pull stake out pole, move 10-150 feet
- Fish some more
I would come home from a boat trip completely exhausted. Kayak trips are much more relaxing for me.
